THIRD TIME LUCKY Rangers v Sparta Rotterdam 1960

 

CHAPTER 1

RANGERS V SPARTA ROTTERDAM 1960

THIRD TIME LUCKY

● European Cup Quarter Final Replay

● Wednesday 30th March 1960 ● Kick-Off 7pm

 

   B  A  C  K  G  R  O  U  N  D

█ AN ABBREVIATED HISTORY OF RANGERS █

• FROM GARELOCH ROWERS TO GALLANT PIONEERS

In early 1872, four teenagers and members of a rowing club at Gareloch on the Clyde pulled their boat ashore. As they made their journey home through Glasgow Green they were distracted by the sight of another group of young men playing a game of football. Some said it was players from the legendary Queen’s Park, others the Eastern Football Club, maybe it was just a group of young local enthusiasts. What is fact is that the young men wanted to have a go at this game for themselves, quickly did so and it was every bit as enjoyable as it looked and so they decided to form their own football team. These young men were: Peter Campbell, William McBeath and brothers Peter and Moses McNeil and are affectionately known by Rangers fans as the Gallant Pioneers. In turn elder brothers William McNeil and John Campbell were roped in and they then looked for additional players to complete their team.

• THE GLASGOW RANGERS

Having found additional players, the next task was to give themselves a name. How did it come about? Most agree that sixteen year old, Moses McNeil was one of the strongest advocates in adopting the name ‘Rangers’, the same name as an English Rugby Club and one that conjured up the sense of romance, dashing and excitement and adventure of the American, military unit the Texas Rangers.

 

~The Strangers?!

There is a school of thought that the name chosen was in fact a witty piece of rhyming slang based on the pioneer’s background. Interestingly none of the four were born in Glasgow but had moved to the booming city from other parts of Scotland with their families as youngsters. Rangers of course rhymes with strangers!

 

~ Park Ranger?!

A Ranger of course is a keeper of countryside, a park, an estate. Both Moses and Peter were born at Belmore house a large estate where their father, John was employed as a gardener. An interesting coincidence. However the name really came about, The Rangers were born. 

With the club named, the young men subsequently took their football very seriously. Practising every day of the week, save for the Sabbath for the following two months. A fourth, older McNeil brother, Harry played for Queen’s Park and won ten Scotland Caps. It is unclear of the precise role that he played but he must surely have been an inspiration and able to pass tips on to his brothers.

The final job was to choose and acquire a kit. The consensus settled for royal blue shirts, white shorts and blue and white hooped socks. Buying the kit required a financial sacrifice to match their dedication to football practise, the young men were not exactly flush with money but such was their determination that this final hurdle too was overcome. They were now ready.

• A DAY IN MAY ‘72

In May 1872 Rangers and the trio of McNeils’ made their football debut against Callander FC. They even borrowed Harry for the afternoon to make it a proper family affair. The match finished goalless. For many years Rangers recognised 1873 as their first year because a period of a year was required until any club could become officially registered.

 

• PLAYING THEM OFF THE PARK

Home games were played at Glasgow Green, the same local public park where the club was inspired. Good crowds were quickly attracted and the club began challenging the best Scottish teams. The Scottish Football Association was formed in 1873 but Rangers forgot to send in their application to join. The following year, thankfully they remembered. For season 1875-6 Rangers played at a ground in Burnbank before moving on to Kinning Park. Moses McNeil had developed into an outstanding player and won his first Scotland cap in March 1876. In 1877, Rangers reached their first Scottish Cup Final and the momentum continued with another Cup Final appearance in 1879 but it was again financial difficulties that were to pose the greatest test…

 

• AMATEURISM AND GEORGE GOUDIE’S £30

During Rangers early years, Queen’s Park were the supreme team of Scotland and champions of the ‘amateur’ ethos. In 1883, Rangers had to find £30 to stay in existence as they encountered financial difficulties when their tenancy at their Kinning Park ground came under threat. Treasurer Mr J Ness grimly announced to a specially convened meeting, “It has come to this, we must have £30 or we cannot carry on. There is not a farthing in the exchequer. Can anyone suggest where the £30 is to come from?” Club President, Mr George Goudie replied, “We cannot allow the club to go under without a fight, I shall advance the £30 and let us all hope for better times.” Here was a man who understood what it was to be a ‘custodian’ of the club. Though £30 in 1883 was a considerable sum, I think it’s fair to say that the munificent Mr Goudie was to get his wish.

 

• JUST LIKE A TEAM WHO’S GONNA WIN THE FA CUP

Season 1886-7 curiously saw Rangers almost win the English FA Cup. Following an early exit from the Scottish Cup, Rangers entered the English competition. Overcoming Everton (Away), Church (FA Cup quarter finalists the previous season), Cowlairs, Lincoln City and Old Westminsters before defeat in the semi final to eventual winners Aston Villa in Crewe. Rangers had also entered the competition the previous season, but Rangers proud amateurs scratched when drawn against a professional side. Prossionalism coming to English football in 1885.

 

• IBROX HOME OF MR WILTON’S PROFESSIONALS & INVINCIBLES

Following the termination of the Kinning Park tenancy, in 1894 Rangers moved to ‘Old’ Ibrox Park. Mr William Wilton originally from the coastal town of Largs in Ayrshire, and who had been looking after the reserves was installed as ‘match secretary’ ie manager for the 1890-1 season. The first in which the Scottish League Championship was contested.

He and the team shared the Champion’s crown with Dumbarton as both teams finished level on points. In 1893, professionalism was legalised in Scottish football and from then on Rangers along with Celtic began to dominate the game. The once mighty amateurs of Queen’s Park had long spoken out against professionalism and as it came to pass, so their reign as the most successful Scottish club came to an end. 

The Scottish Cup had been contested since 1874 and Rangers secured their first Scottish Cup triumph in 1894. Rangers then completed back to back Scottish Cup wins in 1897 and 1898. In the league they remained very competitive until 1899 when they didn’t just win the League Championship but in staggering fashion as they performed the unique feat of winning all eighteen league fixtures. A feat unrepeated in the history of Scottish football.

 

• NEW IBROX

With invincibles on the park, off the park in 1899 at substantial expense, Rangers moved to the present day Ibrox site, adjacent to the old ground to build a stadium to house their now considerable and growing support. In May they became a limited company and issued shares to fund the construction of the new stadium and to indemnify the members against personal liability should the club go bankrupt. 

The new stadium looked a shrewd investment as Rangers followed up their perfect season with a further three straight League Championships. So for six consecutive seasons, Rangers had won one of the major prizes in domestic football.

To help repay the debt on the new construction, Rangers hoped that the stadium would be used for international fixtures.

 

• TRAGEDY

On 5th April 1902 Ibrox hosted Scotland v England and was touched by tragedy. A section of high terracing on the south west corner of the west terrace collapsed. Twenty five people perished, over five hundred more were injured, a quarter of whom sustained serious injury.

“The dead and injured lay piled up in a bloody tangle… Those who had not been killed instantly on hitting the ground were horribly mangled or gashed on the steel supports and corrugated fencing as they fell. Others survived the fall only to be crushed under the weight of people above them… Even hardened doctors and ambulancemen were shocked at the level of injuries. A young boy sobbed, ‘Mother, ye tell’t me not to come to the match, for I’d be killed.’”

(Engineering Archie by Simon Inglis)

 

• TO WORLD WAR 1 AND BEYOND

Rangers went through a comparatively lean patch up until 1911, though they made it seven consecutive trophy winning seasons in a row when they lifted the Scottish cup in 1903 and were crowned Scottish Champions in 1905. Part of the reason for this was that money was limited as the club paid off the debt incurred on the construction of the stadium and accompanying interest charges. From 1911, Rangers re-emerged to dominate the Scottish game with three League championships in a row. 

Of course for a few years football became something of an irrelevance in the greater scheme of things when World War 1 broke out. Many fine selfless young professional footballers put their careers on hold to serve for a greater good and sadly some were to make a far greater sacrifice. Rangers should be as proud of their contribution to the war effort as any trophy won. (See Talking Point Wartime Rangers)

Upon the cessation of hostilities proper competitive league football resumed with the 1919-20 season.

 

• THE END OF AN ERA

On 1st May 1920 and at the end of Mr Wilton’s twenty ninth season in charge, Rangers celebrated another Championship at Ibrox against Morton. The following day, joy turned to grief when this hugely popular gentleman died in a tragic boating accident.

 

MR WILTON’S RECORD

 

SEASON	LEAGUE	CUP
1891	Winners
1892	5
1893	2
1894	4	Winners
1895	3
1896	2
1897	3	Winners
1898	2	Winners
1899	Winners
1900	Winners
1901	Winners
1902	Winners
1903	3	Winners
1904	4
1905	Winners
1906	4
1907	3
1908	3
1909	4
1910	3
1911	Winners
1912	Winners
1913	Winners
1914	3
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920	Winners

 

 

• THE ‘WONDERFUL’ MR WILTON’S EPITAPH

There are no stands or training grounds named after this gentleman, yet his epitaph is I suggest far, far greater. He was of course the manager but in those times the manager was pretty much responsible for the day to day running of the club. Mr Wilton not only delivered the club its first silverware, ten league Championships including a never repeated and certainly never to be bettered perfect season in 1899 he did much more aside. He navigated the club through the early days of professionalism when others fell by the wayside, he moved the club to today’s Ibrox and successfully managed the club from a time when football was a minority sport watched by a few thousand into an era when football and most pertinently Rangers were watched at its substantial home by tens of thousands.

 

█ THE ‘LEGENDARY’ MR STRUTH █

 

• THE MAN AND MANAGER

Mr Wilton typically had an obvious successor already in place for when he chose to retire but obviously not for tragic circumstance.

William Struth or Bill Struth as he became better known was born in 1875 in Leith, Edinburgh. Like his father, he was a stonemason by trade. However as a young man his greatest passion was for the then popular activity of professional running and he travelled around Britain to compete in races. 

In 1908, aged thirty three and his best running days behind him, he applied for Clyde FC’s vacancy for a new trainer. Struth’s encyclopaedic knowledge of fitness landed him the job and in 1910 and 1912 a supremely fit Clyde reached Scottish Cup Finals. His arrival also brought about a dramatic improvement in Clyde’s league form during his spell there. This in turn had brought him to the attention of Mr Wilton and Rangers and he joined the club in 1914. 

Upon Wilton’s passing, Struth was appointed Rangers second ever manager and despite inheriting a fine team, there must have been some who doubted if he could maintain the footballing standards of his predecessor. It would have been noted that the new manager had not played any senior football himself but I suspect Mr Wilton would not have been surprised at what his successor would go on to achieve.

Until retiring in April 1954 Mr Struth was not so much manager as ‘Mr Rangers’ and was to stamp the club with a winning tradition that underpinned the unique personality of Rangers.

 

• THE RECORD

From 1921 to 1939

 

SEASON	LEAGUE	CUP
1921	Winners
1922	2
1923	Winners
1924	Winners
1925	Winners
1926	6
1927	Winners
1928	Winners	Winners
1929	Winners
1930	Winners	Winners
1931	Winners
1932	2	Winners
1933	Winners
1934	Winners	Winners
1935	Winners	Winners
1936	2	Winners
1937	Winners
1938	3
1939	Winners

 

The figures pretty much speak for themselves. Rangers won 15 out of 19 Championships and 6 Scottish Cups. The 1928 Scottish Cup Final victory was particularly special as it was their first triumph in this competition for 25 years and not only had the cup ‘hoodoo’ been broken it delivered Rangers first ever League and Cup Double. Those readers paying close attention might have felt they spotted the first (of many?!) typographical error under 1926. No after three successive championships and followed by a further ‘five-in-a row’ it really happened!

 

From 1947 to 1954 

SEASON	LEAGUE	CUP	LEAGUE CUP
1947	Winners		Winners
1948	2	Winners
1949	Winners	Winners	Winners
1950	Winners	Winners
1951	2
1952	2
1953	2	Winners
1954	5

 

Upon the resumption of competitive Scottish football, Mr Struth and Rangers picked up from where they left off until the 1950 season. There was even another trophy to contest and win with the Scottish League Cup and Rangers and their legendary Iron Curtain defence were able to celebrate a first domestic Treble in 1949. 

It’s amazing to think it was only when Mr Struth was closer to eighty than seventy years old and his health deteriorating did the trophies start to dry up yet nevertheless Rangers were still a hugely formidable and competitive outfit.

 

• THE METHODOLOGY

Struth had obviously learnt much during his time at Clyde and of course working alongside Mr Wilton. In addition to his knowledge of fitness and fascination for all sports he possessed an uncanny knack for not only judging players’ ability but also their personality and for getting the best out of them. He developed an awesome and envied network of scouts and contacts in the game to pinpoint him in the direction of the best available talent. His first signing was ‘the wee blue devil’ Alan Morton, rated by many as the best to have ever represented Rangers and Scotland. 

Like Wilton he rarely discussed tactics in great depth with the team and delegated it to the captain and senior players. Although this approach may seem a little bizarre in the 1920’s and 1930’s not particularly unusual in football. One thing is for sure, it certainly worked!

 

~Simply The Best

More than anything he had a vision for Rangers. He wanted Rangers not only to be the best, he only wanted the best for Rangers. This quest pretty much took up every available hour and he resided in a flat that overlooked the stadium on Copland Road. He retold how he didn’t much enjoy holidays as he would rather be at Ibrox.

 

Rangers travelled everywhere first class. Players were to be immaculately turned out on and off the pitch. Whether arriving at Ibrox for training, matches or any other business, they were to wear a club blazer and slacks with a tie at all times. On the pitch, woe betide a player with his shirt not tucked in.

 

~Discipline

He would not tolerate indiscipline from anyone on or off the field. The sign placed permanently on his desk that read, “Always remember the club is greater than the man,” served as a reminder that he had and would again discard anyone who let the club down and this applied every bit to club staff as it did to the players.

“When the late Mr Struth signed me, he made it crystal clear that if ever a man did the slightest thing to detract from the good name of Rangers, it would be an affront to him and a disgrace to the player in question. It was the club first and at all times.”

(Eric Caldow in The Rangers Players’ Story)

 

~No Surrender

Not only were his teams supremely fit, he could judge by the way someone ran if they were putting in 100% effort and you hardly need me to spell out what happened to those who did not give it. 

Due to their exceptional fitness levels and non-stop effort, Rangers were renowned for coming back in games that might have seemed otherwise lost as their opponents flagged physically and were panicked into making mistakes. Though it was a case of simply everyone giving of their best for the entire match to the naked eye it of course gave the impression of a team that never gave up, that never surrendered until the final kick of the game. Of course each time Rangers clawed back an unwinnable situation it gave the team confidence that they could do it in even trickier circumstances the next time and frequently they did.

 

• HOW DO YOU FOLLOW A LEGEND?

For a number of years Mr Struth spent a portion of his wages on acquiring shares and became director/manager in 1947. At the conclusion of the 1954 season and after an Ibrox career spanning across five decades, he retired as manager. Now the club’s largest individual shareholder he was meticulous in his choice of successor.

The baton was passed when Mr Struth welcomed Scot Symon.

“That young man will do well. He is one of us and has qualities I look for in one who faces an arduous undertaking steadfastly and with the determination to succeed.” 

“Humbly, and in all sincerity, I know I have a tremendous task in succeeding so illustrious a man as my predecessor, Mr Struth, but I shall endeavour to find strength and inspiration from what I have heard him say in times of success as in adversity, ‘What man has done man can do.’”

(Rangers Wee Blue Book 1954-1955)

 

• SIMPLY THE BEST

Bill Struth died on Friday, 21st September 1956 aged eighty. He is buried in Craigton Cemetery, the closest burial grounds to his beloved Ibrox. For me his epitaph, should read, “No Ifs, No Buts, The Best.”

 

█ SCOT SYMON AND MISSION IMPOSSIBLE █

 

• THIS IS YOUR MISSION SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT

Mission Impossible? Maybe not, but taking on the Rangers job in 1954 was a massive challenge and not just because the incumbent succeeded the legendary Mr Struth.

 

“Rangers fans expect the team to win every match, every competition.”

(Walter Smith, boyhood Rangers fan, coach and manager in Factfile Rangers)

 

This was even truer when Scot Symon took over. If you were still up for the mission, there were a couple of other conditions:

 

(1) Symon needed to build a new Rangers team: Struth’s last teams though still successful, were not replicating the all-conquering sides of the inter war years.

 

(2) A number of Rangers star players and legends were nearing the end of their careers. Including: Willie Waddell, Jock Shaw, Willie Woodburn, George Young and Sammy Cox.

 

(3) Patience was also required to deal with a board of directors who now considered it their duty to offer advice and guidance’ even when not asked for it. Moreover, it was not just Alan Morton and George Brown former legendary players and now directors, who liked to venture an opinion.

 

• DETERMINATION

Scot Symon the player was renowned as the most determined and resolute of competitors. A tall, strong, powerfully built tackling left half who always gave nothing less than 100%, he could slot into any defensive position. However there was more to his game than just destroying opposition attacks. A skilled passer of the ball, he could trigger devastating counter attacks when he won possession. He turned professional with Dundee in 1930 aged nineteen, moving on to Portsmouth five years later and joined Rangers in 1938. Rangers would have attempted to recruit him sooner but for the presence of Scotland international and captain and latterly director, George Brown in the same position at Ibrox.

 

• THE 1938 DOUBLE

In 1938, Symon won his first Scotland Cap against Hungary. Representing Scotland was nothing new to this Ranger. A natural all round sportsman he also represented Scotland at cricket and in 1938 took five Australian wickets for just 33 runs.

For a generation of players, the war was to spoil a really meaningful career. Symon played for Rangers in the unofficial Wartime League through to 1947 but the first cap against Hungary was to be his last.

 

• THE 1948 DOUBLE

Upon retirement from playing he became East Fife manager in 1947 and transformed the humble ‘Fifers’. In his first season in charge he pulled off the most remarkable of doubles. He led them into Scotland’s 1st Division as Champions of the Scottish ‘B’ Division and brought the Scottish League Cup to Bayview.

 

• THE NEXT FIFE SEASONS

Season 1947-48 was no flash in the pan. For the next five seasons, the minnows kept stunning Scottish football. In their first season in the top flight they finished in fourth spot, the next year they repeated the feat. 1951 was a blip as they finished in tenth place but they followed this up with consecutive third place finishes. 

As if that was not good enough, East Fife won another League Cup in 1950 and in the semi finals the pupil conquered his teacher as East Fife shocked Rangers with a 1-0 victory. I can’t help but think that Mr Struth saw Rangers future that day. Later in the season the Fifers reached the Scottish Cup Final. Standing in Symon’s way at Hampden, none other than Mr Struth and Rangers. This time the teacher ran out the winner by 3 goals to nil. Rangers were also League Champions that year so Symon’s team had in effect denied Rangers a historic consecutive treble!

 

~THE GREATEST TWELFTH MAN

Fife chairman, John McArthur said in admiration of his manager and with a nod to his cricketing background, “The greatest twelfth man any club ever had.”

 

• IN AT THE NORTH END

All good things have to come to an end and Symon’s stunning accomplishments had been noted south of the border too. At end of the 1953 season, the famous Preston North End invited Symon to become their manager, he accepted. Just like at East Fife, his impact was immediate and he led Preston to the 1954 FA Cup Final against West Bromwich Albion. A thrilling match won 3-2 by West Brom with the winning goal scored three minutes from time after North End had earlier led 2-1. The Preston team included the great Tom Finney and five Scotsmen including Tommy Docherty. League form was less spectacular with a mid-table berth.

 

• THE CALL

Preston looked forward to the future, but they were not the first to have noted the outstanding managerial feats of Scot Symon. From the outset of his managerial career Mr Struth and Rangers followed his progress initially in a paternal capacity but in no time at all as a highly respected adversary. One month after the extraordinary May Final, Scot Symon was offered the honour of being Mr Struth’s handpicked successor and only the third manager in Rangers eighty two year history.

 

• “THE QUIET MANAGER WHO SPOKE AS IF WORDS COST MONEY.”

(JOHN FAIRGRIEVE IN THE DAILY MAIL)

Scot Symon did not do PR, in fact he was very much a quiet and private man, shy and with a genuine dislike of having to deal with the media. Though his quiet demeanour maintained both the Rangers tradition for letting the team do the talking and something of the mystique that surrounded Rangers. One place where you could find out more about him was in Rangers Wee Blue Book, a small blue handbook that fitted neatly into your inside jacket pocket. It contained forthcoming fixtures, statistics, various messages and information from the club and a detailed report of the previous season from the manager.

 

~Less Is More

He was rarely if ever seen in a tracksuit and was happy to empower senior players. A key element in his role was to be the upholder of the Rangers ‘standards’ on and off the pitch and to enforce discipline. He usually maintained a low profile in the dressing room, leaving the senior players to hand out advice and encouragement to their younger colleagues. Though he did not talk much to players on a day to day basis he kept himself fully aware of their activities both on and off the field. Perhaps this had the effect of making any comment he did make, stick in the players head and gave him an aura. Unlike his predecessor who managed from his seat in the directors box, Symon preferred to manage from the touchline.

 

• FINDING THE PERFECT BLEND

Rangers Historian Robert McElroy puts it brilliantly when making a case for Scot Symon in the Sunday Herald’s ‘Greatest Ever Manager,’ “It was all about balance – sign the right players, select the right team – and let them get on with it.” 

Indeed he very much resembled a first class draughtsman. The football team was a machine and he identified the components, the players who could make it as effective a unit as possible. Moreover he was always seeking to improve the performance and efficiency of the machine. The technical specification was of course to win and it required a blend of skills and personalities on the pitch organised in the right pattern. He would then sit back, observe and make amendments as necessary. For me his greatest talent was identifying players who could take the team another step further on. A textbook example of design and build on a work in constant progress. 

In terms of tactics, he rarely did much in the way of in depth pre match preparation apart from the most difficult games, let the opposition worry about Rangers and deal with his blueprint.

 

• THE DELIVERY

Despite the enormous pressure of expectation he had already delivered, Scottish Champions in 1956, 1957 and 1959, although Cup success had eluded him at this point.

 

• SCOT SYMON’S BACKROOM TEAM

Many noted how much ‘tradition’ had been a vital ingredient in keeping Rangers successful. The backroom staff was primarily made up of ex-players. Including: 

Trainer Davie Kinnear played for the club between 1935 until the outbreak of war when he enlisted. This was his third season in the post, he succeeded another ex-player Jimmy Smith now the Chief Scout who himself assumed the post from another former player, Bob McDonald in 1947. 

The youngsters at the club worked with club legends, Bob McPhail and Jock ‘Tiger’ Shaw. Centre forward McPhail joined the club in 1927 for a then massive £5,000 fee from Airdrie and scored a staggering 230 goals in 354 League games before the outbreak of World War 2. Jock Shaw was captain of Rangers post war teams, he made his debut in the 1939 team and so lost a good seven seasons of his career because of the war before completing his Ibrox playing career in 1953.

 

█ THE RANGERS PLAYERS 1960 █

 

• SYMONS TEAM

The 1960 Rangers team was now very much Scot Symon’s team as by this stage, the players from Mr Struth’s final team had either retired or were winding down their careers. Of the starting XI on this night, five players had been purchased by Symon, the remainder such as Eric Caldow had progressed through the ranks at Ibrox. Of this team, seven gained international caps and George Niven had just been selected for Scotland. The team all came from Scotland, although John Little was actually born in Canada but had been brought up from a young age in Scotland and gone on to represent the latter.

 

• DEFENCE

Goalkeeper George Niven, reliable and lending the team an air of composure. Preferring good positioning as opposed to spectacular dives but capable of the latter if required. It was probably his lack of height that restricted his selection for Scotland.

Capable of playing on either side, Eric Caldow was one of the finest full backs in Europe and a Scotland regular. He had the distinction of playing in all three of Scotland’s matches in the 1958 World Cup finals in Sweden. A clever and accurate rather than physical defender he set up attacks with his fine passing and attacking runs. Very fast, double footed and a super cool penalty taker. 

Centre half Willie ‘Bill’ Paterson was tall, powerful and both good in the air and strong in the tackle. Despite being best equipped as a ‘destroyer’ he always looked to play good skilful football although sometimes over-elaborated when a powerful clearance or simple pass might have been better. Before that, the opposition would have to get through the redoubtable Harold Davis who shielded the defence. When Mr Struth spoke of the ‘True Ranger’ he could well have had Harold in mind. Severely injured in the Korean War with shrapnel wounds, it was felt at the time he would be unable to work again let alone play any standard of football. What do doctors know? Harold resumed employment in a foundry and played part time football for East Fife under former Rangers and Scotland goalkeeping legend, Jerry Dawson. Not surprising given this Ibrox connection, his performances were soon noted by Rangers. A triumphant example of mind over matter. In this gifted team it is fair to say that Harold lacked the natural ball skills of some of his colleagues but he consistently worked as hard as anyone on the pitch and in a Rangers shirt would never give less than 100%.

 

• ATTACK

In addition to being capable of scoring themselves, the attacking creativity came through Billy Stevenson, Alec Scott, Ian McMillan and Davie Wilson who combined pace and accurate passing through to the prolific Jimmy Millar. Except for pace, Millar had everything else in the classic centre forward’s armoury. Although he stood at just 5’6, it took a much taller and skilled header of the ball to beat him in the air. Joining him upfront was Sammy Baird, a player much admired by Scot Symon who had previously bought him for Preston for a substantial £12,000 fee in summer 1954. However the pair never worked together as days later Symon got the call to become Rangers manager. However after a season playing for Preston, Symon acquired him again for £12,000, which was a record transfer fee for Rangers. In 1956 he made his Scotland debut and alongside Eric Caldow was part of the 1958 Scotland World Cup squad. He became the first Ranger to score in the World Cup Finals in his only appearance of the tournament, against France. He was the classic big, strong centre forward and wrought havoc in the opponents defence with his power and ability to score.

 

• THE TEAM PATTERN

This was a pacy, highly technical and compact unit constructed by Scot Symon which opponents found hard to break down. In possession they moved the ball quickly and stretched out opposition defences. The versatility of Rangers forwards, allowed for changes to be made on the pitch and meant the club could usually deal with any injuries collected during the season. There was also a lot of tackling ability in Rangers attack, which made it hard for opponents to build from the back.

 

• WEAKNESS

Perhaps given the overall lack of height in the team, corner kicks and set pieces delivered high into the box were a danger against a team fielding a number of taller players.

 

█ RANGERS JEUS SANS FRONTIERES █

 

• EUROPEAN COMPETITION

Before the inception of the European Cup for Season 1955-56, Rangers had played against other top European clubs in ‘Prestige’ friendlies. Often as Scottish Champions, fixtures against the English Champions became unofficial British Championship deciders. Elsewhere in Europe there were tournaments based around clubs in a specific area such as the Mitropa competition or the shortly lived Latin Cup. Though national honour was at stake in these games, there was ultimately no prize nor was it possible to determine who actually was the best team on the European Continent. For managers it provided a fresh challenge.

 

~New Measures

“Football is no longer merely played around our doors. Its horizons are worldwide with a fascinating tapestry interwoven by the sporting peoples of almost every known country. The old measures must be reviewed, the old ideals and plans altered and re-shaped.”

(Scot Symon in the Wee Blue Book 1961-1962) 

Rangers made their European Cup debut in 1956-57, the second season of the new competition and the evening matches under the Ibrox floodlights were an immediate hit. Like fans across Europe, the Ibrox crowd enjoyed seeing new teams, admiring new players and observing new playing styles. The European clashes were glamorous and usually had plenty of thrills and spills. The players certainly enjoyed European football because it afforded them the opportunity to travel and visit places they had only ever heard of. The directors enjoyed the additional revenue. Everyone enjoyed the honour of representing their country on the continent and the directors in particular took very seriously their ambassadorial duties and enjoyed forming friendships with new clubs.

 

• EARLY TEETHING PROBLEMS

Some of the early tournament ‘spills’ came about because different countries interpreted rules differently which given the size of Europe was hardly surprising. For instance, the continentals got particularly upset with the physical challenges on their goalkeepers when they played British teams. In turn the British players became angry with body checking, jersey pulling and deliberate tripping which were an accepted if illegal part of the game in other countries. There were also some countries which did a particularly unpleasant line in gamesmanship especially off the ball with the aim of provoking opponents and putting them off their game. The Italians and Belgians had built up something of poor reputation in this regard.

 

   P R E – M A T C H  B U I L D  U P

 

█ PLAYING OFF █

 

• THIRD TIME LUCKY

Having edged out RS Bratislava in the first round of the sixteen team European Cup Competition, the Scottish Champions found themselves paired with Sparta Rotterdam. Rangers and Sparta were unable to settle their quarter final over two legs. Rangers had seemingly done the hard work with a 3-2 away win in the first leg and really should have finished off the tie after thirty minutes but squandered a hatful of chances. In the second leg Sparta defended superbly and scored a late breakaway goal from Van Ede to win 1-0 in front of 80,000 stunned Ibrox fans. There was no such thing as ‘away goals’ in 1960 and the winner would be determined by a ‘play off’ at a neutral venue.

 

• YOUR COUNTRY EXPECTS

Rangers were the last British team left in the competition and given that Glasgow’s 134,000 capacity Hampden Park had already been chosen to host the Final on 18th May, there was no greater incentive to proceed.

 

█ SPARTA ROTTERDAM IT’S JUST NOT CRICKET █

Sparta FC. Founded 1888, the official date given as 1st April. (No Joke!)

League Champions: 1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1915 and 1959. Dutch Cup Winners: 1958.

 

• IT’S NOT CRICKET

Everybody knows the famous Feyenoord herald from Rotterdam, but originally it was Sparta who were Rotterdam’s main team. Formed in April 1888 initially as a cricket club for teenagers aged between fourteen and sixteen, they started playing football as a winter activity and displayed an immediate aptitude for the game. By 1892 goalposts had taken over from stumps and the white flannels were dispensed with altogether. Throughout their history Sparta retained something of an anglo flavour. In 1893 Sparta hosted an English club and the following year visited England for a tour, six years later they arranged a game with Sunderland and were so taken with their opponent's red and white striped shirts that they acquired a set for themselves. In 1908 they recruited an English coach, for some extra ‘know how’. Fans and admirers of the Dutch national team have Sparta to thank for organising Holland’s first international against Belgium in 1905. By the outbreak of World War 1, Sparta had won four Championships.

 

• CLASS WAR

Their city rivals, Feyenoord had to wait until the 1920’s to win their first title but from that point on the momentum shifted away from Sparta as Feyenoord became the much better supported team.

Sparta became synonymous as the team for the ‘white collar’ worker from the more affluent section of Rotterdam society. Their rivals generally drew their support from the ‘blue collar’ Rotterdam working class, with a huge following among the massive ‘docks’ workforce. Sparta’s board was traditionally conservative and traditional in outlook whilst Feyenoord’s was more imaginative and built the famous ‘De Kuip’ stadium to house larger crowds.

 

• SPARTAN REVIVAL

In 1954 Sparta ditched their proud amateur status to become semi professional and it was the catalyst for a glorious revival, Sparta won the Dutch Cup in 1958 and followed it up with the League Championship in 1959. 

Perhaps the difference between Rotterdam’s two clubs was best illustrated by their stadiums. Feyenoord’s De Kuip was modern, large and in the heart of the city. Whereas Sparta’s Het Kassel ground was old fashioned, architecturally classic and located in the suburbs. Complete with a ‘castellated’ clubhouse guarded by two monkey statuettes behind the goal. The first leg of this tie was switched to De Kuip in order to house the crowd.

 

• AMBASSADORS

Sparta had certainly been excellent ambassadors for Dutch football both on and off the pitch. Writing his programme notes before the second leg, Rangers chairman John Wilson could not have been more fulsome in his praise for Sparta’s warm, sporting and generous welcome. The entire Rangers party received gifts after the game from their hosts and the club a beautiful delft vase.

 

• THIS SPARTAN LIFE

All the Sparta players were employed on part time contracts. Daytime occupations included: dockers, labourers, clerks, salesmen, an engineer, a physiotherapist, Dutch naval officer, an airport worker and a lucky lad who worked in a brewery.

 

• BRITISH BOSS, BRITISH STYLE

Nevertheless they played in a ‘physical’ British style based on a quick running game and their manager Englishman Denis Neville was a former Fulham defender. Their success in the previous clashes were helped by Neville going on a spying mission to watch how Rangers played.

 

In their attack they fielded Irish international, Peter Fitzgerald at centre forward who had the cherished job at the brewery and Northern Ireland international John Crossan at inside right. Crossan was currently serving a ban from British football for receiving an illegal payment.

 

• DUTCH GIANTS AND THE RANGERS MYTH

There is a school of thought composed by those not of a Rangers persuasion, that all Rangers players are tall and big with the inference that they are physical rather than skilful. Not only is this misleading, look at their opponents for instance. Sparta boasted (and don’t forget how height increases each generation) a 6’4 centre half in Jannie Schilder who was so impressive in the air in the earlier games that Newcastle were rumoured to be interested in buying him and 6’2 Jan Vilerium at right half.

 

   M  A  T  C  H  D  A  Y

 

█ AFTERNOON █

 

• REST, RELAXATION AND SELECTION

During the afternoon the Rangers squad relaxed and rested at their London hotel but it had been a particularly good afternoon for goalkeeper, George Niven. His afternoon nap was interrupted by a telephone call to inform him that he had been selected to keep goal and win his first cap for Scotland in their biggest annual fixture, the forthcoming clash with England at Hampden Park. This great surprise and honour came about after Spurs refused to release Scotland’s first choice goalkeeper, Bill Brown.

 

█ EARLY EVENING █

 

• A FIRST IN LONDON

The European Cup now in its fourth year had finally arrived in London, the metropolis yet to have a team compete in the tournament. No doubt many Londoners would want to get their first glimpse of live European Cup action but if they came to the game thinking it would be a spectacle to which they would need to lend some atmosphere then they were very mistaken!

 

• FOLLOW FOLLOW

Thousands of Rangers fans had been arriving in London all day. Before the construction of motorways, many fans had travelled on coaches (buses) and in shared vehicles overnight for a journey that lasted at least ten hours. Some had made a mini holiday of the game and needless to say the night sleeper was fully booked.

 

Throughout the day, the happy travelling army regaled Londoners with their favourite songs and in particular ‘Follow Follow’ a song about the lengths of distance the Rangers support will go to follow their team. For those who wanted to enjoy a drink, pub hours were restricted to 12-3pm. So off licences enjoyed a windfall.

 

Early evening brought a carnival atmosphere of songs, laughter and lively discussion to Islington. At this stage, pubs did not open for the evening until 6.30pm so there were no fortunes to be made by local publicans. However Arsenal were allowed to sell beer in the ground and given the thirst of some of the visitors had a rather more lucrative evening.

 

~FLYING THE FLAG

Some of the Rangers support had brought large banners and giant flags with them and as part of the pre-match entertainment were encouraged to parade these around the pitch perimeter so all the crowd could see them and they received a great reception not just from their fellow Rangers fans but from the whole crowd. There was also given the distance from home some splendid, noisy and enthusiastic support from the 1000 Sparta fans. 

Aside from football enthusiasts from across London, the remainder of the crowd was made up of Arsenal fans looking to see a bit of history made at Highbury.

 

• BEWARE THE PIRATES

I can’t confirm for sure if Captain Hook and Long John Silver made it in time for kick off, but there were certainly purveyors of a pirate programme. Essentially it was a scam. The sellers tried to give the impression that the programmes they were selling were the official ones but upon opening were thin on any relevant information about the match. Of course fans from Glasgow and Rotterdam would have no idea how the Arsenal programme usually looked like nor who were supposed to be the official programme sellers. This fake programme was produced by the South Western Publicity Company. Typically the layout of the front cover actually looked very professional although the main picture of the English FA Cup might have been a clue for the shrewder fan. The pirate programme had its roots in post war rationing, when paper was rationed and clubs had to budget their paper allocation for the season.

 

• COMPETITION RULES THE EURO LOTTERY

A result had to be ‘achieved’ on the night, should scores be level after ninety minutes a further thirty minutes of extra time would be played. If this was inconclusive, the winner would be decided on the toss of a coin.

 

   M A T C H   R E P O R T

 

RANGERS : 1 George Niven  2 Eric Caldow  3 John Little  4 Harold Davis  5 Willie Paterson  6 Billy Stevenson  7 Alec Scott  8 Ian McMillan  9 Jimmy Millar  10 Sammy Baird  11 Davie Wilson.

Blue shirts with a deep white V. White shorts. Red socks with a white top.

SPARTA ROTTERDAM : 1 Andries Van Dijk  2 Pym Visser  3 Tony Van Der Lee  4 Adrian Verhoeven  5 Jan Villerius  6 Hans De Koning  7 Tony Van Ede  8 John Crossnan  9 Peter Fitzgerald  10 Peter De Vries  11 Tinus Bosselaar.

Away kit of white shirts replacing red and white striped jersey. Black shorts and hooped socks. 

Referee : Mr R Leafe (Nottingham).

Linesmen : Mr Stewart (East Barnet) and Mr W Buckley (Charlton).

Under Competition rules, no substitutes allowed.

The pitch was variously described according to whichever report you read as: a bog, a swamp, rain sodden, and a quagmire. The result of torrential, overnight rain. 

FIRST HALF 

As the referee supervises the toss between the captains he is joined by two unlikely matchday mascots. A late thirty something looking Rangers fan with his scarf outstretched and fresh from the pre match procession. The other is an older man, a Sparta fan wearing a bow tie and carrying a large red and white flag topped with a rosette. Eric Caldow wins the toss and so with the formalities completed: 

In the 1st Half, Sparta kick towards the covered North Bank. Rangers towards the uncovered Clock End. 

6-7 minutes (mins) : GOAL 1-0 SPARTA

Good work and a cross from Van Ede on the right, forces Niven to concede a corner. Bosselaar takes, the tall Verhoeven is not picked up by the Rangers defence as he ghosts into the box and then thunders in a low diving header past Niven and two defenders on the goal line. Such is the force of his header and his momentum that he flies into the goal netting along with the ball. 

Full Backs Caldow and Little start to push back the Sparta wingers and Rangers seize the initiative. 

26 mins : GOAL 1-1

Davie Wilson plays a low free kick. It is unclear as to whether Sammy Baird touches it or simply plays a dummy by stepping over the ball as it deflects off Verhoeven past his goalkeeper. 

Rangers create a number of chances which they fail to make the most of. Sparta are conceding a number of corners and they struggle to deal with them and Harold Davis in particular, is a constant danger with his powerful heading. 

HALF TIME SCORE : RANGERS 1 SPARTA ROTTERDAM 1 

HALF TIME ENTERTAINMENT

A pitch invasion by the Metropolitan Police Band. They play an assortment of tunes. Including ‘The Scottish Emblem’, The Swing of The Kilt and The Little Dutch Doll. Traditionally the drum major threw up and caught his mace (not the pepper spray variety) as the band passed the middle of Highbury’s North Bank. 

SECOND HALF 

46 mins : Almost immediately after the restart Baird narrowly misses with a powerful effort from twenty five yards out and for the next ten minutes torments the Dutch defence. 

56 mins : This time Sparta go close. The tie is still wide open. 

58 mins : GOAL 2-1 RANGERS

Sammy Baird, a good twenty yards from goal, collects a low pass from Wilson and hits a thunderous low left footed drive to beat Van Dijk in his left hand corner. Such is the pace of the shot that the crestfallen goalkeeper does not move before the ball flies into the net. 

Rangers miss plenty of opportunities to kill off the tie. Sparta’s attacks are repelled by Caldow, Stevenson and Davis. Sammy Baird continues to wreak havoc in the Sparta defence ably assisted by McMillan’s subtle and accurate passing. 

76 mins : GOAL 3-1

A weak Millar shot/through ball takes a deflection off Villierius and tantalisingly drifts past the stranded Van Dijk, nestling just inside the post. 

Sparta go for broke. John Crossan in particular belatedly looks dangerous. 

88 mins : GOAL 3-2

Tony Van Ede is felled inside the penalty area. Tinus Bosselaar cracks home the penalty.

Sparta desperately chase an equaliser but Rangers hold on for the remaining few minutes. 

• MUDDY WONDERFUL

After the referee blows for time, hundreds of supporters and by no means exclusively Rangers fans, run on to the pitch and hoist Sammy Baird on their shoulders, carrying him across the muddy field to the players tunnel. The travelling support deserve a pat on the back from their team for their non stop support and encouragement throughout the match. 

FINAL SCORE : RANGERS 3 (Baird 2, Vilerius OG) SPARTA 2 (Verhoeven, Bosselaar)

Attendance : 34,176 

   P O S T   M A T C H   R E A C T I O N

█ MEDIA REACTION █

 

• MIRROR

Ken Jones writing in the Daily Mirror dubbed it, “A thrill-a-minute battle.”

 

• MIRED

Gair Henderson of the Glasgow Evening Times quipped, “Sparta had been played right in to the mire.”

 

• A FEW WORDS FROM SCOT SYMON

The amazing thing looking back at reports of this game are the lack of quotes immediately afterwards by anybody connected with Rangers. A perfect example of Rangers preference for letting their football do the talking and Scot Symon’s pet aversion of talking to journalists. He did however write in the Wee Blue Book, “We produced our finest football of the three meetings on the Highbury ground.”

 

• AUTHORS

Willie Allison in his book, Rangers The New Era, gave this assessment. “While our display was not out of the most dazzling Ibrox mould, there were spells when we produced some devastating football that had our fans shouting in glee and who gave our boys rapturous applause at the finish. The ankle-deep mud, a legacy of torrential rain, clogged the efforts of both sides, but so intense was the effort that somehow we forgot the miserable conditions as our eyes were drawn to the field as though under hypnosis.” 

Hugh Taylor writing in We Will Follow Rangers commented on the tie, “In the quarter final they learned another lesson: never underrate opponents from abroad. Sparta turned out to be a far more accomplished side than the Ibrox people had been led to be believe.”

 

█ THE THOUGHTS OF DENNIS NEVILLE █

 

• KINDNESS AND APPRECIATION

Dennis Neville contacted Gair Henderson of the Glasgow Evening Times later in the week for a chat and to convey his thoughts and memories from the evening. His thoughts were shared in the Football Supplement of the Evening Times, the following Saturday. Firstly, he asked Gair to convey his thanks to the sporting Rangers fans, “Who showed nothing but kindness and appreciation of my players.”

 

• SPORTSMANSHIP

On the tie he offered these words, “For Sparta, the three matches against Rangers were a great and valuable learning experience. I did not see one vicious foul in all the games and I would like to thank Rangers publicly for showing that football between British and continental teams can be played in the true spirit of friendship.”

 

• TOP TIPS

He even promised to offer some assistance for Rangers semi final tie against Frankfurt, “I know something of the tactics used by Frankfurt and any further information I get will be passed on to Mr Scot Symon.”

 

• A HOLIDAY IN GLASGOW

So much did Dennis Neville enjoy his trip to Glasgow, that he had already arranged a friendly against Celtic to be played on Saturday 14th May, as part of a holiday where the squad would then go to Hampden four days later to watch the European Cup Final, hopefully to cheer on Rangers. Given their European run and the nature of playing competitive football, the players probably had very little holiday allowance remaining but how did they want to use it? Playing and watching football of course!

 

• AND MORE POWER TO THE ‘SPARTANS’

On their way back home to Rotterdam the next day, Sparta stopped off to play Scunthorpe United at 6.45 pm. Football was not even their main income yet there they were, playing less than 24 hours after a European Cup quarter final. A glorious perhaps never again repeated throwback to the amateur ethos of playing the game just for the sheer fun of it. I can’t help thinking of too many sides since who wouldn’t have spent the day after a tie and before a long journey home doing anything other than resting.

 

   T A L K I N G   P O I N T S

 

█ WHO ARE THE RANGERS ? █

 

The title of ‘a Ranger’ is bestowed to anyone who has represented the first team.

 

█ WE ARE THE PEOPLE █

 

• THERE’S NOT A TEAM

As an organisation the club was defined by footballing triumph but what made it special was not just the massive size of its support but its passion and amazing loyalty. Creating the most amazing noise, sound, atmosphere and spectacle whether at Ibrox or any other football stadium in which the Rangers played. 

Published In 1961 celebrated author Hugh Taylor wrote in his book We Will Follow Rangers. 

“There is no doubt that Rangers have the biggest support of any team in Scotland. It can be argued that they have more supporters than any team in Britain, for I can’t imagine even the famed Tottenham Hotspurs or Arsenal taking 10,000 supporters to watch them play in Scotland. And, indeed they may claim to have more supporters than any other club in the world. If they haven’t, Rangers can at least claim that nowhere is there to be found a more dedicated army of fans. It is true as the renowned song (Follow Follow) says that no matter where Rangers play, whether it is Bratislava or Nice, London or Milan, there you will find enthusiastic supporters who have followed on.” 

• THE PEOPLE

Hugh then correctly points out how this support was not just confined to Glasgow or indeed the West Coast of Glasgow (which supplied the backbone of the support) but was nationwide from the Highlands to Lowlands with Rangers fans in every Scottish town, city and village. 

What he did neglect to mention was the massive fanbase from Ulster that regularly travelled at great time and expense across the sea to attend matches and also the huge expatriate support not just in England but across the globe as fans had moved to find new career and life opportunities. 

And yes as Hugh suggests, the support was Protestant, British and proud be so, their team on the pitch representing their finest qualities of skill, hard work and triumph not least in the face of adversity.

 

█ THE RANGERS CLUB AND IDENTITY █

 

• WHEN DID OLD FIRM RIVALRY BEGIN?

The year I believe that the Old Firm rivalry was firmly established was 1904-1905. The New Year’s Day Fixture attracted 60,000 fans to Ibrox (previous Old Firm League games at Ibrox never exceeded 30,000) but was abandoned because of a pitch invasion. Rangers next highest League crowd that season apart from the replayed Old Firm fixture was 20,000 fans. Yet that was not the end of the Old Firm rivalry in the League that season as despite a superior Rangers goal difference with the Old Firm level on points, the Championship was to be settled by a play off. From 1905 onwards Old Firm fixtures subsequently attracted the biggest League crowds to Ibrox each season. With the intensification of the situation in Ireland and Ulster, the Old Firm fixtures took on a far deeper resonance.

 

• A VERY SIMPLE EXPLANATION TO THE IDENTITY OF RANGERS AND THE OLD FIRM

On a very simplistic level I would offer the following. Rangers were not a club with any religious or political affiliations other than that the four young men who created the club represented the best qualities of Protestant youth in early 1870’s Glasgow. Religion came to football in Glasgow with the creation of Celtic in 1888. The Catholics of Glasgow supported this club and of course with that came their political viewpoint. There was no initial rivalry with Rangers when they fielded their first ever team or rather borrowed most of Hibernian of Edinburgh’s fine team who would later be permanently lured west in their inaugural fixture, a friendly against none other than Rangers. Celtic’s winning of three League Championships between 1893 and 1896, I would suggest made Protestant football fans want their own champions and standard bearers. In the Glasgow area there were three other league clubs, Third Lanark, Cambuslang and Cowlairs. Despite their great history, Glasgow’s Queen’s Park was not an option on the simple basis that the proud amateurs had refused to join the inaugural Scottish League and only eventually did so a decade later in 1901 by which time the professionals had left them behind. 

Not only were Rangers the most centrally located for a working class support they were the Glasgow team who were the best placed to defeat Celtic on the field. They were already well supported, popular in the community and boasted a prestigeous and proud history too. The colours were uncannily appropriate and of course the string of seven consecutive trophies from 1897 made them a focal point for support. Of course the intensification of the political situation regarding Ulster, Ireland and Home Rule further lit the passions of the people and the one place in Glasgow a large number of Protestants and Catholics would meet in close proximity was at an Old Firm clash.

 

• FOR SOMEONE ELSE

I acknowledge more than anyone this is barely scratching the surface and expect perhaps, more than a few will dispute what little has been written! It’s actually a book for someone else better informed and resourced to write and of course in a book dedicated to the subject. Bill Murray wrote one such acknowledged book on the history of the Old Firm published in 1984 and it was an excellent effort but even then people on both sides pointed out many omissions they felt important and relevant. The difficulty with such a book or documentary is that there is simply too much information. 

To anyone attempting such an undertaking, I would humbly offer the following advice from an admittedly biased but attempting to be balanced Rangers perspective. It is necessary to look at the growth of Glasgow from a population of 77,000 people in 1801 to a population of 500,000 people in 1881 and a population of 762,000 in 1901. In turn to look at the demographical and sociological make-up of the population. In terms of ethnicity, class, lifestyle, politics and religion. Then looking at the social and economic factors of the time. Religion of course is crucial when looking at how and why Protestants of Glasgow adopted Rangers as their champions. In terms of the fact that this Protestant Scottish population were mainly newcomers to Glasgow themselves and how many also enjoyed ancient and fraternal links with Ulster Protestants. Glasgow’s Irish Catholics had been migrating and settling in Glasgow since the turn of the nineteenth century with a particular large influx around 1845 when Ireland suffered the Potato Famine. One thing that is forgotten that Protestants made up a significant minority of around 15% in the South of Ireland in 1861 and that there was a large Irish Protestant migration to Glasgow too. Of course, football was taking off as a played and spectated sport at the very moment there was the Irish Home rule movement which in addition to religion added an intense political dimension. When one looks at religion it is necessary to look at how people practised faith, how religion dominated many people’s lives and with that the power and motives of church leaders which I suggest led to the cultures being very segregated rather than mixed, beginning at the cradle with schooling. Although it was in 1918 that the Education Scotland Act was passed and created state funded Catholic only schools. To paraphrase a well-known Bishop talking about the Old Firm on an ITV televised Credo Documentary in 1981 and replacing his word football with my word education, “What is important is that Education instead of being a force for good and creativity has uniquely in Scotland been used an instrument to lead literally hundreds of thousands if not millions of young scots into this ludicrous nonsense of sectarianism.” I can say with some degree of certainty that both religion and tensions in Ireland were there long before organised, competitive football. Nor do I recall him speaking out against Scottish schooling either. 

Which thankfully brings us on to football. For someone keen to understand the background to religion in Scottish football we need to look at the early years of Hibernian football club of Edinburgh. The formation of Hibernian football club in 1875 came about both similarly and differently to Rangers. Just as Rangers founders had been inspired by young friends stumbling across a game of football, so a similarly aged Irish immigrant called Michael Whelahan and his friends stumbled upon an organised game being contested in Edinburgh. What really inspired the young man was to have a team from his community playing for and representing Edinburgh’s Little Ireland community. The experience of both sets of young men demonstrates how the joy of football in its purest form is something that unites so many of us from whatever, culture, creed and background we come from. To get back to looking at how Hibernian relates to religion in Scottish football. The subsequent success of Hibernian on the field, represented on the field by its community, galvanised and brought pride to its community, who like many people of that time experienced great hardship. Significantly the club generated some much needed money for the most disadvantaged in the community too. The club was strongly and well led and managed by one Father Edward Hannan in that despite the Irish Catholic roots and emblems, any political dimension relating to home rule was not tolerated. What could be argued was that the club broke down barriers in terms of encouraging Edinburgh’s and Scotland’s wider Irish community to embrace this new sport rather than traditional Gaelic games and in a similar vein when Hibernian played in charity games for Scottish charitable causes it too broke down barriers and being a fine team earned respect from other fans. The club were of course more than happy to help raise funds for the wider Irish community in Scotland. When Hibernian raised money on a couple of occasions for Irish Marist Brother Walfrid’s Glasgow Poor Children’s Dinner Table, to help feed the poorest Irish Catholic children in exhibition matches, it inspired him to create a similar club for his charity and community in the East End of Glasgow. 

Whilst nobody wishes to demean any charity which ultimately helps those in greatest need, it is necessary to examine the research of the afore mentioned Bill Murray who concludes the creation of the club was not entirely altruistic. He states, “But as well as concern for the suffering poor, Brother Walfrid was also prompted by a fear that Protestant soup kitchens might tempt young Catholics into apostasy. Moreover he was equally worried about the dangers of young Catholics meeting Protestants in their place of employment or leisure, particularly during the years after leaving school which he considered the most dangerous as far as "religious duties" were concerned. A Catholic football club then, could serve the dual purpose of easing the pain in starving stomachs at the same as it kept young Catholics together in their leisure time, free from the temptations of Protestants and Protestantism. The aims of his helpers may have been more prosaic, but when the circular announcing the formation of a Catholic club in the East End of Glasgow was circulated in January 1888, its religious foundations were stressed". 

One might of course then look at how this club came about. Not surprisingly I can’t claim significant expertise on this subject! Although what I do know is confusing. That the club created to raise funds for his community’s children in most desperate need, then found money to poach the majority of Hibernian’s first team players with illegal financial inducements when the game itself was still amateur. The same Hibernian which had been so keen to help his charity and which over many years had helped the neediest Catholic Irish in Edinburgh. That Celtic had within four years lost its charitable dimension and the Brother himself was five years later carrying out his teaching and community work hundreds of miles away in London’s East End. Celtic historians point the finger at local profiteers John Glass and Pat Welsh. The latter was known to have a particularly sinister reputation and a peculiar choice of person to have ever been allowed to have been involved in this type of enterprise. 

Prior to Walfrid’s involvement in football he had worked as a teacher in Glasgow’s East End as part of the Marist Brothers Teaching Order and helped his community’s poorest youth and children over many years in the most difficult of times. So if I can acknowledge this, what above all else I can’t understand is why the Catholic Church in Glasgow and the community allowed the club and Walfrid to be so swiftly moved away from its charitable mission as their neediest children were the intended beneficiaries. Again this at least is a task for someone else. 

Rangers identity as a Protestant and British club I would suggest was strengthened by World War 1. Rangers Directors, Players and of course Supporters were all touched by the horrors of this bloody slaughterhouse and carnage. Ulster’s 36th Division showed a heroism, a courage and self sacrifice on the battlefield probably never to be witnessed which renewed the ancient links and fraternal sacred bonds of West Coast Scottish Protestants to Ulster. 

At the end of the World War 1, and a time of deep national consciousness, the fans and people running Rangers understandably wanted to celebrate their roots and identity and so Ibrox became a place for Glasgow’s Protestants not just to watch great football but to celebrate their culture alongside fans further afield who shared theses values. Of course the triumphs of the team made Ibrox a special place for those who loved the best in football, Protestantism and Britain.

 

█ WARTIME RANGERS WORLD WAR 1 █

 

• THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN & OTHER BRAVE MEN

When Britain joined World War 1, seven men who represented Rangers in the league in the 1914-15 season enlisted. In addition to the seven, former Scotland international Jimmy Galt who had recently retired from Rangers after an Ibrox career spanning eight years joined up. As did John Fleming and Jimmy Lister who played for the club in 1915-16. On top of that at least eight men who had spent at least two or more years in the Rangers first team joined the forces as did the sons of the directors. 

Finally, Walter Tull, a young man who already had achieved much and although about to start a career at Ibrox was prepared to put this on hold for something he typically considered far more important. 

Manager William Wilton and his then assistant Bill Struth volunteered and worked tirelessly at the Bellahouston Hospital, looking after waves of wounded and maimed young Glaswegians upon their return home. Both during and after the War, Rangers played a number of fundraising matches for the wounded.

 

• REST IN PEACE

Directors William Craig and William Danskin were alas to lose sons in the carnage of the War, like everywhere in Britain, everyone regardless of class was tragically touched.

 John Fleming never made it home. Neither did former player Jimmy Speirs who had spent three years at Ibrox between 1905 and 1908 before going on to captain Newcastle United and scoring their winning goal in the 1911 Cup Final. Nor did Walter Tull. Fleming and Tull  both had connections with Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) of North London. Speirs was awarded the Military Medal and Tull the Military Cross. Tull’s remarkable life story is covered in chapter 11.

 

• REAL MEDALS

Scotland international Finlay Speedie who played for Rangers between 1900 and 1906 was also awarded the Military Medal. After leaving Rangers he helped Newcastle to a League Championship before joining Oldham, Bradford Park Avenue and Dumbarton. Dr James Paterson who was one of the seven that played in 1914-15 was awarded the Military Cross for bravery.

 

• REAL HEROES

Thankfully and remarkably amidst the death and horror, the seven players from the 1914-15 team all made it home and with just a single exception all resumed playing for Rangers. The one who did not, Alec Smith had been in the first team since 1894 and was still there aged thirty nine in 1915! Even by his exceptional playing standards he was too old to play competitively in the top flight.

Of the seven, a number went on to have remarkable careers. Including Jimmy Gordon who resumed his Scotland international career and was later made captain. Andy Cunningham also went on to represent Scotland and netted 182 goals in 389 appearances for Rangers before hanging up his boots in 1929. If you read the third chapter, you will find out more of the splendid Dr James Patterson who went on to join Arsenal. Willie Reid capped by Scotland before the War scored a staggering 195 goals in 230 Rangers appearances before retiring in 1920. 

Following the War, a further five men who fought, joined the club. Including Jock Buchanan who was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and Tommy Muirhead who despite being wounded, recovered to make 327 appearances for Rangers and represent his country. Though this time thankfully on a football not a battle field.

 

█ WARTIME RANGERS WORLD WAR 2 █

 

It is indicative of how close the era featured in this book was to World War 2, that a number of characters that have already been mentioned and/or go on to feature in this book, played football for Rangers in 1938-39 before joining up. 

Among those to volunteer for the army were nineteen year old prodigy Willie Thornton, Scotland internationals David Kinnear and Dr Adam Little and future Scotland international Sammy Cox. 

Future Scotland goalkeeper Bobby Brown joined the navy and Jimmy Simpson in his thirteenth year at Ibrox joined the RAF. 

Winger and Scotland international, Torry Gillick who enjoyed two spells at Ibrox enlisted in the Army. When he left for Everton in 1935, Rangers received a record £8,000 transfer fee and he earnt the distinction of league championship winners’ medals in both England and Scotland. 

Needless to say the depleted Rangers again participated in a number of fund raising matches. 

Mercifully as I understand, there were no fatalities to those from Rangers who joined up. After the War, Thornton, Little and Cox went on to play for their country and serve Rangers with distinction.

 

• GOOD ON THE GROUND AND IN THE AIR

Willie Thornton joined the Duke of Atholl regiment and won the Military Medal in the 1943 Italian campaign, for his courage in Sicily when under ferocious bombardment. You won’t be surprised what this great character went on to do on the football pitch. Going on not only to represent Scotland and netting 194 goals in 308 games for Rangers. He was every bit as fearless in the box as he was on the battlefield. 

Ian McPherson who later joined the club was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and flew on the first RAF bombing raid on Germany.

 

• LASTLY, A KOREA WITH RANGERS

A certain Harold Davis now serving in the Rangers midfield had been wounded in the Korean War and as you have read, shown the most amazing brand of triumph over adversity.

 

• FOOTBALL AT WAR

During the course of researching this book and studying the histories of the clubs Rangers faced, I’ve come across the most amazing stories of upmost patriotism, selflessness and bravery from players who enlisted. Sadly too, of young life extinguished and crippling wounds sustained but that is the true nature of war.

 

~Only A Game

Football really is just only a game, tragedies and disaster are words that shouldn’t be used in describing a game of football but reserved for events of far greater seriousness. This player had a disaster, no he didn’t he played very badly but life goes on. It’s when it doesn’t that it is a tragedy. In a similar vein, there are more important things than football which is why I’ve keep blank the periods of 1914-1918 and 1939-45 in club histories as a mark of respect.

 

█ EUROPEAN FOOTBALL AND TV MONEY █

 

• THE PRICE OF INVINCIBILITY

Real Madrid had won every European Cup since its inception in 1956 and certainly had a good idea of the value of their glamour and success. On 28th February 1960, the now defunct Sunday Graphic Newspaper reported that Spurs had invited Real Madrid to North London for a challenge match. The Spaniards were happy to turn up so long as their hosts guaranteed them £12,000. The idea being that part of their fee could be made up from broadcasting the match on television. £12,000 was identical to Rangers most expensive signing (Sammy Baird) and a substantial sum of money. Spurs declined.

 

• 6+5 AND MULTINATIONAL TEAMS

As Sparta had already shown, some clubs across Europe supplemented their squads with talented players from another European country. Real Madrid in 1960 had already taken this a step further by signing players from another continent. Of their best starting eleven, six players were Spanish including their captain, Zarraga. The foreign legion comprised of Hungarian genius Ferenc Puskas and the remainder comprising the cream of South American football. From Argentina there was Dominguez and the great Di Stefano, Brazil supplied Canario and Uruguay provided Santamaria. Not only were the South American contingent outstanding footballers but it was of course easier for them to adjust to a country with a similar climate, language and football outlook.

 

• POIGNANCY AND LEGACY

Just as this book and chapter began with the creation of Rangers, I would like to end this section with writing about what came of the four gallant pioneers. What these young men had created had become not just a massive institution much more importantly it became something that had given so much joy, pleasure and happiness to so many thousands of people. Yet the story and fate of three of the founders was anything but and most significantly just highlights the harshness, perils and bad fortunes in life that might just be around the corner. 

Moses McNeil played for Rangers for a decade until 1882 and made two appearances for Scotland. The second in 1880, was as part of the Scotland team which beat England 5-4. He went on to work as a commercial traveller before retirement. He died on 9th April 1938 aged eighty two from heart disease. 

His brother Peter McNeil played for Rangers for five years but his connection with the club was maintained afterwards helping the fledgling club in the role of match secretary. Tragically his life illustrates just how susceptible any of us are to our mental health. When his sports shop ran into difficulties he suffered a breakdown was certified insane and was to die aged forty seven in 1901 at the Hawkhead Asylum. For me, the final small solace in this story is that he is buried like Mr Struth in Craigton cemetery, the closest burial grounds to Ibrox. 

Peter Campbell played for seven years with Rangers until 1879. In his final season at the club he won three Scotland caps. He then moved to England, joining Blackburn Rovers but his stay there was just for a single season. Still a young man in his late twenties and still with so much to look forward to, he found employment in the Merchant Navy. Tragedy struck when he went down with his ship the Saint Columbia during a storm in the Bay of Biscay in 1883. 

Finally William McBeath played for the club he helped to create for four years. By 1881 he was no longer living in Scotland with his young family. Within the next decade his family life had fallen apart and he remarried in 1898. However this did not bring better times and around 1910 was suffering from a form of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. The unfortunate term of the time was imbecile and he spent his final years in a Poorhouse in the City of Lincoln. He died aged sixty one in July 1917 and for ninety years was buried in an anonymous, unmarked grave until a group from some of the most dedicated Rangers fans, the Vanguards Bears tracked down his Lincoln burial spot and placed a gravestone to honour a man whose best times were those as a gallant pioneer and acknowledge the legacy he and his three friends created.

 

   P  O  S  T  S  C  R  I  P  T

 

█ ONE STEP AWAY FROM THE FINAL █

 

• THE SEASON’S STRAIN

Rangers faced the all German eleven of Eintracht Frankfurt of Germany in the semi finals, and were comprehensively defeated 12-4 on aggregate (Eintracht winning 6-1 and 6-3) by an outstanding team. Scot Symon writing in the blue book felt that were mitigating factors. Too many fixtures, ‘the season’s strain’ as he put it and bad luck at key moments when the first leg of the tie was delicately poised at 1-1.

So fans and players would miss out on the ultimate thrill of a European Cup win in Glasgow but would make more than interested spectators especially as standing in Frankfurt’s way were none other than the multi-national and multi-talented Real Madrid.

 

█ RANGERS 1959-1960 █

 

• CUP CONSOLATION

Scot Symon’s comments on the number of fixtures was no lame excuse. By the end of the season Rangers had played out a league programme of 34 matches with a further 22 cup ties. Rangers finished their League Campaign in third position however it is most revealing that they did not win any of their last six fixtures and only recorded wins in two of their last thirteen. However at the end of the gruelling season there was a welcome triumph in the Scottish Cup Final against Kilmarnock. 

It’s worth remembering that on top of the league and cup fixtures, there were international call ups and various Prestige Fixtures for what was essentially a sixteen man squad who without substitutes played for a full ninety minutes every game.

 

• DOUBLE BAD LUCK FOR GEORGE NIVEN

I doubt if George Niven could have picked any other game to make his international debut. Unfortunately he collected an injury just before the England match and did not play. Amazingly the following year, history repeated itself for the still uncapped goalkeeper. Brown was not released by Spurs and Niven was selected but again had to miss out through injury. Frank Haffey of Celtic was again selected to cover for Niven, not that it brought him much joy. He conceded nine goals at Wembley and became the butt of jokes for years to come. Sadly, Niven was never selected for Scotland again and finished his career without a much deserved Cap.

 

█ ALL ROADS LEAD TO GLASGOW █

    THE 1960 EUROPEAN CUP FINAL.

 

• SPARTA RETURN TO GLASGOW

As promised Sparta Rotterdam returned to Glasgow for their busman’s holiday, assuming that you can you have a busman’s holiday if your job is part time. They had completed their 34 match season finishing seventh in the eighteen team Dutch 1st division. Perhaps their European campaign also hampered them in their bid to win back to back titles. 

Sparta had been fine ambassadors for Holland earlier on in the season and their second visit to Glasgow was part of, ‘The Dutch Week In Glasgow’ using football to promote Dutch business. On Saturday 14th May they travelled to the East End of the City for their 3 o’clock game with Celtic and suffice to say they took their ambassadorial duties a bit too far! Well they were on holiday. As a curious footnote, students of the old firm might be interested to note that this game was the first time Celtic donned their numbered shorts. 

And then it was just three days to the final. All good things to those who wait… 

They were to be treated to the finest ever European Cup Final and a game which in my view did not just change football but heralded the birth of modern football. But don’t just take my word for it.

 

█ 1960 EUROPEAN CUP FINAL █

    REAL MADRID V EINTRACHT FRANKFURT

 

• THE ‘REAL’ DEAL

To offer some background, English Champions Wolves were thrashed 9-2 on aggregate by Barcelona who in turn were comprehensively beaten 6-2 on aggregate in the semis by their arch rivals Real Madrid who still had yet to lose a European Cup tie.

 

• FOOTBALL BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT

127,621 fans crammed into Hampden, to watch one of, if not the finest displays of football ever seen before or since. Eintracht led 1-0 with a goal from Kress on ten minutes. Di Stefano levelled. Further goals from Di Stefano and Puskas gave the Spaniards a 3-1 lead. In the second half Real somehow raised their game to new heights. Puskas and Di Stefano were doing things never seen before on a British pitch. Real’s passing movements at times verged on the magical but the team worked hard when they needed to regain possession. From the brilliance of Santamaria in defence, to the artistry and finishing of Di Stefano and Puskas, to the whirlwind pace of Gento on the wing. Madrid led 7-2 until Stein scored a late consolation for Eintracht in the seventy fourth minute. Eintracht were a truly accomplished team and it takes two great teams to make a classic but Real had simply taken football to another level. 

A generation of British players, managers, coaches and opinion formers either attended the game in person or watched it live on black and white television. They were to have their minds changed about the way the game should be played. Among the Hampden crowd that night were: Jock Stein, Billy Shankly, Matt Busby and Bill Nicholson.

 

~THE COMMENTATOR

“Swan Lake on turf.” (Kenneth Wolstenholme)

 

~THE PLAYER

The ‘Great’ Alfredo Di Stefano.

“I played in many fine matches, but none greater than the 1960 European Cup Final. Everything we tried worked to perfection It was an honour and a privilege to be part of it. Ferenc and I had our names on the scoresheet, but this match was a triumph for everybody on the pitch - including the Eintracht players. I must also pay tribute to the spectators. Most were neutral but they encouraged us to keep raising the standard of our player.”

(The European Cup an Illustrated History by Rab MacWilliam)

 

~THE TV REVIEWERS

Though the television quality may not have then been of a high definition variety, the quality of the game shone through to those unable to be at Hampden.

 

~A BRILLIANT OLD GAME

Jimmy Greaves recalls being part of the England squad that watched the game whilst on tour in Hungary, nobody present had ever seen better club football.

 

“On 18th May 1960, all we League professionals were made to suddenly realise that we were light years behind the best teams in the world. We watched open-mouthed…. It was a match in a million that will live on in football legend as one of the classic contests of all time.”

(The Sixties Revisited by Jimmy Greaves)

 

~OI BANKSY

A young goalkeeper at Leicester City called Gordon Banks watched at home on his prized fourteen inch black and white screen. 

“I marvelled at the skill and technique of Real Madrid. All these years on, I still believe Real’s performance in the final to be the greatest ever performance by the greatest ever club side…the performances of Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas were sublime…The truth was that Eintracht Frankfurt were a very good side against a brilliant one… I spoke to quite a few of my fellow professionals and the consensus was that Real had created a benchmark for us all to aspire to… I don’t think any club side has ever equalled the performance of Real that night, but many of the great performances we have seen since, in part, came through about through people trying to equal the standard laid down by Di Stefano, Puskas and company.

(Banksy the Autobiography)

 

~THE YOUNG FAN IN THE CROWD (GEORGE FROM BARGEDDIE)

A young fan in the crowd was fifteen year old George Graham from Bargeddie who had already been tipped for a great career in football and whose progress was being closely monitored by a number of clubs. The future Scotland international and hugely successful manager recalls in his autobiography: 

“It was like watching football from another planet. I have since played in hundreds of other games and watched thousands more, but I have never seen one to match. The skill level was just unbelievable, and I am proud to say ‘I was there’… It set a new standard for football… It was a joy to watch and it convinced this boy from Bargeddie that he wanted a future in football.”

(The Glory and The Grief by George Graham)

 

~THE CROWD

He like the rest of the crowd lapped up the skills on show. Indeed the atmosphere generated by the Hampden crowd was the icing on the cake. Watch highlights of the game on television and just listen to the roar of the crowd to every goal and the ovation given to both sides at the final whistle. (and there was no sound equipment to pick up the crowd atmosphere). Even after the presentations, it seems nobody left the ground as they remained to cheer the teams off the pitch and the sporting Eintracht formed a guard of honour to salute their conquerors. The Glasgow public were so enthralled that large numbers went to the airport to cheer off the Madrid maestros.

 

~THE RANGER IN THE CROWD

Ian McMillan of Rangers (Young George Graham’s favourite player when he watched him from the terraces at Airdrie.) was another face in the crowd that night. He was staggered, as he felt that Eintracht were the best team that he had ever played against. 

“I stipulated that Eintracht were the best team I played against, but with many thousands, I watched in wonder when they met and were beaten by Real Madrid at Hampden Park in the European Cup Final. What a game… and what a wonderful boost for football. Real were the soccer maestros and I loved every second of their play. But one great thing came out of that match apart from the sheer brilliance of it all. IT CHANGED THE FACE OF SCOTTISH FOOTBALL. IN FACT, IF YOU WISH, YOU CAN CALL IT THE REAL RENAISSANCE. For, after that game, almost everyone I know vowed to work harder, concentrate more and really get down to soccer as an art.”

(The All Stars Football Book 1962) 

Perhaps Madrid’s guest fee was not such bad value after all.