Past playersIan St John

The Scottish forward's stooping extra-time header against Leeds United in that year's FA Cup final ended the Reds' frustrating wait for success in the world's oldest competition of its kind. It also made St John a hero.

Snapped up for a club-record transfer fee in May 1961 – Shankly reportedly told the Liverpool board they couldn't afford not to buy him – St John was literally and metaphorically at the forefront of the club's rise throughout the decade.

Short in height but not short in tenacity and battling spirit, he was a natural-born finisher and belied a small stature with an incredible aerial ability; his will to win reverberated among his teammates, too.

The Scot plundered 22 goals in his debut season at Anfield to fire the Reds out of the Second Division and back into the top flight. Two years later, he notched the same amount – including 21 league strikes – as Liverpool lifted the First Division title.

St John would not breach the 20-goal mark again for the club in a single campaign, but his creative instincts regularly helped colleagues find the net. Not least Roger Hunt, with whom he shared a remarkably proficient partnership.

In truth, the goal he converted at Wembley on May 1, 1965 could have been his last for Liverpool and it would not have mattered. Contorting his body to shape a header beyond Leeds 'keeper Gary Sprake in the 111th minute, he won the FA Cup for the Reds and prompted scenes of celebration for one half of Merseyside.

A second championship medal was secured in 1965-66 – St John bagged 10 league goals in the process – as Shankly's great outfit established domestic dominance and reached new heights in Europe.

With his goals beginning to dry up and the Reds boss dismantling his first side to assemble another, St John moved to new pastures in 1971. His contribution to the club will simply never be forgotten.