Bill Shankly famously invited journalists for a walk around “the Colossus” Ron Yates, whose physical presence was immense.
But as the rugged Scottish centre-back cemented his place in the club’s history after a decade as Liverpool captain, his influence extended far beyond his towering frame.
Yeats, who has died aged 86, disrespected the Queen by telling her he was “tired” after the Reds’ exhausting Wembley final win over Leeds in 1965 and won their first FA Cup.
He was Liverpool’s longest-serving captain (417 games), but was surpassed by Steven Gerrard, who won two league titles during his 10-year spell at the club.
Yates’ life experiences have shaped the kind of footballer he has become and it is no surprise that he has become a leader of the people at Anfield.
Born in Aberdeen in 1937, he lost everything when his childhood home was bombed during World War II.
He grew up with his two siblings and played football in bomb craters and dirt roads in his hometown, but he has much to thank for his Causeway End Primary School teacher, Mr Allan, who recognised his potential and put him on the school team.
After leaving school at the age of 15, he trained as a stonemason, but when his uncle’s company went bankrupt, he followed his father to the slaughterhouse, earning four pounds 15 shillings (about £4.75) a week, starting work at 3 a.m.
At the age of 17, he was called up to the Scotland Under-19s to play against England, Wales and Ireland, and soon after two representatives from Celtic contacted him and told him not to sign for another club until they had heard from him.
A few weeks later, hopes were dashed and when Dundee United offered him a contract, Aberdeen Lads’ Club received a transfer fee of £80 and Yeats received a £20 bonus. Yeats later learned that two Celtic scouts had been involved in a car accident, one dead and the other seriously injured.
He continued to live in Aberdeen, 70 miles from his new club, and would rise at 3am every Saturday to work in the abattoir, slaughtering up to a dozen animals before catching the 9.20am train to Dundee.
So Liverpool’s approach four years later came as a blessed relief, and Shankly worked his magic early on.
“Shankley made me feel like a million dollars,” Yates recalled.
“We were coming down the M6 with the vice-chairman, Sydney Riggs, who had a Rolls-Royce at the time, and Bill and I were in the back. I was only 23 and didn’t know what to say.
“Bill just turned around and said, ‘Ron, I want you to be the captain of the team. You’re going to be my eyes, my ears, my voice on the field.’ I thought to myself, ‘Fuck.’
“I did that for 10 years as Liverpool captain. It was the best 10 years of my career and life.”
As soon as he arrived at Anfield, Shankly told waiting reporters: “Look around my centre-half, everyone. He’s a giant!”
Known as Rowdy to the Kop, Yates was instrumental in taking the Reds out of the Second Division in his first season, before winning the First Division title two years later, before forming a formidable partnership with Tommy Smith.
“I was 6ft 2.5ins tall and weighed 14.5 stone so when I tackled someone he would feel it. I wasn’t dirty in the sense of being dirty. I would make sure I was there or close to it,” Yeats said.
“At that time we had big centre-forwards to deal with. I always knew that if there was a fight I would win. I would be second to no one.”
Yeats played with Smith for seven seasons and added, “We let the ball pass us by, but we never let the ball or the man pass us by.”
Remarkably, he only played twice for Scotland, and after 454 appearances for Liverpool, he spent three years as player-manager at Tranmere and a stint in the United States in his late 30s before returning to Anfield in 1986 to become chief scout, a role he held for 20 years.
He said his proudest achievement was bringing in Sami Hyypia, a centre-back and leader like himself.
Yates suffered from Alzheimer’s disease at an early age and felt football at the time contributed to the condition.
“The ball itself was incredibly heavy, especially when it was wet,” he said.
“Most of the time, when you look at it, you think of Jesus Christ! It’s almost impossible to imagine.”
He was a Shankly Colossus carved from Aberdeen granite, but unfortunately even Yeats met an opponent who could not stop his progress.
