TV Saint’s in heaven
Dead at 82, telly star who made a dream team with Greavsie
AS ONE half of TV sports double act Saint and Greavsie, he was a regular – and unmissable – Saturday fixture.
Ian St John co-presented the hugely popular ITV football show with sidekick Jimmy Greaves for almost a decade, becoming a national treasure in the process.
Tributes poured in last night after the former Liverpool and Scotland striker died at the age of 82. He had struggled with a long illness, his family said.
St John struck up a natural partnership with Greaves, often playing straight man to the ex-England star’s ‘cheeky chappie’.
Saint and Greavsie, shown on Saturdays before the day’s games, was a spin-off from World of Sport. It ran from 1985 to 1992 and became known for its catchphrase ‘it’s a funny old game’.
Greaves, 81, led the tributes yesterday, saying: ‘I loved my time with The Saint making Saint and Greavsie. He was a lot of fun to be with and a great footballer. He will be sadly missed. I will never forget his laughter for all the years we worked together.’
St John announced he was battling cancer in 2014 and had surgery to remove his bladder and prostate gland.
In a statement yesterday, his family said: ‘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.’ St John started his career at his hometown club Motherwell before moving to Liverpool for a then club-record £37,500 fee in 1961 and winning two league titles.
He stayed for a decade and became a central part of the team under legendary manager Bill Shankly. He later played in South Africa, and for Coventry and Tranmere before retiring in 1973. He managed Motherwell and Portsmouth before moving into TV.
Saint and Greavsie became such a part of the TV landscape that the two presenters even had their own puppets in the satirical show Spitting Image. When Greaves was ill at Christmas 1990, his puppet was drafted in to appear next to St John on their show.
Liverpool FC said: ‘We are deeply saddened by the passing of a true Anfield legend.’
Former club vice-captain Jamie Carragher said St John was ‘one of the players... who made this club what it is today. I’ll remember him most on the best football show on TV, Saint and Greavsie’.
Liverpool’s current boss Jurgen Klopp paid tribute to ‘a true legend’. St John is survived by his wife, Betsy, and their children, Elaine and Ian.