Ian St. John
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John "Ian" St John (; 7 June 1938 – 1 March 2021) was a Scottish professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player, coach and broadcaster. St John played as a
forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...
for
Liverpool 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 popul ...
throughout most of the 1960s. Signed by
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, St John was a key member of the Liverpool team that emerged from the second tier of English football to win two league titles and one
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 competi ...
—in which he scored the winner in the 1965 final—to cement a position as one of the country's top sides. He played 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 the ...
21 times, scoring nine goals. He later became a
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
– including at his hometown team
Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...
where he had begun his playing career – and a media pundit. He co-presented the topical football show '' Saint and Greavsie'' with Jimmy Greaves from 1985 to 1992. In 2008, he was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.


Career


Motherwell

St John was one of six children. Their father, Alex, a steelworker, died when Ian was six years old. Ian also showed talent for
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
as a boy, but his mother discouraged it. Having played football for youth sides and
works team A works team (sometimes factory team, company team) is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business. Sometimes, works teams contain or are entirely made up of employees of the supporting company. Association footb ...
s as a teenager while working in local industry, including at the Colville steelworks, St John began his career at boyhood favourites
Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...
, signing as a professional in 1957 after a spell with affiliated junior team Douglas Water Thistle as a provisional signing; he continued a part-time engineering apprenticeship (work which he admitted he disliked and actively avoided as much as possible) for a further two years. He was managed by
Bobby Ancell Robert Francis Dudgeon Ancell (16 June 1911 – 5 July 1987) was a Scottish football player and manager. He played as a left back for St Mirren, Newcastle United, Dundee and Aberdeen. He won two full caps with the Scotland national footbal ...
, and was part of a group of talented young players (also including
Andy Weir Andrew Taylor Weir (born June 16, 1972) is an American novelist and former computer programmer. His 2011 novel '' The Martian'' was adapted into the 2015 film of the same name directed by Ridley Scott. He received the John W. Campbell Award for ...
, Willie Hunter, Pat Quinn and
Sammy Reid Sammy is a nickname, frequently for people named Samuel, and also an English spelling of the Arabic name Sami. People Music *Sammy Adams (born 1987), American rapper and songwriter *Sammy Cahn (1913-1993), American songwriter *Sammy Davis Jr. (1 ...
) that were nicknamed the "Ancell Babes". His debut was against
Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...
side Queen of the South in an away fixture at Palmerston Park. St John scored a
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
for Motherwell in two minutes and 30 seconds against Hibernian in 1959, one of the fastest recorded in Scottish football history. He left Motherwell in 1961, having scored 105 goals in 144 appearances for the club in the three major Scottish domestic competitions.


Liverpool

On 2 May 1961 he was transferred to
Liverpool 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 popul ...
for a transfer fee of £37,500, () setting a new club record. He was brought to the club 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 ...
, who was preparing for the 1961–62 season with the club still in the Second Division. Many years later, after Shankly's retirement as manager, he described St John's arrival at the club – along with that of
Ron Yeats Ronald Yeats (born 15 November 1937) is a Scottish former association footballer. He was a key defender in the rejuvenation of Dundee United in the early 1960s. He then spent a decade at Liverpool captaining them to six trophies in the mid-1960 ...
during the same summer – as the "turning point" for the club as they began their transformation into one of Europe's top footballing sides. St John made his debut for Liverpool in the Merseyside derby against Everton in the Liverpool Senior Cup. Although Liverpool lost 4–3, he announced his arrival in spectacular style by scoring all three of his side's goals. He scored a total of 18 goals in his first season for Liverpool, and played in all but two matches. His official debut came in a 2–0 league victory against Bristol Rovers at the
Eastville Stadium Eastville Stadium, also known as Bristol Stadium and Bristol Stadium – Eastville, was a stadium in Eastville, a northern suburb of the English city of Bristol. Constructed in 1897, it was the home of Bristol Rovers F.C., the Bristol Bulldog ...
on 19 August 1961, and his first official goals came 11 days later when he scored twice in a 4–1 win over
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
at Roker Park. His strike partner Roger Hunt got the other two goals. Along with
Ron Yeats Ronald Yeats (born 15 November 1937) is a Scottish former association footballer. He was a key defender in the rejuvenation of Dundee United in the early 1960s. He then spent a decade at Liverpool captaining them to six trophies in the mid-1960 ...
, St John was brought in to turn around Liverpool's luck as they had been stuck in the Second Division for seven years, narrowly missing out on promotion in six of those seasons. The purchases paid dividends as Liverpool comfortably won the Second Division title by eight points over nearest challengers Leyton Orient. St John played 40 times that season and scored 18 goals. They finished in a respectable 8th place in their first season back in the top flight, 1962–63, and also reached the FA Cup semi-finals. Liverpool then produced a surprise by winning the league championship in 1963–64, overturning a 17-point deficit to win the title by four points 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 City of Salford, Salford to ...
and five over reigning champions Everton, St John played a major role in the title success by scoring 21 goals, which was his highest total in a season for the club. His most important goal for Liverpool came a year later, a diving header past Leeds goalkeeper Gary Sprake in extra time of the
1965 FA Cup Final The 1965 FA Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool and Leeds United on 1 May 1965 at Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the 1964–65 FA Cup, the 93rd season of England's primary cup competition, the Footb ...
. This goal won the FA Cup for Liverpool, the first time in the club's history that it had won the trophy. Another league championship followed in the 1965–66 season, as Liverpool finished six points clear of Leeds. St John chipped in with 10 goals from 41 outings. Liverpool also reached their first
European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
final, as
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 footb ...
beat them 2–1 in the
1966 European Cup Winners' Cup Final The 1966 European Cup Winners' Cup Final was an association football match between Borussia Dortmund of West Germany and Liverpool of England played on 5 May 1966 at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland. It was the final match of the 1965–66 seas ...
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 ...
. Like the vast majority of
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 ...
's first great team, St John was at his peak during the mid-1960s. He continued to play regularly during the later 1960s, mainly playing in a deeper position. As he entered his thirties his form and fitness began to dip, and he was eventually dropped from the team by Shankly. St John was a
reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...
player in 1970–71, and he left Liverpool on 25 August 1971, after playing 425 games and scoring 118 goals for the club.


Coventry City and Tranmere Rovers

St John played for South African club Hellenic during the middle of 1971. After his return to England in August 1971, he was transferred to
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
. After a short spell with Tranmere Rovers, then managed by
Ron Yeats Ronald Yeats (born 15 November 1937) is a Scottish former association footballer. He was a key defender in the rejuvenation of Dundee United in the early 1960s. He then spent a decade at Liverpool captaining them to six trophies in the mid-1960 ...
, he retired from playing football in 1973.


International career

St John was selected to play 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 the ...
21 times, making his debut in a 3–2 friendly victory against
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
at Hampden Park on 6 May 1959. The first of his 9 international goals came a year later, again at Hampden, but this time in a 3–2 friendly defeat at the hands of
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
on 4 May 1960. He scored twice in a
1962 FIFA World Cup qualification A total of 56 teams entered the 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Chile, as the hosts, and Brazil, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for com ...
playoff match against
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
in November 1961, but Scotland lost 4–2 after extra time and did not qualify for the World Cup finals.


After playing

After retiring from playing, St John managed both his former club
Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...
(1973–1974) and
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
(1974–1977, assisted by former Motherwell teammate Willie Hunter). He also served as assistant manager at
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
and
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
. As Motherwell manager, St John sold goalkeeper
Keith MacRae Keith Alexander MacRae (born 5 February 1951) is a Scottish footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for Motherwell, Manchester City, Philadelphia Fury and Portland Timbers. He represented the Scottish League The Scottish Football League (S ...
and gave a debut to young forward
Willie Pettigrew William Haddow Pettigrew (born 2 October 1953) is a Scottish former footballer, who played as a striker for Motherwell, Dundee United, Hearts, Morton and Hamilton Academical. Pettigrew also represented Scotland and the Scottish League XI. Cl ...
. Motherwell finished ninth in the 1973–74 season, his only term in charge. After leaving Sheffield Wednesday in 1979, St John became a football pundit. He struck up a successful TV partnership with fellow ex-footballer Jimmy Greaves, with their '' Saint and Greavsie'' programme running from 1985 until 1992. He also set up several football academies for the coaching of younger players called the Ian St John Soccer Camps. Liverpool twice ran a fan poll of their favourite Liverpool players, "
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 ...
"; St John finished 21st in 2006 and 33rd in 2013.


Illness and death

In June 2014, St John announced that he had undergone surgery for
bladder cancer Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become mali ...
in April of that year, removing his bladder and
prostate gland The prostate is both an accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found only in some mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemically, and physio ...
. He died on 1 March 2021 at
Arrowe Park Hospital Arrowe Park Hospital is a large, acute hospital, located on a 15-acre (6.1 ha) section of Arrowe Park, close to the village of Upton, Wirral, Merseyside. It is one of three hospitals managed by Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation ...
after a long illness, aged 82.


International career statistics

:''Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each St John goal''.


Honours

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 ti ...
: 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 competi ...
: 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 Le ...
:
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
,
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 Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
,
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 i ...
* European Cup Winners' Cup: runner-up 1965–66 Individual * Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductee: 2008


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:St John, Ian 1938 births 2021 deaths Scottish footballers Liverpool F.C. players Hellenic F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Scottish football managers Portsmouth F.C. managers Motherwell F.C. managers Scotland international footballers Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees Cape Town City F.C. (NFL) players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Scottish Football League representative players Scottish Football League managers Scotland under-23 international footballers Scottish expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in South Africa Association football forwards Scottish association football commentators ITV people English Football League managers Footballers from Motherwell FA Cup Final players Douglas Water Thistle F.C. players National Football League (South Africa) players