Before 30 Years of Waiting: A Look Back at Liverpool’s League Championship Wins

After a thirty-year wait, Liverpool has finally been crowned league champions again. In fact, it was the Reds’ first Premier League win, having not won since the league was called the First Division.

Although the victory was a long time coming, prior to the 1990 – 1991 season, Liverpool FC won the English top league nineteen times. And they have won the League Cup a record eight times.

As fans still celebrate Liverpool’s 2020 accomplishment, there is no better time to look back at some of the club’s most significant league championship wins.

The First Decades

In their first season, 1892 – 1893, Liverpool won the Lancashire League title and the Liverpool District Cup. But they had to wait until the 1900 – 1901 season to be crowned champions of the English top league.

The 13th season of the English football league saw Liverpool leading with 45 points. Sunderland and Notts County trailed in second and third places with 43 and 40 points respectively. Over the next half-a-decade, Liverpool won the league another four times.

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The 1960s

Liverpool had already won the 1963 – 1964 season. But the 1965 – 1966 season was more notable, if for only one reason.

Liverpool FC won their seventh league title with only 14 players in the squad. The Merseyside team won the league with 61 points. Leeds United and Burnley trailed behind with 55 points each.

But stalwarts of the modern game, Manchester United and Chelsea, were not far behind, with 51 points each.

The 1970s

Liverpool FC hit its prime in the 1970s. In the 1972 – 1973 season, the team cruised to victory in Bill Shankly’s penultimate season as manager.

Liverpool fought off tough competition from Leeds United, Arsenal, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Ipswich Town to win the league with 60 points.

In the 1975 – 1976 season, Liverpool won their first major trophy under manager Bob Paisley. The team narrowly won the league title after facing fierce competition from Queens Park Rangers.

Liverpool finished with 60 points, while QPR ended with 59. That year also saw Liverpool winning the UEFA Cup for the second time.

The Reds won a further three seasons in the 1970s. They were league champions in 1976 – 1977, 1978 – 1979, and 1979 – 1980.

The 1980s

Liverpool continued to be in its prime during the 1980s. They won the league championship in:

·          1981 – 1982

·          1982 – 1983

·          1983 – 1984

·          1985 – 1986

·          1987 – 1988

·          1989 – 1990

The 1982 – 1983 season was memorable for being Bob Paisley’s last year as manager. Paisley retired with a record 21 prizes from over nine years. His successor as Liverpool manager was the club’s coach Joe Fagan.

The 1982 – 1983 season was also notable for Watford coming out of nowhere to finish second place.

Under Fagan’s first season as manager in 1983 – 1984, Liverpool proved they were still the top dogs of English football. They wrapped up their third successive league title, giving the club fifteen league wins in total.

The squad had faced fierce competition that year. Southampton, Manchester United, and Nottingham Forest were hot on Liverpool’s tail, but the Reds managed to win the season with 80 points. Liverpool also won the European Cup and the League Cup in the same year.

After Fagan’s departure in 1985, Kenny Dalglish became player-manager of Liverpool. He helped the squad win a further three First Divisions, as well as four FA Charity Shield, wins and two FA Cup wins, before resigning in 1991.

Before 2020, the last time Liverpool won the league championship was the 1989 – 1990 season, under Dalglish’s management. Although Aston Villa played one of their best seasons and ended with 70 points, they could still not come close to the Reds, who won the league with 79 points.

Whether Liverpool can regain their glory years after winning the 2019 – 2020 season remains to be seen. But Reds fans will not be thinking too much about that right now.