Ian St John

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 as a boy, but his mother discouraged it. 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, and was part of a group of talented young players (also including Andy Weir, Willie Hunter, Pat Quinn and Sammy Reid) that were nicknamed the "Ancell Babes". His debut was against Dumfries side Queen of the South in an away fixture at Palmerston Park. St John scored a hat-trick 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 team, including Ian St John, before their 1966–67 European Cup first-round, second-leg match. alt=Black and white photo of a football team in kit, with a black sky in the background. Five players are crouched down, and six are standing.

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. and his first official goals came 11 days later when he scored twice in a 4–1 win over Sunderland at Roker Park. His strike partner Roger Hunt got the other two goals.

Along with Ron Yeats, 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.

Like the vast majority of Bill Shankly'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. St John was a reserve team player in 1970–71, making his debut in a 3–2 friendly victory against West Germany at Hampden Park on 6 May 1959. As Motherwell manager, St John sold goalkeeper Keith MacRae and gave a debut to young forward Willie Pettigrew.

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, 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"; 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 in April of that year, removing his bladder and prostate gland. He died on 1 March 2021 at Arrowe Park Hospital 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.

Individual Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductee: 2008