Happy 70th birthday, Cally
Liverpool's all-time appearance record holder Ian Callaghan is celebrating his 70th birthday today.
The Toxteth boy won almost every honour possible and in 857 appearances for the club, he was booked just once.
Cally joined the Reds as an apprentice and made his senior debut after just four outings for the reserves. The momentous occasion came in April 1960 at home to Bristol Rovers when he turned in a performance that was deservedly applauded off at the end by both teams, the crowd and even the referee.
Fast, direct and possessing incredible stamina, it was during the promotion winning campaign of 1961-62 that he became an established first-team regular and it was his pinpoint crossing that supplied many a goal for the prolific strike partnership of Hunt and St John.
Cally was one of the first names on Bill Shankly's teamsheets as League and FA Cup glory came Liverpool's way during the mid to late Sixties.
A tireless worker with bags of energy, he peaked in 1973-74 when he helped the Reds to a second FA Cup success and became the first Anfield player to win the Football Writers' Player of the Year award.
Cally was part of the Liverpool team who conquered Europe for the first time in 1977, an emotional occasion for a man who'd played in the club's first game in continental competition 13 years earlier.
He walked out of the Anfield dressing room for the final time in 1978 as the same affable individual who had joined the club for a £10 signing-on fee all those years before.
He left with an envious medal collection, a glowing reputation and a total number of appearances that is unlikely to ever be surpassed.
From everyone at LFC, happy birthday Cally.