9th September

A great start for the knight
1959 - ‘Sir’ Roger Hunt scored on his reds debut as we beat Sc***horpe United 2-0 at Anfield, with Jimmy Melia bagging the other. Roger went on to notch 285 times in 492 reds games, a club record until the arrival of Ian Rush.
1961 - We also beat The Iron 2-1 in another Second Division meeting at Anfield thanks to a Derek Hemstead own goal and an Alan A’Court strike. This was our sixth straight win from the start of the season as we went on to clinch the title.

A red stalwart moves on
1994 - Ronnie Whelan signed for Southend United, having been released by the reds at the end of the previous season. He had signed from Home Farm for £35,000 in September 1979 and played 493 reds games, netting 73 times and winning six League titles, one European Cup, two FA Cups, three League Cups and three FA Charity Shields. He turned out 35 times for the Shrimpers, netting once, and became Player/Manager the following summer. On the same day, Mark Walters joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan. He struck three times in eleven appearances for Wolves before returning to Anfield.

Michael walks free
2009 - Michael Shields was finally released with a royal pardon after four years behind bars for a crime he did not commit in Bulgaria in the aftermath of the Champions League Final in Istanbul.

A day of firsts and lasts
2000 - Christian Ziege made his reds bow as a substitute in our 3-2 defeat of Manchester City at Anfield. Jamie Carragher skippered the side for the first time, while Michael Owen netted in his hundredth League game. Mad Dutchman Erik Meijer made his 27th and final appearance for the reds, as Dietmar Hamann scored a very rare brace as City fought back from two goals down before Hamann’s late winner. Ex-World Player of the Year George Weah scored his only League goal for City, with Kevin Horlock converting a spot-kick.
1893 – Winger Patrick Gordon bagged the first of his eight reds goals as we beat Lincoln City 4-0 in a Second Division fixture at Anfield. Left-half James McBride netted a brace with Malcolm McVean also on target.

1944 - Cyril Done was on target in his fourth consecutive reds game as we drew 2-2 with Manchester City at Anfield in a Wartime League match, with Berry Nieuwenhuys also on the scoresheet.
1911 - We were held by the same score in L4, with Jack Parkinson reach a century of League goals for the club and Ronald Orr also on target. Tommy Kelso struck twice from the spot for the Sky Blues.

Debuting on the left
1912 - Left-half Joe Dines played his only reds game as we won 2-1 at Chelsea thanks to goals from Arthur Goddard and Tommy Gracie. He was killed on the Western Front in 1918.
1967 - We beat the Blues again, this time 3-1 at Anfield with Tommy Smith converting a penalty and Tony Hateley on the scoresheet twice. Keeper Tommy Lawrence played his 200th League game for the reds.
1933 - Left-back Jack Tennant made his reds bow as we went down 4-2 at Aston Villa, with Gordon Hodgson and Sam English on target. Eric Houghton struck two of his six goals past us for the home side, with Dai Astley bagging the first of his six and Alec Talbot also on target for the Villains.

Triple centurion
1905 – Tom Watson took charge of his 300th reds League game as Blackburn Rovers won 3-1 at Anfield. Play was halted after 25 minutes due to torrential rain. Jack Cox put us in front, but an Adam Bowman brace gave the visitors a half-time lead. Bill Davies struck late on.

Clem in charge
1978 – Ray Clemence skippered the reds in the absence of Emlyn Hughes as we won 3-0 at Birmingham City thanks to a brace from Graeme Souness and Alan Kennedy’s first reds strike, so apparently becoming the first red to captain the side from between the sticks. Garry Pendrey was sent off for the Blues after half an hour for a second bookable offence.

Birth and death
1913 - Keeper Alf Hobson was born in County Durham. He signed from Shildon Colliery in April 1936 and made 28 reds appearances either side of the Second World War, as well as playing 171 wartime games.
2011 – Centre-half Laurie Hughes died. He signed from Tranmere Rovers in February 1943 and made 326 reds appearances, netting just once. He helped us to the first post-war League title and the FA Cup Final three years later and was the first red to appear in the World Cup Finals later that year.

Derby despair
2006 - We lost 3-0 at Everton, our biggest derby defeat since September 1964, with Pepe Reina suffering a rare aberration. Tim Cahill opened the scoring with one of his five strikes past us before Andy Johnson added a brace.

Heysel shame
1987 - 24 people were charged with involuntary manslaughter relating to the Heysel tragedy and extradited to Belgium. Fourteen people were eventually convicted.

In comes Arnold
1970 - Midfielder Steve Arnold signed from Crewe Alexandra for £10,000, but only ever made one first-team appearance before moving to Rochdale in June 1973. His career never really took off, and he retired from the game aged 23.

International starts
1980 - Boro’s future reds pairing David Hodgson and Craig Johnston both made their debuts for England Under-21’s as they beat Norway 3-1 in a friendly at The Dell. On the same day, Steve Nicol and future red Glenn Hysén faced each other at the same level in a European Championships qualifier in Degerfors.
1987 - John Barnes and Peter Beardsley both won their first England caps as reds players in a 3-1 friendly defeat to West Germany in Dusseldorf. Digger was winning his 32nd cap overall, while Quasi won his sixteenth. Future reds coach Steve Clarke won his first cap for Scotland in their 2-0 friendly win over Hungary at Hampden Park, with Steve Nicol also featuring. Ronnie Whelan and future red Ray Houghton also both played that fay as the Republic of Ireland beat Luxembourg 2-1 in a European Championships qualifier in Dublin.
1986 – István Kozma made his senior debut for Hungary in their goalless friendly draw in Norway, with fellow future red Nigel Clough featuring for England Under-21’s in a 1-1 friendly draw in Sweden.
1997 – Forde Kippe made his bow for Norway Under-21’s as they beat Switzerland 4-1 in a European Championships qualifier in Drammen, with fellow future red Vegard Heggem also in action.

1992 - Future red Paul Ince made his senior England debut in a 1-0 friendly defeat in Spain. Mark Wright and future red Nigel Clough also played. On the same day, Ronnie Rosenthal netted while winning his first cap as a reds player, and 26th to date, as Israel drew 1-1 in a friendly  in Poland. Also in qualifying action that day were future reds Øyvind Leonhardsen and Jari Litmanen, while Gérard Houllier took charge of France’s 2-0 defeat in Bulgaria and Roy Hodgson led Switzerland to a 3-1 defeat of a Scotland side that included future red Gary McAllister in Bern.
2009 – Sotirios Kyrgiakos won his first cap as a red, and 51st to date for Greece, in their 1-1 World Cup qualifier in Moldova. On the same day, Andriy Voronin won his last cap while at Anfield in Ukraine’s goalless qualifier in Belarus.

2018 - Naby Keïta won his first cap as a reds player, skippering Guinea in their 1-0 defeat of the Central African Republic in an African Cup of Nations qualifier in Conakry. On the same day, ex-red Ryan Babel scored as the Netherlands lost a UEFA Nations League group game 2-1 in France, with Virgil van Dijk captaining a side that also included Gini Wijnaldum, who was reaching a half century of caps. Meanwhile, Curtis Jones played for England Under-18’s as they beat France 2-1 to win the Limoges Tournament and Tom Clayton debuted for Scotland Under-19’s as they lost a friendly 4-3 in Poland. Also in international action were Sadio Mané, Liam Millar, Ben Woodburn, future red Fábio Carvalho and ex-reds Joe Allen and Martin Škrtel, while Glen McAuley faced Morgan Boyes and Neco Williams as Wales Under-19’s beat Ireland 1-0 in a friendly in Longford as ex-Academy Manager Steve Cooper took charge of England Under-17’s.
2023 - Wataru Endō won his first cap as a reds player, captaining Japan as they beat Germany 4-1 in a friendly in Wolfsburg, while Jordan Henderson played for England for the first time since joining Al-Ettifaq as they drew 1-1 with the Ukraine in a European Championships qualifier in Poland. Also in international action that day were Trent Kone-Doherty and ex-red Emre Can, with Bernard Diomède taking charge of France Under-19’s.

Off!
2017 - Sadio Mané was sent off at Manchester City with the score at 1-0 as we eventually succumbed 5-0. Sergio Agüero opened the scoring with the most recent of his six goals past us to date before Mané saw red for a high challenge on keeper Ederson. Gabriel Jesus struck twice, either side of half time, with Leroy Sané adding a late brace. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made his reds bow as a half-time replacement for Mohamed Salah.

1997 - Skipper Michael Owen was dismissed in England Under-18’s goalless European Championships qualifier with FR Yugoslavia at Millmoor. On the same day, Jamie Carragher and Danny Murphy appeared for the Under-21’s, who beat Moldova 1-0 in a qualifier in Wycombe, with future red Alex Manninger playing for Austria in another qualifier.
2013 – Andre Wisdom skippered England Under-21’s as they drew 1-1 with Finland in a European Championships qualifier in Tampere, but was also sent off. Meanwhile, future red Alberto Moreno played for a Spain in another qualifier at this level, as they beat Albania 4-0 in Logroño.
2008 – Nikolay Mihaylov and future reds Joe Allen and Mario Balotelli all played in European Championships qualifiers at Under-21’s level.

Beating the Rams and Wolves
We have twice beaten both Derby County and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the top flight on this day in history.
1950 - Cyril Done grabbed the only goal of the game late on against Derby at Anfield.
1989 - Ian Rush and Peter Beardsley struck as we won 3-0 at the Baseball Ground, with John Barnes notching from the spot.

1963 - Roger Hunt bagged a brace with Jimmy Melia also on the scoresheet as we won 3-1 at Molineux with Ronnie Moran playing his 300th League game for the club.
1972 - Peter Cormack grabbed his first reds goal as we beat Wolves 4-2 at Anfield. Emlyn Hughes and Kevin Keegan also struck, with Tommy Smith converting a penalty. This was the first of 336 consecutive games that Ray Clemence played in, until March 1978. John Richards bagged the first of his five goals against the reds, with Steve Kindon also on target.

Quasi the Manc
1982 - Peter Beardsley signed for Manchester United from Vancouver Whitecaps for £300,000. He only made one appearance, in the League Cup, before returning to Canada six months later.

Mixed fortunes against the Wearsiders
1899 - We lost 2-0 at home to Sunderland in a First Division fixture.
1969 - Geoff Strong scored his 33rd and last goal for the club with Tommy Smith also n target as we won by the same score in a Tuesday night game at Anfield as Ron Yeats played his 400th game for the club,

Reds aiming for Spain
1981 - Terry McDermott, Phil Neal and Phil Thompson all played in England’s famous 2-1 World Cup qualifying defeat in Oslo, alongside ex-reds Ray Clemence and skipper Kevin Keegan. This was Clem’s first cap as a Tottenham Hotspur player. On the same day, Mark Lawrenson won his last cap as a Brighton & Hove Albion player in their 1-1 World Cup draw in the Netherlands. Future red Michael Robinson struck their goal, with Ronnie Whelan also featuring. Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen, future reds Glenn Hysén and John Wark, and ex-red Joey Jones all also played in qualifiers that day.

Reds on target for their countries
1992 - Ian Rush bagged a treble as Wales thumped the Faroe Islands 6-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Cardiff. Dean Saunders also netted, while winning his final cap as a reds player. On the same day, future red Karl-Heinz Riedle struck in Germany’s 2-1 friendly win in Denmark, for whom Torben Piechnik won his final cap while playing for F.C. København, in a game played to inaugurate the new Parken stadium in the Danish capital. Also that day, John Aldridge netted a hat-trick, including a penalty, in the Republic of Ireland’s 4-0 defeat of Latvia at Lansdowne Road in a World Cup qualifier. These were the first of his eight goals against them in four encounters. Ex-red Kevin Sheedy also scored, with Ronnie Whelan and ex-red Steve Staunton also playing. Ex-reds reserve Jim Magilton was on the scoresheet as Northern Ireland beat Albania 3-0 in another qualifier at Windsor Park.

2019 – Gini Wijnaldum netted as the Netherlands beat an Estonia side captained by Ragnar Klavan 4-0 in a European Championships qualifier in Tallinn who was winning his last cap as a Cagliari player, with ex-red Ryan Babel bagging a brace and Virgil van Dijk skippering the Dutch. Future red Dominik Szoboszlai bagged his first goal for his country as Hungary lost 2-1 to Slovakia in a qualifier in Budapest. Andy Robertson captained the Steve Clarke’s Scots as they lost 4-0 to Belgium at Hampden Park, while Rhys Williams debuted for England Under-19’s in their 1-0 friendly defeat in Germany. Also in international action that day were Rhian Brewster, Rafael Camacho, Ki-Jana Hoever, Curtis Jones, Dejan Lovren, Harry Wilson, future red Ibrahima Konaté and ex-reds Joe Allen, Emre Can, Péter Gulácsi and Danny Ward.

2009 – Steven Gerrard bagged a brace as England thumped Croatia 5-1 in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley, with Glen Johnson, future red James Milner and ex-red Emile Heskey also featuring. Ex-red Jari Litmanen netted as Finland drew a qualifier 1-1 in Liechtenstein, with fellow ex-red Sami Hyypiä skippering the side. Ex-red Milan Baroš struck four times as the Czech Republic thumped San Marino 7-0, while ex-red John Arne Riise scored as Norway beat FYR Macedonia 2-1. Future red Luis Suárez netted as Uruguay beat Colombia 3-1 in Montevideo. Also in World Cup action that day were Yossi Benayoun, Dirk Kuyt, Javier Mascherano, Martin Škrtel, Fernando Torres, future reds Milan Jovanović, Ragnar Klavan, Raul Meireles and Christian Poulsen, and ex-reds Nicolas Anelka, Craig Bellamy, Alou Diarra, Rigobert Song, with John Toshack taking charge of Wales.
2007 – Rigobert Song again represented his country, as did future reds keeper Alexander Doni.

On the move again
1997 - Ex-reserves midfielder Jim Magilton joined Sheffield Wednesday from Southampton for £1.6m. He only managed thirty senior appearances in two seasons at Hillsborough, scoring once, before moving to Ipswich Town in March 1999.
2005 - Former reserves defender Alan Navarro joined Accrington Stanley on a free transfer from Tranmere Rovers. He played three times in the Conference before moving on to Macclesfield Town.
2010 - John Toshack left as Manager of Wales by mutual consent, having been in charge since November 2004.
2016 – Ex-reds winger Toni Silva signed for Greek Super League side Levadiakos, netting six times in 34 games before moving on to Astra Giurgiu in Romania in July 2019.

International finales
2003 – Future red Charles Itandje won his sixth and final cap for France Under-21’s, playing alongside Alou Diarra and Florent Sinama-Pongolle in their goalless European Championships qualifier in Slovenia. Also in international action that day were Steve Finnan, Daniel Sjölund and future reds Glen Johnson, Paul Konchesky and Albert Riera.
2014 – Danny Ward won his sixth and last cap for Wales Under-21’s in their 1-1 draw with Lithuania in a European Championships qualifier in Alytus. Joe Allen, Philippe Coutinho, Dejan Lovren and future reds Emre Can, Danny Ings and Gini Wijnaldum were also in international action that day.
2021 - Luis Díaz scored his last goal as a Porto player as Colombia beat Chile 3-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Barranquilla.

Other reds games
1998 – Patrik Berger and Jamie Redknapp netted as we beat Coventry City 2-0 at Anfield.
1995 – We lost 1-0 to Wimbledon at Selhurst Park as Mick Harford struck the last of his seven goals against the reds, with Vinny Jones sent off late on.
1964 – We went down 2-0 at Leicester City.

1936 – Portsmouth held us to a goalless draw in L4.
1931 – We lost 4-1 at Middlesbrough. Bobby Bruce bagged two of his five goals past us, with Jack Jennings and Freddie Warren also on target for the home side. Dave Wright netted our goal.
1922 – We won 3-1 at Preston North End, with Walter Wadsworth, Dick Johnson and Harry Chambers all on the scoresheet.

Also in international action
2012 – Ex-red Carl Medjani played for Algeria as they won an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier 1-0 in Libya.