Ronald Yeats (born 15 November 1937) is a Scottish former

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

er. He was a key defender in the rejuvenation of

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

in the early 1960s. He then spent a decade at

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

captaining them to six trophies in the mid-1960s. He later had three years as player/manager at

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

. Yeats was also player/manager at Barrow and Santa Barbara Condors. He also made appearances for the Scotland national team.

Early years and Dundee United

Yeats was an Under-15 schoolboy international who played for Aberdeen Lads' Club, a

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

club in his home town of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

. In 1956, following a leg break, Yeats had a trial with

Elgin City Elgin City Football Club (also known as City or The Black and Whites) is a professional senior football club based in Elgin, Moray. Elgin was founded in 1893 and originally played their football in the Highland Football League. The club was g ...

, then a Highland League club, but was not offered a contract. In 1957 he was signed by

, then a part-time club of

Scottish Division Two The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...

. Previous to signing for the club, he worked in a slaughter house in Aberdeen. Yeats' career took an upward turn following

Jerry Kerr John 'Jerry' Kerr (1 June 1912 – 8 November 1999) was a Scottish football player and manager, best known as manager of Dundee United from 1959 to 1971. He is credited with taking the club from third bottom of the Scottish League to being an ...

's appointment: Kerr regarded Yeats as so vital to the fortunes of the team he sought his release to play each Saturday from the military authorities while Yeats served his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

. In 1959–60, Kerr's first full season in charge, St Johnstone finished as Division Two champions. United's challengers for the second promotion spot were

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...

and Queen of the South. Hamilton were beaten 5–1 at Tannadice with seven games to go before a crowd of over 11,000, putting Hamilton firmly in United's rear view. United went to

Palmerston Park Palmerston Park is a football stadium on Terregles Street in Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League One club Queen of the South, who have played there since 1919. South of Scotland League club He ...

to play the

Ivor Broadis Ivan Arthur "Ivor" Broadis (18 December 1922 – 12 April 2019) was an English professional footballer. During a career spanning nineteen years from 1942 to 1961, Broadis represented Carlisle United, Sunderland, Manchester City, Newcastle United ...

inspired Queen of the South with three games to go. United returned home with a 4–4 draw to maintain their one-point advantage over QoS. Promotion was clinched with a last game of the season 1–0 home win against Berwick Rangers before a crowd of near 17,000."Results for Dundee United for 1959-60" London Hearts
/ref> This brought top division football back to

Tannadice Park Tannadice Park ( gd, Pàirc Thanachais), usually referred to as Tannadice, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland. It is the home ground of Dundee United F.C., who have played at Tannadice since the club was founded as Dundee Hibernian in 1 ...

for the first time since they had been relegated in 1932. In the following 1960–61 season, United retained their top division place, finishing in ninth. Other players to flourish like Yeats were the forward pair

Dennis Gillespie Dennis Gillespie (1936–2001) was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Alloa Athletic, Dundee United, Dallas Tornado and Brechin City. He played for Jerry Kerr at Gillespie's first two clubs. He remains one of the Dundee United's ...

and Jim Irvine. Yeats played 118 matches (95 in the league) for Dundee United.

Liverpool

Yeats, a stockily-built 6 ft 2 in central defender, was bought by manager

Bill Shankly William Shankly (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was a Scottish football player and manager, who is best known for his time as manager of Liverpool. Shankly brought success to Liverpool, gaining promotion to the First Division and winnin ...

in 1961 from United for a fee of around £20,000 and was immediately installed as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. When Yeats was signed, Shankly was so impressed with the physical presence of his new player that he told waiting journalists ''"The man is a mountain, go into the dressing room and walk around him"''. Shankly later described Yeats' arrival, along with that of striker

Ian St John John "Ian" St John (; 7 June 1938 – 1 March 2021) was a Scottish professional football player, coach and broadcaster. St John played as a forward for Liverpool throughout most of the 1960s. Signed by Bill Shankly in 1961, St John was a key me ...

also in the 1961 close season, as the "turning point" as Liverpool began their quest to compete with — and beat — the best in England and in Europe. Yeats made his debut in a 2–0 league victory over

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

at Eastville on 19 August 1961. After Yeats' first season, Liverpool gained promotion from the Second Division with a runaway eight point margin over their nearest rivals (two points for a win) after eight seasons away from English football's top flight. His first goal came on 23 November 1963 in the 75th minute of the 1–0 First Division victory over

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wembl ...

. Yeats lived up to the reputation and the nickname ("The Colossus") his huge frame gave him, playing at the heart of Liverpool's defence for a decade and winning the club's first major honours in nearly 20 years. Liverpool were the

1963–64 Football League The 1963–64 season was the 65th completed season of The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the ...

Champions. The next season, they won the 1964–65 FA Cup beating

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

2–1 after extra time in the final at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

. This was the club's first ever win of that trophy. However Liverpool lost in the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

semi-final to

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...

that season. The next season Yeats skippered Liverpool to the

1965–66 Football League The 1965–66 season was the 67th completed season of the Football League. This season is notable for Liverpool winning the title – their seventh overall – with only 14 squad players. The Second, Third and Fourth Divisions were won by Manches ...

title. In Europe Liverpool reached the 1966 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final at

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

in Yeats native Scotland. However Liverpool lost out after extra time to

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...

. In the 1966–67 European Cup second round, Yeats and co were given a torrid time by a

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a p ...

inspired

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

who won 5–1 in Amsterdam and 7–3 on aggregate. The success of Liverpool then dried up, and he was one of the high-profile victims of a massive cull of the older players which Shankly ruthlessly undertook in 1970 in an effort to rebuild the side for a new decade. After 454 games, Yeats left in 1971. Yeats won both his full caps for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

during the three seasons when the Liverpool team of the 1960s were at their peak. The first came on 3 October 1964 in a 3–2 defeat to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixtu ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

. His second was a year later in December 1965 in a world cup qualification decider away to Italy. The Scots had beaten the Italians 1–0 at Hampden Park. However Jock Stein's side missing the absent

Denis Law Denis Law (born 24 February 1940) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchester City ...

went out when losing 3–0 in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

Tranmere Rovers

Yeats served

for three years as player manager.

Stalybridge and Barrow

Yeats had a short spell playing for

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921 Stalybridge Celtic ...

. He then served Barrow as player manager.

Career in America

In 1976 at age 38, he joined the

Los Angeles Skyhawks The Los Angeles Skyhawks was a professional soccer club based in Los Angeles, California, that was a member of the American Soccer League. Founded as part of the American Soccer League's expansion to the west coast in 1976, they were the first pro ...

of the American Soccer League at the request of Skyhawk coach

Ron Newman Ronald Vernon Newman (19 January 1934 – 27 August 2018) was an English professional association football player and coach. He was a member of the American National Soccer Hall of Fame. Life Born in Fareham, Newman, after non-league football ...

. In his only season there, he played sweeper and anchored the defence of the A.S.L. champion Skyhawks. In 1977, he became the player coach of the American Soccer League's Santa Barbara Condors expansion team.

Formby and Rhyl

Returning to Liverpool, he had a short spell at the start of the 1977–78 season playing for

Formby Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 22,419 at the 2011 Census. Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under "Fo ...

before moving to

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the historic boundaries of Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at the mouth of the River Clwyd ( Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd''). To the we ...

in November 1977.

Liverpool (scouting)

In 1986 Yeats returned to

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 ...

as the club's chief scout responsible for delegating duties to the club's talent spotters. He remained in that role until his retirement in May 2006.

Legacy

Yeats was voted 29th in the official Liverpool website poll '

100 Players Who Shook The Kop Liverpool Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, who currently play in the Premier League. They have played at their current home ground, Anfield, since their foundation in 1892. Liv ...

'. In April 2009, Yeats was made an 'Honorary

Scouser Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popula ...

' by the

Lord Mayor of Liverpool The office of Lord Mayor of Liverpool has existed in one form or another since the foundation of Liverpool as a borough by the Royal Charter of King John in 1207, simply being referred to as the Mayor of Liverpool. The position is now a most ...

. He is referenced in the Everton song "Royal Blue Mersey" in the line "We hate Bill Shankly and we hate St. John, but most of all we hate Big Ron."

Career statistics

Honours

Dundee United *

Scottish League Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...

promotion: 1959–60 Liverpool *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

: 1963–64, 1965–66 *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

: 1961–62 *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

: 1964–65 *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier L ...

: 1964,

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

Los Angeles Skyhawks * American Soccer League: 1975–76

References

External links

Thisisanfield.com Forgotten HeroesOfficial Liverpool Football Club past player profilePlayer profile at LFChistory.netExclusive interview at LFChistory.netAnother Exclusive interview at LFChistory.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yeats, Ron 1937 births Living people Footballers from Aberdeen Scottish footballers Scotland international footballers Dundee United F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Scottish football managers Tranmere Rovers F.C. managers Barrow A.F.C. managers Liverpool F.C. non-playing staff American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Los Angeles Skyhawks players Formby F.C. players Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Scottish expatriate footballers Scottish expatriate football managers Expatriate soccer players in the United States Rhyl F.C. players Association football central defenders Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Player-coaches American Soccer League (1933–1983) coaches Scottish Junior Football Association players FA Cup Final players