BEVERLY HILLS, March 02, (THEWILL) – Former top striker and Scotland forward Ian St John has died at the age of 82.
St John featured prominently in the great Liverpool team assembled in the 1960s by Bill Shankly. It was that team that climbed from the second division to clinch two English league titles and an FA Cup in 1965, wherein St John scored the winning goal in the final.
As a whole, the striker earned 21 international caps for Scotland, finding the net nine times in a productive international career.
His family released a statement that said, in part: “It is with a heavy heart that we have to inform you that after a long illness we have lost a husband, father and grandfather.
“He passed away peacefully with his family at his bedside. We would like to thank all the staff at Arrowe Park Hospital for their hard work and dedication during these very difficult times.
“The family would be grateful for privacy at this extremely sad time.”
St John was a regular in Scotland with the club he supported as a boy, Motherwell, where he made a name for himself with his 80 goals in 113 league games for the Steelmen. It was bound to attract attention and with it came international recognition.
Liverpool won the race to sign St John, and parted with a club record fee of £37,500 in June 1961 for the services of a player, who brought the club great acclaim. St John would go on to give them a decade of service and score 118 goals in 424 appearances for the club, in one of the most prolific spells of his storied active years as a player.
It was such that Shankly himself went as far as admitting that the signing of St John, and Ron Yeats later that summer was pivotal to the great fortunes of the club: “The turning point and the beginning of the whole affair was the signing of Ian St John and Ron Yeats.”
After eight seasons of greatness at Anfield, St John left the club in August 1971. He featured briefly for Hellenic in Cape Town, South Africa and Coventry City before retiring in 1973 from active football.
He had some managerial experience coaching Motherwell and Portsmouth and then became well known as a pundit alongside another former player, Jimmy Greaves, on the hugely popular Saturday football television show Saint and Greavsie from 1985 to 1992.
Of his passing, another legend of Liverpool, midfielder and current Rangers manager Steven Gerrard said: “Ian St John is an iconic figure at Liverpool. I’m devastated to hear this news and would like to send my condolences to all of his family.”
Ex-Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher wrote on Twitter: “RIP Ian St John. Another Liverpool Legend sadly passes away. One of the players along with Bill Shankly who made this club what it is today. I’ll remember him most on the best football show on tv, The Saint & Greavsie.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
