The central defender was a giant of the game, best-known for his time with the Red Devils in which he won three successive Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a Champions League.
Also appearing for the likes of AC Milan, Lazio, PSV and Ajax, the Dutch international was a big name appointment for the Royals' Thai owners after sacking club legend Brian McDermott.
In 2015/16, the Royals started well and were promotion chasing until the winter, with Steve Clarke sacked in December 2015.
Finishing 17th, and improvement on 2014/15's 19th place, the club also made a second successive FA Cup quarter-final, missing out on back-to-back semi-finals after defeat to Crystal Palace.
Stam's arrival marked a Dutch revolution in Berkshire, with Brian Tevreden joining as Director of Football and the likes of Joey van den Berg, Roy Beerens and Danzell Gravenberch arriving that summer.
To say Stam's arrival in Reading worked, having been taken from Jong Ajax in the Netherlands, would be an understatement.
Come May 2017, the Royals would have amassed a huge 85 points and finished third in the Championship, an improvement of 14 places on the season before.
Losing only twice at home all season, the side were prone to the occasional hammering on the road, but the team never lost consecutive matches and had plenty of resilience.
Fulham were beaten over two legs in the semi-final of the play-offs and the less said about the trip to Wembley, the better.
Stam was backed heavily in the summer of 2017, with the hopes of pushing on, but the style of play was frustrating supporters, especially without results to back it up.
He would last until March 2018 but with the club firmly in a relegation battle, the decision was made to part way and the long-time assistant to football legend Carlo Ancelotti, Paul Clement, arrived on March 23 2018.
Stam went on to manage the likes of Zwolle, Feyenoord and Cincinnati but is now with DOS Kampen.
Nine years ago today was to be the peak for Reading in what has been a miserable decade supporting the club. Now in League One but under stable ownership and with supporters returning in droves, the club can begin to work back towards the heady heights of being the 23rd best team in England again.