For some football clubs, mascots can be the kind of thing that they base their existence around, coming up with a meaningful story about why the mascot exists and what it represents. For others, the mascot is little more than a bit of fun aimed at giving young supporters something to focus on around the matches. It is probably fair to say that Liverpool’s mascot, Mighty Red, fits into the latter category. That isn’t to damn him with faint praise, however, but more a reflection on Liverpool’s success. The question is, what is Mighty Red’s story?
The Origins of the Liver Bird
If you want to get a sense of where Mighty Red has come from, you’ve got to take a bit of deep dive into the history of the city of Liverpool itself. In 1207, King John founded the borough of Liverpool thanks to a Royal Charter, with King Henry III granting a second charter 22 years later. The second one allowed for the right to use a common seal, with Liverpool’s ancient seal that dates from the time seems to depict a common bird with a plant in its beak. It is likely that the intention was for the bird to be an eagle, which was John the Evangelist’s symbol.
By the time the 17th century came around, the bird’s original identity had been forgotten and many thought that it was a cormorant, which was a common bird in the area. When the Mayor of Liverpool, Clayton Tarleton, wrote to the College of Arms asking for an official grant of arms in 1796 he asked for a ‘lever or a sea cormorant’ to be included, with the grand coming the following year, at which the time the bird was described only as a ‘cormorant’. It was from the cormorant that the Liver Bird gradually emerged, becoming the symbol of the city.
When St John’s Market opened in 1822, the building featured a stone carving of a Liver Bird, which remained there until 1964 when the market was demolished. In 1911, the Liver Building was erected as the headquarters for the Royal Liver Assurance company, with two metal cormorant-like birds sitting atop the structure. It is from that moment that the idea of the Liver Bird being some sort of mythical creature dates back to, with legend saying that the female bird is looking to see to ensure the safe return of the sailors, whilst the male looks in-land to make sure the pubs are still open.
Creating Mighty Red
With the Liver Bird firmly established as one of the city of Liverpool’s most important symbols, it didn’t take long before one started to appear on Liverpool’s kits. It became so integral to the image of the football club that in 2008 the Reds attempted to register the Liver Bird as their own trademark, which led to a huge degree of upset in the city. The club said that it was to protect itself from counterfeit merchandise, eventually reaching an agreement with the City Council and receiving a trademark for the club-specific Liver Bird.
By the time 2012 came around, a few years after Fenway Sports Group had bought the club, Liverpool were one of only a few top-flight clubs that didn’t have an official mascot. The American owners realised the importance of having a mascot that could appeal to young people, so a decision was taken that year to introduce an official mascot. It was all part of a wider scheme to enhance the match day experience of younger supporters, leading to Mighty Red soon appearing at Anfield prior to matches kicking off.
A Symbol for Young People
It is fair to say that Mighty Red didn’t go down well with everyone. In the September of 2014, John Gibbons wrote a piece for the Liverpool fan-media site The Anfield Wrap entitled, “Mighty Red – Why He’s Not For Us”. In it he makes the point that such mascots are very much an American thing, which Liverpool didn’t need to offer a connection between the players and the supporters. After all, John hadn’t needed one when he’d gone to Anfield and fallen in love with the Reds as an eight-year-old in 1990.
Gibbons broke his argument down into three sections, with the first saying that ‘It’s all too nice’, wanting Liverpool to be the ‘least nice football club in the country’. The second, which remains a view shared by many, is that ‘It’s just not Liverpool’, with the club needing to be a product of the city it is based in and Scousers very much not being up for some bloke wearing a suit pretending to be a big red bird. His final point was that ‘It’s not actually doing anything for kids’, espousing the idea that the club should focus on making more tickets available instead.
Kids Love Mighty Red
Whether Gibbons would hold the same opinion a decade later is likely to be a matter for some debate. The truth, though, is that children do seem to love the giant red bird. By the time Mighty Red celebrated his tenth birthday in 2022, he had made more than 20,000 appearances in 19 different countries. That included engaging with more than a million children, working alongside Liverpool’s Foundation in order to meet young people and contribute to numerous different communities around the globe, boasting half a million social media followers.
A photo of a mascot whose team is top of the league 😁#LFC pic.twitter.com/Kj1dK4j8AN
— Mighty Red (@MightyRed_LFC) February 26, 2025
Part of the appeal is that Mighty Red is an inclusive character, becoming the first Premier League mascot to be awarded Makaton Friendly status. He has worked hard to attend matches, visit hospitals and be a ‘brilliant ambassador’ for the club’s younger supporters. Whilst Mighty Red might have made some supporters mighty annoyed at the time he hit the Anfield turf, the reality is that he was never supposed to appeal to adults but has repeatedly done well to engage more and more youngsters when it comes to making them Liverpool fans of the future.