Ron Yeats, the first Liverpool captain to lift the FA Cup, has died at the age of 86, the club announced on Saturday.
The Aberdeen-born centre-back – who manager Bill Shankly famously invited journalists to “take a walk around him, he’s a colossus” at his unveiling at Anfield – had been living with Alzheimer’s disease in recent years.
Yeats was signed from Dundee United in July 1961 by Shankly and made 454 appearances over more than a decade at Anfield, scoring 16 goals.
Ron Yeats lifted the FA Cup as Liverpool captain in 1965
Following his switch to Liverpool aged 23, within six months Yeats had assumed the captaincy which he was to hold for 10 years.
His record 417-match run as Reds skipper was only broken by Steven Gerrard in the last decade.
After helping Liverpool out of the Second Division, Yeats won two Division One league titles and, significantly, lifted the Reds’ first FA Cup in 1965 – forgetting all etiquette to tell the Queen at the trophy presentation he was “knackered” after an energy-sapping final win over Leeds.
Having made 454 Liverpool appearances he left to be Tranmere’s player-manager for three years, followed by a brief spell in America in his late 30s before returning to Anfield in 1986 as chief scout, a role he held for two decades.
Yeats said his proudest achievement in that time was identifying Sami Hyypia, a centre-back and leader much like himself.
A statement from Liverpool on Saturday morning read: “The thoughts of everyone at LFC are with Ron’s wife, Ann, all of his family and his friends at this incredibly sad time.
“Flags across club sites will be lowered to half-mast today as a mark of respect.”
