Opened in 1884, Anfield was originally owned by John Orrell, a brewer and friend of John Houlding; the leaseholder of Anfield. Everton, who had recently been banned from playing in Stanley Park, were in need of a new venue to play at and Orrell let the land to the club for a small fee. The first game played at Anfield was between Everton and Earlstown on September 28, 1884, which Everton won 5–0. During Everton's tenure at the stadium, a small stand was erected for some of the 8,000 spectators regularly attending games. Anfield's first league match was played on September 8, 1888, between Everton and, Lancashsire team, Accrington Stanley FC. Everton quickly improved as a team and three years later in the 1890–1891 football season they became Anfield's first league champions. However, this success was not without its drawbacks. Following the league win, Houlding purchased the ground outright from Orrell in 1891, and proposed increasing the rent from £100 to £250 per year. Everton refused to meet his demands, and moved to Goodison Park. Houlding was left with an empty stadium, and decided to form a new club to occupy it. The team was called Liverpool Association Football Club, and their first match at Anfield was played on September 1, 1892, against Rotherham Town, which they won 7–0.

Liverpool's first league match at Anfield was played on September 9, 1893, against Lincoln City, with Liverpool winning 4–0 in front of 5,000 spectators. A new stand was constructed in 1895, capable of seating 3,000 spectators, and was built on the site of the present Main Stand. The stand had a distinctive red and white gable, and was similar to the main stand at Newcastle United's ground St.James's Park. Another stand was constructed at the Anfield Road end in 1903, built from timber and corrugated iron. After Liverpool had won their second League Championship in 1906, a new stand was built along the Walton Breck Road. Local journalist  Ernest Edwards, who was the sports editor of local newspapers the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo, christened it the Spion Kop. It was named after a famous hill in South Africa where a local regiment had suffered heavy losses during the Boer War in 1900. More than 300 men had died, many of them from Liverpool, as the British army attempted to capture the strategic hilltop. Around the same period a stand was also built along Kemlyn Road.

The ground remained much the same until 1928 when the Kop was redesigned and extended to seat 30,000 spectators, with a roof erected as well. Many stadiums in England had stands named after the Spion Kop, however Anfield's was the largest Kop in the country at the time. It was able to hold more supporters than some entire football grounds. The topmast of the SS Great Eastern, one of the first iron ships, was rescued from the ship breaking yard at nearby Rock Ferry, and was hauled up the Everton Valley by a team of horses to be erected alongside the new Kop where it still stands today, serving as a flag pole.