Ron Yeats

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For those of a similar name, see Ronald Yates (disambiguation).

Ron Yeats
Yeats in 2007
Personal information
Full name Ronald Yeats[1]
Date of birth (1937-11-15) 15 November 1937 (age 86)
Place of birth Aberdeen, Scotland
Position(s)
Centre half
Youth career
1955–1957 Aberdeen Lads' Club
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1957–1961 Dundee United 96 (1)
1961–1971 Liverpool 358 (13)
1971–1974 Tranmere Rovers 97 (5)
1975 Stalybridge Celtic
1975–1977 Barrow
1976 → Los Angeles Skyhawks (loan)
1977 Santa Barbara Condors
1977 Formby 10 (0)
1977–1978 Rhyl
International career
1964[2] SFA trial v SFL 1 (0)
1964–1966 Scotland 2 (0)
Managerial career
1971–1974 Tranmere Rovers
1975–1977 Barrow
1977 Santa Barbara Condors
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

player/manager at Tranmere Rovers. 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

Scottish Division Two
. Previous to signing for the club, he worked in a slaughter house in Aberdeen.

Yeats's career took an upward turn following

Berwick Rangers before a crowd of near 17,000.[3] This brought top division football back to Tannadice Park for the first time since they had been relegated in 1932.[4]

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 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

Old Trafford. 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.[6]

Liverpool were the

Inter Milan that season.[5]

The next season Yeats skippered Liverpool to the

1966 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final at Hampden Park in Yeats native Scotland. However Liverpool lost out after extra time to Borussia Dortmund.[5]

In the 1966–67 European Cup second round, Yeats and co were given a torrid time by a Johan Cruyff inspired Ajax who won 5–1 in Amsterdam and 7–3 on aggregate.[7]

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 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 at Ninian Park Cardiff. 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 went out when losing 3–0 in Naples.[8]

Tranmere Rovers

Yeats served Tranmere Rovers for three years as player manager.[9]

Stalybridge and Barrow

Yeats had a short spell playing for

Stalybridge Celtic.[10]
He then served Barrow as player manager.

Career in America

In 1976 at age 38, he joined the

Ron Newman
. 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 before moving to Rhyl in November 1977.

Liverpool (scouting)

In 1986 Yeats returned to Anfield 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
'.

In April 2009, Yeats was made an 'Honorary

Scouser' by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool.[11]

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."

Personal life

In January 2024, it was announced that Yeats is living with Alzheimer's disease.[12]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Others Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Dundee United 1957–58
Scottish Division Two
 15 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 0
1958–59 Scottish Division Two 19 0 4 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 26 0
1959–60 Scottish Division Two 33 1 2 0 5 0 – 0 0 40 1
1960–61
Scottish Division One
 28 0 1 0 6 0 – 0 0 35 0
Total 95 1 9 0 14 0 0 0 0 0 118 1
Liverpool 1961–62 Second Division 41 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 46 0
1962–63 First Division 38 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 44 0
1963–64 First Division 36 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 41 1
1964–65 First Division 35 0 8 0 0 0 9 1 1 0 53 1
1965–66 First Division 42 2 1 0 0 0 9 0 1 0 53 2
1966–67 First Division 40 2 4 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 50 2
1967–68 First Division 38 2 9 0 2 0 6 1 0 0 55 3
1968–69 First Division 39 2 4 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 48 2
1969–70 First Division 37 3 6 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 48 3
1970–71 First Division 12 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 16 1
Total 358 13 50 0 7 0 36 2 3 0 454 15
Tranmere Rovers 1971–72 Third Division 19 2 4 0 0 0 – 0 0 23 2
1972–73 Third Division 42 1 2 0 1 0 – 0 0 45 1
1973–74 Third Division 36 2 2 0 4 0 – 0 0 42 2
Total 97 5 8 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 110 5
Formby 1977–78 10 0 3 0 0 0 – 2 0 15 0
Career total 560 19 70 0 26 0 36 2 5 0 697 21

Honours

Dundee United

Liverpool

L.A. Skyhawks

References

  1. ^ "Ron Yeats". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  2. ISBN 9781785312458
    .
  3. ^ "Results for Dundee United for 1959-60" London Hearts
  4. ^ "Jerry Kerr – the Dundee United dreamer deserves to be honoured". scotsman.com. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Reuben Bennett". qosfc.com. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  6. ^ "Beginning a football revolution". BBC News. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  7. ^ "Forgotten Heroes: Ron Yeats". 18 April 2003. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Scottish Football Association". scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Ron Yeats on Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database profile". Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  10. ^ "Ron Yeats » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  11. ^ Waddington, Marc (3 April 2009). "Liverpool's footballing legends among first round of Honorary Scousers". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  12. ^ "Forever Reds supports LFC legend Ron Yeats following Alzheimer's diagnosis". Liverpool FC. 5 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Kicking Back: L.A. Skyhawks - Champions, 1976". Protagonist Soccer. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.

External links

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