Liverpool legend Tommy Smith has passed away at the age of 74.
Dubbed the Anfield Iron, the touch-tackling defender made 638 appearances for his boyhood club between 1963 and 1978, scoring 48 times in the process.
Smith’s most famous goal was a header in the Reds’ inaugural European Cup triumph in 1977, when they overcame Borussia Monchengladbach in Rome.
He was also installed as club captain by Bill Shankly and led the team into the FA Cup finals of 1971 and 1974, with the latter ending in a 3-0 win over Newcastle.
Spells with Swansea City and two stints in North America, with Tampa Bay Rowdies and Los Angeles Aztecs followed before his retirement in 1979.
Smith returned to Anfield in his post-playing career for a brief spell as a youth coach before becoming a popular media pundit and after-dinner speaker.
His family confirmed his passing on Friday following a courageous battle with dementia.
Tommy’s daughter, Janette Simpson, said: “Dad died very peacefully in his sleep shortly after 4.30pm today at Green Heyes nursing home in Park Road, Waterloo, Crosby.
“I was on my way to see him when he passed a couple of minutes before I arrived.
“Dad was only in here since the end of January and prior to that had been living in a care and sheltered accommodation complex for three years in Maghull.
“He had been growing increasingly frail and suffering from a variety of ailments over the last three months especially.
“We are obviously all devastated.”
Sir Kenny Dalglish was among several of Smith’s former teammates to pay tribute.
“He was a great advert for Liverpool Football Club, the way he conducted himself. His memories will be there forever,” he told the club’s official website.
“[He was] in the first team at the age of 18 and I think he left just after I came.
“When I came down in 1977 he was an integral part of the dressing room and him and Souey [Graeme Souness] looked after my wife Marina and I, helped us settle in and took us round about the area to see if we could find a house to move into.”