Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
A deity in of Kop glory
King Kenny: St John was one of the players who put the Reds where they are today Klopp: I’m devastated... he was a true hero of the club
club record, and St John scored a hat-trick on his debut in the Liverpool Senior Cup final.
Everton won that game 4-3 but St John helped Liverpool to the Second Division title in 1962 and the Championship in 1964 and 1966.
A combative inside forward, Shankly said of St John: “Liked a scrap too. Jesus, did he like a scrap.”
St John formed an irresistible partnership with Roger Hunt and scored 118 goals in 425 appearances for the club.
He scored nine in 21 for Scotland. A temporary fallout with Shankly meant his time at Anfield did not end in pure harmony but he will always be remembered as one of the founding fathers of the club’s 20th century post-war success.
Of course, more recent generations will remember him from his television career, having formed the double act with Jimmy Greaves after managerial stints with Motherwell and Portsmouth did not quite work out.
His TV personality might have given him a place in popular culture but his place in Anfield folklore had long been secured by the events of May 1, 1965.
Gerry Byrne had broken his collarbone early in the FA Cup final but carried on, because there were no substitutes in those times, and set up Hunt for the opener early in extra time.
Billy Bremner equalised soon after but with three minutes left on the Wembley clock, in front of 100,000 people, Callaghan went on the outside of two tired Leeds defenders and St John’s dive did the rest.
The turnout for the parade in Liverpool was enormous and the local paper’s headline declared: “Ee-aye-adio, the Reds have won the cup.”
And for that, Ian St John will always be a Liverpool footballing deity.
BY
SIR KENNY DALGLISH led the tributes to true Liverpool “icon” Ian St John, saying he helped make the club what it is today.
St John died aged 82 and was a cornerstone of Bill Shankly’s first great Liverpool side, winning two Division One titles and the club’s first FA Cup in the mid-60s. “I think it’s right to use the word ‘icon’,” said Dalglish. “It’s because of what