25 November 1964 - Liverpool's Study In Scarlet

On 25 November 1964, Liverpool played for the first time in the all-red kit that has since become the club's trademark.

Founded in 1892, Liverpool initially adopted blue and white as their colors. But four years later, they exchanged those colors for a combination of red shirts and white shorts (usually paired with red socks). That scheme remained their home kit until 1964, when manager Bill Shankly proposed the idea of a more intimidating all-red uniform.

According to club legend, Ron Yeats was the first player to model the new colors for Shankly, who reportedly responded by saying "Jesus Christ, son. You look bloody massive. You'll scare them to death."

Liverpool first wore the new home colors in a second-round European Cup match against Anderlecht. And while it's not clear whether they played a psychological effect on the Belgians, Liverpool ran out 3-0 winners on the day with goals from Ian St. John (10'), Roger Hunt (43'), and Yeats (50'). They went on to win the second leg as well and eventually reached the semifinals before falling to Inter Milan.

The club switched to all-red for the start of the 1965-66 season and has worn those colors ever since.

24 March 1965 - The Curse Of The Coin Toss

On 24 March 1965, Liverpool and Köln, having already drawn 0-0 over two legs in the European Cup quarterfinals, played a rematch in Rotterdam. As with the 1957 World Cup qualifying rematch between Spain and Turkey, the European Cup tie came down to a coin toss.

In fact, the 1964-65 European Cup competition was rife with outcomes decided by the flip of a coin. Both Anderlecht and Dukla Prague needed one to advance out of the preliminary round after scoreless playoff matches against Bologna and Górnik Zabrze, respectively. In a bit of foreshadowing for Liverpool, both teams were eliminated in the next round - Dukla Prague by Real Madrid and Anderlecht by Liverpool themselves to set up the quarterfinal match-up against Köln.

The first two matches, played in Cologne on 10 February and in Liverpool on 17 March, ended as scoreless draws, requiring a replay at a neutral ground. The teams met in Rotterdam on 24 March and Liverpool jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from forwards Ian St. John (20) and Roger Hunt (37). Given the teams' inability to score in the first two legs, the lead was as improbable as it was seemingly insurmountable.

But the Germans were undaunted and wasted little time in pulling themselves level. One minute after Hunt's goal, striker Karl-Heinz Thielen cut Liverpool's lead in half, then, three minutes into the second half, his fellow striker Hannes Löhr netted the equalizer. That would be the last goal of the match, as the teams finished 2-2. To break the deadlock, the rules at the time called for a coin toss, which Liverpool won. Their reward was a semifinal meeting with Cup holders Inter, who eliminated the English side by an aggregate score of 3-4 on their way to their second consecutive European Cup trophy.

28 November 1964 - A Real Hat-Trick Hero

On 28 November 1964, 18-year old Ross County striker Tommy Ross scored three times in 90 seconds to record the world's fastest hat-trick.

Ross County were hosting Nairn County in a Scottish Highland League match when Ross got his record. And that wasn't his only hat-trick of the day; he put the ball in the net a total of seven times, with Jim Hosie adding the other as Ross County won 8-1.

Although Ross's hat-trick beat the previous record of two and a half minutes, set by Motherwell's Ian St. John against Hibernian, the club did not submit the achievement to the Guinness Book of World Records because they mistakenly believed that they needed two timekeepers to authenticate it and they had only one. The mistake was eventually corrected, however, and Ross now holds the official record.

Hat-tricks were not unusual for Ross, who had scored four of them in the team's previous eleven games of the season. And he got four more by May, carrying his total goal tally to 35 for the season.

25 November 1964 - Liverpool's Study In Scarlet

On 25 November 1964, Liverpool played for the first time in the all-red kit that has since become the club's trademark.

Founded in 1892, Liverpool initially adopted blue and white as their colors. But four years later, they exchanged those colors for a combination of red shirts and white shorts (usually paired with red socks). That scheme remained their home kit until 1964, when manager Bill Shankly proposed the idea of a more intimidating all-red uniform.

According to club legend, Ron Yeats was the first player to model the new colors for Shankly, who reportedly responded by saying "Jesus Christ, son. You look bloody massive. You'll scare them to death."

Liverpool first wore the new home colors in a second-round European Cup match against Anderlecht. And while it's not clear whether they played a psychological effect on the Belgians, Liverpool ran out 3-0 winners on the day with goals from Ian St. John (10'), Roger Hunt (43'), and Yeats (50'). They went on to win the second leg as well and eventually reached the semifinals before falling to Inter Milan.

The club switched to all-red for the start of the 1965-66 season and has worn those colors ever since.

24 March 1965 - The Curse Of The Coin Toss

On 24 March 1965, Liverpool and Köln, having already drawn 0-0 over two legs in the European Cup quarterfinals, played a rematch in Rotterdam. As with the 1957 World Cup qualifying rematch between Spain and Turkey, the European Cup tie came down to a coin toss.

In fact, the 1964-65 European Cup competition was rife with outcomes decided by the flip of a coin. Both Anderlecht and Dukla Prague needed one to advance out of the preliminary round after scoreless playoff matches against Bologna and Górnik Zabrze, respectively. In a bit of foreshadowing for Liverpool, both teams were eliminated in the next round - Dukla Prague by Real Madrid and Anderlecht by Liverpool themselves to set up the quarterfinal matchup against Köln.

The first two matches, played in Cologne on 10 February and in Liverpool on 17 March, ended as scoreless draws, requiring a replay at a neutral ground. The teams met in Rotterdam on 24 March and Liverpool jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from forwards Ian St. John (20) and Roger Hunt (37). Given the teams' inability to score in the first two legs, the lead was as improbable as it was seemingly insurmountable.

But the Germans were undaunted and wasted little time in pulling themselves level. One minute after Hunt's goal, striker Karl-Heinz Thielen cut Liverpool's lead in half, then, three minutes into the second half, his fellow striker Hannes Löhr netted the equalizer. That would be the last goal of the match, as the teams finished 2-2. To break the deadlock, the rules at the time called for a coin toss, which Liverpool won. Their reward was a semifinal meeting with Cup holders Inter, who eliminated the English side by an aggregate score of 3-4 on their way to their second consecutive European Cup trophy.