Yahoo Finance Ian St John: Jimmy Greaves pays tribute to ‘a lovely man and great footballer’
The Greaves family have paid tribute to Ian St John after the Liverpool legend’s death at the age of 82.
In addition to being an Anfield icon after scoring 118 goals in 425 appearances to help the Reds turn into a force in the 1960s under Bill Shankly, former Scotland striker St John - who also spent time as a manager at Motherwell and Portsmouth - is also fondly remembered for a successful punditry career.
The highlight of that was undoubtedly the hugely popular ‘Saint and Greavsie’ programme, which starred St John and co-host - the former Tottenham, Chelsea and England forward - Jimmy Greaves, running for seven years on ITV from 1985-92.
“We are very sad to hear the Saint has passed away,” tweeted the family of Greaves, who has been in poor health since suffering a stroke in 2015.
“Ian St John and I had great fun working on the Saint and Greavsie. He was a lovely man & will be sadly missed by many many people. We must also remember he was a great footballer for Bill Shankly’s Liverpool and beyond. #IanStJohn.”
Liverpool favourites past and present have been paying their respects to St John, who is an important figure in the club’s successful history.
Fellow Anfield hero Sir Kenny Dalglish believes the Reds simply would not be where they are today without his influence.
We are very sad to hear the Saint has passed away Ian St John and I had great fun working on the Saint and Greavsie He was a lovely man & will be sadly missed by many many people. we must also remember he was a great footballer for Bill Shankly's Liverpool and beyond. #IanStJohn pic.twitter.com/pJHQVnxjpW
— Jimmy Greaves (@jimmy_greaves) March 2, 2021
“I think it’s right to use the word 'icon' and I send my prayers to Betsy, his wife, and the family and I just hope they are coping as well as they possibly can,” Dalglish told Liverpool’s official website.
“He certainly was, and deservedly so, an iconic figure in and around Liverpool Football Club because he came in at the very beginning with Shanks and big Yatesey [Ron Yeats].
“He got off to a terrible start by scoring a hat-trick against Everton at Goodison in the Liverpool Senior Cup, so I think after he did that he was always going to be revered in and around Liverpool.
“It’s because of what he did in those early days, Shanks especially, the Saint and Big Yatesey, his big mucker, and it’s because of them where this football club is at this particular moment in time. We should be eternally grateful for what he did for the football club.”
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Ian St John: Liverpool legend and ‘Saint and Greavsie’ host dies aged 82 after long illness
