1895 Annual Picnic

Liverpool Football Club’s annual picnic in 1895 saw them return to the same venue as they had gone to the year before as they sought an immediate return to the 1st Division.

The club’s inaugural top flight season had ended in relegation but the squad was strengthened in the summer with the signings of forwards George Allan from Leith Athletic and Fred Geary (below),  who had been Everton’s leading scorer in their 1890-91 title winning season.

fred geary

With the season due to start on 7th September, the picnic took place two weeks before on Saturday 24th August. Billed as the annual picnic of the ‘committee, players and friends of the Liverpool Football Club’, the party of fifty gathered at the Sandon for a 2pm departure aboard a fleet of wagonettes. 

It was a glorious day and the journey to Ormskirk took about two hours, and on arrival committee members Mr Bailey and Mr Gibson began arranging the sports events. They consisted of a 120 yard sprint, half mile race, a dribbling contest as well as an event that saw who could kick a ball the furthest without bouncing.

Fred Geary showed his pace when he won the 120 yard sprint and he also finished second in the dribbling contest. The best kicker of the ball was left back Billy Dunlop, who managed to hit it sixty yards. John McCartney was the player with the most stamina, winning the half mile race.

After the events were completed, William Houlding distributed the prizes and told the players he hoped they could all pull together for he coming season. The players then ate what the Liverpool Mercury described as a ‘capital tea’ before boarding their wagonettes for the journey back to Anfield.