Footballer. Born in Aberdeen, Yeats began work as a slaughterman in the city. His professional football career started with Dundee United, helping them to promotion in 1960. He moved to Liverpool in 1961 for a £30,000 transfer fee and became the heart of the team's defence. Within months he was promoted to Captain at a time when manager Bill Shankly (1913-81) was building it for future national and international success. Under Yeats' lead, Liverpool was promoted back to the First Division in 1962 and went on to success in the League Championship (1964 and 1966) and FA cup (1965). After 454 games for Liverpool, Yeats fell victim to Shankly's cull of declining players in 1971 and joined Tranmere Rovers becoming player-manager and then manager. Yeats played internationally for Scotland on two occasions.
In 1986, Yeats returned to Liverpool as chief scout, responsible for identifying new talent.
