Willie Stevenson pictured during his spell with Tranmere Rovers (Image: Tranmere Rovers FC)
Willie Stevenson pictured during his spell with Tranmere Rovers
TRIBUTES have been paid to former Tranmere Rovers player Willie Stevenson who has died aged 85.
Stevenson, a two-time first division championship winner with Liverpool FC under Bill Shankly, joined Tranmere in 1973 and played 27 times for the Prenton Park outfit.
The Scot made 241 appearances for Liverpool in the 1960s after signing from Rangers – where he also won the league and Scottish Cup – and was a member of the team which won the club’s first FA Cup in 1965.
He joined Stoke City in 1967 before making the move to Tranmere and was part of the team which famously defeated Arsenal 1-0 at Highbury in October 1973.
In 1974, he joined the Vancouver Whitecaps in the newly formed North American Soccer League (NASL).
Stevenson then played for Limerick before returning to the UK to play for non-league Macclesfield Town where he settled following his retirement and ran a cleaning company.
Tranmere chairman and former teammate, Mark Palios, said: “Willie was a classical ball playing midfielder who made those around him look good.
“He was massively influential in the development of the young side that Ron Yeats put together, with the likes of Bobby Tynan, Ronnie Moore and Dickie Johnson.
“He was a great teammate who I was privileged to play alongside, and and my thoughts and best wishes are with his family and loved ones.”