PERCY STEELE, one of the few players to make more than 300 career appearances for Tranmere, has passed away at the age of 85.
Bootle-born Steele, a full-back who could also play in midfield, played as an amateur with Everton and turned professional with Rovers in 1944 after playing in a number of wartime matches. He enlisted in the Royal Navy later that year and picked up his Rovers career in 1946.
Once Steele forced his way into the right-back position during the 1948-49 season, the consistency of his performances kept him in the first team for much of the next decade, although he did switch from right-back to left-back at times.
Steele played the last of his 338 senior games for Tranmere in the 1956-57 season, earning a testimonial before he finished out his playing days with Burscough, Pwheli and English Electic FC.
Steele scored just once for Rovers, in a Liverpool Senior Cup tie against New Brighton in 1948. A genial charachter known for his “bandy” legs, Steele retired to Crosby.
