LONDON: Former Liverpool captain and Scotland defender Ron Yeats has died at the age of 86, the Premier League club said on Saturday.

Yeats joined Liverpool from Scottish side Dundee United in 1961 and went on to captain the Merseyside giants for eight seasons. Only Steven Gerrard has skippered the side for more matches.

Yeats won the Football League First Division twice with Liverpool and was their first FA Cup-winning captain when they lifted the trophy in 1965.

He died on Friday night, having suffered from Alzheimer’s disease recently, Liverpool said.

“Liverpool FC is mourning the passing of legendary former captain Ron Yeats,” read a club statement.

“In the words of Bill Shankly, a ‘colossus’ in club history. 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.”

Yeats was signed by Shankly, who invited journalists to “take a walk around him, he’s a colossus” at the 6ft 2in (1.87 metre) defender’s unveiling.

Yates took over as captain within six months and went on to make 454 appearances over more than a decade at Anfield.

His record 417-match run as Reds skipper was only broken by Steven Gerrard in the last decade.

He left to become Tranmere’s player-manager for three years, followed by a brief spell in the United States before returning to Anfield in 1986 as chief scout for two decades.

Yeats also won two caps for Scotland.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2024