Ian St John:  Striker  Nickname:  Date of Birth:  07.06.1938  Squad number:  With the Reds:  1961-1971  Height:   Weight:   Bought from:  Motherwell  Signed for LFC:  Ј37,500 - 02.05.1961  Debut:  19th August 1961 v Bristol Rovers (A) D2 win 2-0 (Aged 23)  Debut goal:  30.08.1961  1st team league games:  336  (2 as sub)  1st team league goals:  95  Total 1st team games:  425  (5 as sub)  Total 1st team goals:  118  Contract expiry:  25.08.1971  International caps:  21 (14 as Liverpool) Scotland  International goals: 9 (8 as Liverpool) Scotland  International debut:  06.05.1959 vs. West Germany  Characteristics:  Former clubs:  Motherwell Bridge Works, North Motherwell Athletic, Douglas Water Thistle (all amtateur), Motherwell, Hellenic FC (South Africa), Coventry City, Tranmere Rovers, Manager - Motherwell, Portsmouth  Birth Place: Motherwell, Scotland  Honours:  2 Division One Championship 63/64, 65/66, 1 Second Division Championship 61/62, 1 FA Cup 64/65, 2 Charity Shields 65 (shared), 66   Runners up:  1 European Cup Winners Cup 65-66  Personal Honours:  Fact:  St John scored the first Liverpool FA Cup winning goal when he scored the second against Leeds in extra-time in the 1965 Cup final  Website:

  Total LFC and other club games/goals

  A more detailed look at the player's appearances

  Career Milestones for Ian St John:

  Appearances in all competitions

   Goals in all competitions

  Update 16.05.2007

  Notes:

  The statistics of matches and goals at the top is included in the table by the conducted player of a reserve in a seasons 1970-71 not completely.

  Stats Note for Ian St John:

  425 <-> 426 games.

  His total is incorrectly stated as 419 starts + 5 sub apps in Complete record. It is simply a miscalculation in the book as 334 starts in the league + 6 in the League cup + 48 in European competitions + 30 in the FA cup adds up to 418 starts = 423 games. 2 games in the Charity Shield are not included in Complete record.

  SCOTLAND

  1961 v Czechoslovakia, Northern Ireland, Wales, Czechoslovakia; 1962 v England, Uruguay, Wales, Northern Ireland; 1963 v England, Norway, Republic of Ireland (sub), Spain, Northern Ireland; 1965 v England (14).




  Bought by Bill Shankly from Motherwell as the 1960-61 season drew to a close, Ian St. John would prove to be one of the most significant signings ever made by Liverpool Football Club. His contribution to the success that followed later in the decade was colossal. Despite his relative lack of height, Ian was a strong and tricky forward whose timing enabled him to outjump much taller defenders and either create chances for others or finish them off himself. Liverpool had been trying desperately to get out of the Second Division for six years, during which they had finished 3rd four times and 4th twice.

  St. John and the acquisition of Ron Yeats from Dundee United shortly before the 1961-62 season began would prove to be inspirational signings that helped an extremely settled side cruise to the Second Division title by 8 points from Leyton Orient. "The Saint" only missed two League games, scoring 18 times and developing a lethal understanding with Roger Hunt. Liverpool comfortably coped with First Division football, finishing 8th in their first year back in the top league and were unlucky to lose to Leicester City in the F.A. cup semi-final, for whom Gordon Banks performed heroics. But a year later all Bill Shankly's foresight and tactical shrewdness came to fruition. Liverpool won the First Division championship for the first time for 27 years and Ian contributed 21 goals, the highest total he achieved during any single season as a Liverpool player.

  A year later came his (and the club's) greatest moment. After over 70 years of trying, Liverpool finally got their hands on the F.A. cup and Ian's diving header towards the end of extra-time at Wembley flew past Leeds United's goalkeeper Gary Sprake and earned the Scotsman immortality on the red half of Merseyside for that one athletic moment. Ian would collect a second League championship medal a year later to add to his growing collection of Scottish caps but suffered the disappointment of extra-time defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Cup winners' cup final at Hampden Park. St. John hardly missed a game for the next three seasons but as the 60's closed, Shankly had the difficult task of leaving out some of the players who had served him so well for most of the decade. Now 31 years old, Ian became one of the 'casualties'. He was picked for the first 10 League fixtures of 1969-70 but only played in one of the last thirteen. It was clear that a wonderful Anfield career was drawing to its close.

  Ian made just a single (substitute) First Division appearance in 1970-71 but did come off the bench to strike a vital second goal in a home F.A. cup tie with Swansea on 23rd January 1971. It was the last of his 118 senior goals for Liverpool. He moved to Coventry in September of that year before returning to Merseyside to play briefly for Tranmere Rovers under the managership of his former colleague and skipper Ron Yeats. Ian had a brief but fairly unhappy spell himself as a manager (with Portsmouth) before becoming Sheffield Wednesday's coach for a year in the late 70's. But his knowledge of and passion for football, coupled with a friendly and confident personality, enabled him to break into the world of television and for several years he was a popular figure on ITV in tandem with his former international adversary Jimmy Greaves. Ian St. John played over 400 times for Liverpool's first-team and was without doubt one of the best buys the club ever made. At his peak he was one of the most inspired players in the country and contributed so much to Liverpool's domination of the domestic scene in the middle of the 1960's.

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