How did You'll Never Walk Alone become the hymn of Liverpool F.C.?

The song "You'll Never Walk Alone" was written by Broadway composer Richard Rodgers for the 1945 musical Carousel. It's one of his best-known, most frequently performed songs. And it has become the anthem of Liverpool Football Club since they adopted it as their official hymn in 1963. How did this happen?

Bill Shankly

The answer lies in the story of Bill Shankly, who became manager of Liverpool F.C. in 1959 and transformed them from a struggling club playing at Anfield to one that won three English League titles, two FA Cups and three Charity Shields during his time there before he retired in 1974 with a record haul of trophies for any British team other than Manchester United or Arsenal FC. He is still revered on Merseyside to this day.
What drove Shankly's success? Was it money spent on the best players? No. Was it an outstanding youth academy? No. Was it luck, tactical innovation or psychological manipulation of his players' mindsets? No to all three. What drove Shankly's success was a deep commitment to his core principle: the strength of the group is better than the individual. He believed that if he could create a group of people who had faith in each other and didn't give up on each other no matter what, then they would become winners. 
How did You'll Never Walk Alone fit into this philosophy? Well, you've probably already guessed that it relates to perseverance, not letting go of your dreams even when things are darkest. "You'll Never Walk Alone" is all about keeping faith in yourself, your team and the power of togetherness when facing tough opposition. It was this message that Shankly wanted to get across to his players - to give them hope and encourage them through hard times. He told them they would never walk alone because he believed in their abilities and had a vision for how they would succeed as a team.
Some would say that it was luck that led Shankly to success. Still, one can only have so much luck in life like in playing live baccarat. Shankly did that with hard work, team spirit, and a will of iron.

A phenomenon on a huge scale

Shankly picked the song when he appeared on 1965's Desert Island Discs. According to the then player Tommy Smith, the manager was "in awe of what he heard." Soon after, the song was adopted by Liverpool's fans who sing it to this day whenever the Reds walk out onto the field. The performance became so famous in fact, that Pink Floyd, an English progressive rock band, had used a sample from the crowd singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" on their song Fearless from the album Meddle.
Other clubs like Celtic Glasgow also took a liking to the song and made it their hymn as well. Different clubs that had specific renditions of their fans performing the piece include Borussia Dortmund, Feyenoord, and even FC Tokyo. Seeing that the hymn reached as far as Japan is a testament to its uniqueness and the way it fits with football.

YNWA got even more prominent after the Hillsborough disaster. Its symbolic meaning was fitting as the 96 deaths were ruled as accidental, with relatives boycotting the verdict trying to prove that their family members were killed.