Liverpool 'Colossus' on which modern era built and only Steven Gerrard has surpassed

It has become one of the most celebrated anecdotes in Liverpool's history. And it accurately foretold the impact that was soon to follow.

When Bill Shankly unveiled his new signing Ron Yeats, a centre-back snapped up from Dundee United in the summer of 1961, he invited the waiting journalists to take a closer inspection of his team's latest arrival. "The man is a mountain," boomed the Liverpool manager. "Go into the dressing room and walk around him."

That Yeats would soon assume the nickname 'The Colossus' - a reference to the mammoth statue of Greek sun god Helios, one of Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - said much about the physical specimen Liverpool had acquired.

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Indeed, when first meeting Yeats, Shankly himself was taken aback. "Jesus, you must be seven feet tall, son?' he enquired. Yeats answered: "No, I am only six feet tall."

"Well," came the instant response from the Reds boss. "That’s near enough seven feet for me!"

Yeats was actually 6 ft 2 ins, hardly tall by today's standards. But strongly-built and coming in at over 14 stone, he was an imposing presence at the time and more than lived up to his moniker.

And, for Shankly, the arrival of the defender - who has died at the age of 86 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease in recent years - proved a turning point in his fledgling years in charge that ultimately set Liverpool on the road to the modern-day colossus it has become today.

Easy to forget the Reds had spent seven years in the second tier of English football when Yeats, who Shankly had wanted to sign when boss at Huddersfield Town, arrived from Scotland. Within months, he was appointed captain, his manager's trusted lieutenant for the best part of a decade. And, by the end of the season, Yeats had helped Liverpool back to the top flight with the Reds finishing eight points clear in clinching the second division title.

"In his first season here I made him captain at Rotherham," said Shankly. "He broke a bone in his hand that day. He was a natural to be a captain; a big man who commanded respect and his position in the centre of defence meant that he could see everything going on in front of him.

"A captain should be like a puppeteer, with the other players on his strings all the time."

It took only two years in Division One for Liverpool to continue their progress by winning the championship. Yeats scored his first Liverpool goal with the winner at Old Trafford in November 1963, and the Reds ultimately claimed the title ahead of Manchester United.

The following season, though, came arguably the crowning glory for Yeats at Liverpool. The pursuit of the FA Cup had almost become an obsession for the club, with the Reds having never before won the trophy in their 73-year history when they stepped out for the final against Leeds United at Wembley in 1965.

A 2-1 victory after extra time finally ended the wait, with Yeats becoming the first-ever Liverpool captain to lift the FA Cup having been handed the trophy by Queen Elizabeth II.

"I must admit I wouldn’t have said it was the most memorable game," said Yeats. "It was a bloody awful game. But it was an emotional time getting the cup from the Queen. In fact, I just wanted to throw it into the crowd, to the Liverpool supporters. We won it now. Let's share it between us."

Earlier that season, Yeats had been the captain for Liverpool's first game in European competition, a 5-0 win in Iceland against KR Reykjavik in the European Cup preliminary round.

By the time Anderlecht visited Anfield in the first round proper, Shankly had a brainwave. He wanted Liverpool, who until then had worn white shorts and white trim on their socks, to switch to an all-red kit. And Yeats would be the model for this new look.

"Shankly thought the colour scheme would carry psychological impact - red for danger, red for power," said Yeats's team-mate Ian St John. "He came into the dressing room one day and threw a pair of red shorts to Ronnie Yeats.

"'Get into those shorts and let's see how you look,' he said. 'Christ, Ronnie, you look awesome, terrifying. You look seven feet tall.'"

It worked, with Liverpool winning 3-0. And just three days after memorable afternoon against Leeds, Yeats led the Reds out against holders Inter Milan in the European Cup semi-final first leg at Anfield. The Italians were blown away 3-1, but the return game the following week saw Liverpool fall foul of the dark arts of European football and some questionable officiating to lose 3-0 and be eliminated on aggregate.

The following campaign saw another championship, Yeats featuring in all 42 games as the Reds romped home as title winners by six points. But there was further agony in Europe, this time in the European Cup Winners' Cup final against Borussia Dortmund at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

With the scoreline level at 1-1 in the second half of extra time, Dortmund's Reinhard Libuda attempted a long-range lob that prompted Yeats to scramble back to clear off the line. However, the shot hit the woodwork and bounced off the retreating centre-back into his own goal for the winner.

Yeats remained a regular for the next four seasons before a shock 1-0 FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Watford in February 1970 prompted Shankly to begin breaking up his 1960s team. Yeats continued in the team for the remainder of the season, but made only 15 starts the following term, the majority of which were at left-back.

He finished with 454 appearances for Liverpool while scoring 16 goals. Remarkably, 417 of those outings were as captain. Only Steven Gerrard has worn the captain's armband more times for Liverpool.

Despite his success at Anfield, Yeats won only two senior caps for Scotland, who at the time preferred players operating in their own domestic league. But the defender, affectionally known as 'Rowdy' by Liverpool supporters, always knew he was loved at Anfield. In the pantheon of great centre-backs for the club, he sits among the highest echelon with Alan Hansen, former team-mates Tommy Smith and Emlyn Hughes, Mark Lawrenson, Jamie Carragher and current captain Virgil van Dijk.

"I was 6 feet 2½ inches and 14½ stone, so when I tackled someone he must have felt it," said Yeats to lfchistory.net. "I wasn’t dirty as far as dirty is concerned. I used to make sure I was there or thereabouts. At that time we had these big centre forwards to play against. I always knew if there was going to be a battle I would win the battle."

After leaving Liverpool in 1971, Yeats spent three years at Tranmere Rovers as player-manager - "the worst decision I ever made in my life," he once said of moving to Prenton Park due to constant clashes with the club's chairman - and two years at Barrow in a similar role, in between a playing stint at Stalybridge Celtic.

He also had brief spells in the United States with Los Angeles Skyhawks and Santa Barbara Condors - also manager at the latter - before finishing his playing days at Formby and Rhyl.

But his Liverpool career wasn't over just yet. In 1986 he was offered the role of chief scout at Anfield by then Reds boss Kenny Dalglish, and went on to work under a succession of managers before retiring in 2006. Among the players he was integral in the club signing was another great Liverpool centre-back, Sami Hyypia. Yeats was awarded the Bill Shankly Memorial Award in 2002 for his outstanding service to the club.

"I had a great time at the club," said Yeats, speaking to the ECHO back in 2008. "Winning promotion back to the First Division was so special. I was captain and to see the pleasure it gave the supporters was unbelievable. We were getting 54,000 at home and it was bedlam at the end of that season.

“Then there was lifting the FA Cup for the first time in 1965. To lead the team up and receive it from the Queen is something I’m very proud of. Liverpool’s supporters are the world’s best - when people talk about them being the 12th man, it’s true.”

Now those same Liverpool fans of every vintage will mourn the passing one of the club's genuine legends - the 'Colossus' on which the foundations of the club renowned across the world today was built.