By Cheta Enyoghasi
Liverpool’s legendary former captain, Ron Yeats, has passed away at the age of 86.
Yeats joined the club in 1961 and was immediately made captain by Bill Shankly. He helped the club win the Second Division title in 1962, two Football League titles, their first FA Cup, and three Charity Shields.
He earned two Scotland caps and played 454 games for Liverpool, more than 400 of those appearances as captain.
After leaving Liverpool, Yeats took over as Tranmere’s player-manager for three years, followed by a brief spell in the United States in his late 30s.
Yeats returned to Anfield in 1986 as the club’s chief scout, a role he remained in until 2006.
In 2009, Yeats was named an “honorary Scouser” by the lord mayor of Liverpool. Former Reds defender Phil Thompson and Jamie Carragher paid tribute to him, and aslo hailed him as a pioneer of the club and a giant of a man.
The chairman of Tranmere, Mark Palios, who started his playing career with the Merseyside club under Yeats, stated: “Ron was the guy who signed me as a professional and gave me my start.”
In addition, he had a significant influence on the careers of several others, including Steve Coppell, Dickie Johnson, Ronnie Moore, and Bobby Tynan.
