Liverpool's 'Anfield Iron' Tommy Smith dies aged 74

 

FILE PHOTO: Tommy Smith - Liverpool Pic:Action Images - MT1ACI140515/File Photo

(Reuters) - Former Liverpool captain Tommy Smith, who led the Merseysiders to domestic and European success and gained a reputation as one of the game's toughest tacklers, has died aged 74, the club said on Friday.

 

Smith, known by supporters as the 'Anfield Iron', played 638 games for Liverpool, winning four league titles, a European Cup, two FA Cups and two UEFA Cups in his time at the club.

 

He captained the Reds for three years and scored 48 goals between 1962 and 1978 including one in the 1977 European Cup final, when Liverpool beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1 to lift the trophy for the first time.

 

Having joined the club as a schoolboy, he was fast-tracked into the first team by former manager Bill Shankly and swiftly gained a reputation as one of football's most fearsome competitors.

 

Shankly once famously said of Smith -- a true hard man in an era when tough tackling was encouraged and admired -- that he "was not born, he was quarried".

 

Liverpool said in a statement on their website that they were "deeply saddened" by the news.

 

Smith was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2014 after caring for his wife Susanne who died after suffering from the same condition.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-04-13

R.I.P Tommy. 

R. I. P. Tommy Smith

Tommy must have been in the best Liverpool team ever, what a great side they were. RIP Tommy

R.I.P. Tommy.

YNWA

Sad news. R.I.P

Fearsome would be the best adjective to describe Tommy Smith. Not a great deal of finesse but a real warrior. 

Hard as nails..a proper player in his era....R.I.P Tommy

"was not born, he was quarried". Classic line, says it all. RIP.

Farewwell Tommy, at the end of the day you were a credit to your club, country and the game.

 

Sad news..one of the best " enforcers " I ever saw "
Sleep easy

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