A FOOTBALLER who captained Everton and Liverpool has been remembered with a headstone 78 years after his death.

Andrew Hannah, who lived in Clydebank, died on May 29, 1940, at the age of 75 and was buried in an unmarked grave at Kilbowie Cemetery.

A ceremony, organised by the EFC Heritage Society, in conjunction with Everton Football Club, celebrated the life and career of the fullback on Saturday, March 24.

May McKenzie, of Drumry, is the granddaughter of the former player, who started his career with Renton.

The 86-year-old, who hadn’t previously been able to find her grandfather’s grave, spoke of her joy at seeing a touching tribute left for a good man.

She told the Post: “I’m delighted. It’s absolutely lovely. They made a great job of the stone and the beautiful wreath they had put on it.

“My father would’ve been delighted if he had lived to see it. My grandfather was a very nice person who loved his kids.

“It was a lovely sunny day and there was quite a few there. It was nice to know what Everton had done and the flowers, they handed every one of us a rose to put on the grave.”

Andrew Hannah won the Scottish Cup twice in his career, helping Renton beat Vale of Leven 3-1 in the 1885 final before winning 6-1 against Cambuslang in the 1888 final.

On March 23, 1889, he arrived in Liverpool with Renton for a game against Everton that drew a crowd of over 12,000 spectators to Anfield. Everton won 2-1 but Andrew impressed as he signed for the Toffees shortly afterwards.

He was appointed club captain and in his second season missed just two league matches as he captained Everton to the Football League championship. Andrew had taken part in 42 league and FA Cup games for the club.

Having initially returned to Renton for one more season, Andrew was then persuaded to join the newly formed Liverpool Football Club.

He captained them to both the Lancashire League and Football League Division 2 championships but tasted the bitterness of relegation before returning to Scotland.

Brendan Connolly, chairman of EFC Heritage Society, compared the achievements of Andrew to those of some well-known names in Scottish and English football.

He said: “If you look at his achievement with Renton, I’d compare him to Billy McNeill, then he captained Everton, similar to Wayne Rooney, and Liverpool, like Steven Gerrard.

“To try and understand how important he was in modern football terms you roll those three players into one.”

Brendan organised the ceremony with Tony Onslow, also of EFC Heritage Society, and the event was attended by more than 25 people – including former Everton player Ian Snodin, family members May, Michael Munro and Colin Downie and supporters of both Merseyside clubs.

Brendan added: “It was a good atmosphere. We had a piper who played a few tunes and then I said a few words at the graveside.

“One of the things we were keen to do is take account of the family’s wishes and make sure that everything was right for them and give them as much ownership of the event on the day.”