Shankly was one of five brothers who all played football professionally, including Bill, who would become a Scottish international and manager of Liverpool.
[3] He then moved into the senior ranks with Alloa Athletic[4] after being turned down by Ayr United, despite scoring a hat-trick of goals in a trial match.
[5] Like many working-class men from Ayrshire at the time, he began working life as a miner (as did all his brothers), combining this job with football on a part-time basis.
After retiring from playing, he had a spell as a coach of Stenhousemuir before managing Falkirk,[6] Third Lanark, Dundee, Hibernian and Stirling Albion, where he eventually became a director.
[4] Craig Brown later compared Shankly's achievements with Walter Smith, Jock Stein, Alex Ferguson and Jim McLean.