Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

No.1

Moses McNeil
(1872-1882)

Picture the scene. A 16-year-old lad is talking to his brother Peter and friends William McBeath and Peter Campbell about starting a football team and he suggested calling it 'Rangers' after seeing the name in an English rugby football annual.

As good ideas go it was to prove stunningly successful as the club name resonates around the world.

Originally hailing from Rhu on the Gare Loch, as one of seven brothers, McNeil and his friends first started playing football on Glasgow Green at Flesher's Haugh.

The first two years of the history of Rangers is sketchy but sometime in May 1872 McNeil's Rangers played their first friendly against Callandar.

He was a small but powerful winger who liked to tackle back and in 1876 he became Rangers' first-ever international when he was called up by Scotland to play against Wales.

Moses also appeared in Rangers' first-ever Scottish Cup Final side and he scored as the Light Blues went down 3-2 in a second replay with Vale of Leven.
After his playing days ended, McNeil concentrated on his occupation as a commercial traveler.

No.2

Tom Vallance
(1874-1884)

Tom Vallance was the first in a long line of inspirational Rangers captains.
Like many other of the club's founders, Vallance was an enthusiastic devotee of rowing before he was gripped by the emerging sport of association football.

Born near Renton, in the Vale of Leven, Tom played mainly as right-back during his nine seasons as the Light Blues skipper.

Tall and big-boned, the old history books describe him as 'a talented back who administered many a shock to opponents who had not previously made his acquaintance'.

Vallance was one of the first Rangers to be capped by Scotland and enjoyed much success in matches against the other home nations.

As a fitting recognition of his contribution to the Ibrox club, he was elected president of the committee in 1883.

Outside of football, Tom was an all-round talented individual. He held the Scottish long jump record for 14 years and he was also a fine artist - two of his paintings were accepted by the Scottish Royal Academy.

No.3

John McPherson
(1891-1902)

Jock McPherson was generally regarded as Rangers' finest player of the club's first 50 years.

He played in every position (including goalkeeper) for the Light Blues but it was as an inside-forward that he excelled.

Although not particularly big, McPherson was wiry and full of running - he always seemed to have something left in his tank.

Primarily he was an accomplished dribbler, in an era when that counted for much, and he would often commit opponents before slipping a pass to a team-mate.

The former Kilmarnock man could score goals as well, usually preferring to finish with subtlety rather than power.

McPherson's honours at Ibrox included appearances in five championship sides, three Scottish Cup medals and five Scotland caps (of a career total of nine).

He also retains the distinction of having scored the Scottish League's first-ever hat-trick, for Rangers against Cambuslang in August 1890.

In 1907 he became a director of the club and served until his death in 1926.

No.4

Nicol Smith
(1893-1905)

The story of Ayrshire man Nicol Smith is one of the saddest in Rangers' history.
One of Britain's top full-backs of the 1890s, he died tragically from a gastric infection in 1905, aged just 32.

Smith was already a Junior internationalist when Rangers signed him in 1893 and he didn't take long to establish his place in the first team.

A powerfully-built player, Smith was wholly committed and always put the team's cause ahead of his own personal safety.

In his first season his impressive displays helped the Light Blues secure their long-awaited first-ever Scottish Cup triumph when they defeated Celtic 3-1 in the Final.

His partnership with left-back Jock Drummond was arguably Rangers' finest ever and the pair won 25 international caps between them - a fair total for those times.

Sadly fate was to deal a cruel blow when in late 1904 Smith was struck down by enteric fever. He died the following January.

No.5

Alex Smith
(1894-1915)

Ayrshire man Smith was the acclaimed left-winger in the successful Rangers side of the 1890s and 1900s.

If contemporary opinion is to be properly considered, his talents are worthy of being ranked alongside the likes of Alan Morton, Davie Cooper and Brian Laudrup.

At just under 5' 8" and weighing around 11 stone, the Darvel lad had a typical winger's build and he was also blessed with great stamina.

His reputation was that of an unselfish player who loved to create for others and his low, swerving crosses were said to be a nightmare for opposing goalkeepers.

Smith played a prominent part in Rangers' triple-cup winning season of 1896-97 and he appeared in 69 of the 74 matches during Gers' four-in-a-row championship run between 1898 and 1902.

Scotland made good use of the winger's services and he took part in 20 internationals in total, including a famous 4-1 home victory over England in 1900.

No.6

Tommy Cairns
(1913-1927)

Cairns arrived at Ibrox in November 1913 and made his debut the following month against Hamilton Accies.

However it wasn't until the following season that he established himself in the inside-left berth, a position he effectively made his own for 13 years.

His direct, no-nonsense style and an overwhelming desire not to lose were the qualities that made Tommy one of the top Rangers of his era.

And when Alan Morton arrived at Ibrox in 1920, the hard-working and persistent Cairns provided the perfect foil for the talented new winger on the left side of Rangers' attack.

By the time he left for Bradford City in 1927 Tommy had won six championship medals and had been capped six times by Scotland.

No.7

Andy Cunningham
(1914-1929)

Appearances: 389. Goals: 182.
Honours: 7 league title, 1 Scottish Cup. 12 caps (Scotland).

A brilliant inside-forward, Cunningham was equally adept at scoring goals as well as creating them.

Key features of his play were excellent close control and astute positional awareness.

Born in Galston, Ayrshire, he was signed from Kilmarnock in April 1915 and after a spell on war service, he established himself in the Gers team in season 1918-19.

The tall, golden-haired Cunningham went on to win seven championship medals
and one Scottish Cup badge.

The 1928 Final against Celtic, when the Light Blues won 4-0 to end their 25-year-old cup 'hoodoo', was a particularly sweet occasion for the inside-forward who had played in the losing finals of 1921 and 1922.

Cunningham was one of Rangers' most durable players and when he moved to
Newcastle United in January 1929 he became the English League's oldest debutant at the age of 38.

The following year he made history again as English football's first-ever player-manager when he took charge of team affairs at St James' Park.

Later he bossed Dundee (1937-40) and, after the war, became a successful sports writer. Andy Cunningham died in 1973, aged 82.

No.8

Bert Manderson
(1915-1927)

Ulsterman Robert Manderson made his Rangers debut against Aberdeen in March 1915 and went on to play a major part in the Gers' success story of the 1920s.

Manderson had a superb record of regularity - he appeared in 370 League matches - and at the peak of his career there were few better players in the right-back berth.

He was a member of seven championship winning teams but missed out on a Scottish Cup medal because of the Gers' 'Cup Hoodoo' of that period.

International recognition came Manderson's way in the 1920s and in 1926 he won the last of his five Ireland caps playing against Scotland on his home club ground at Ibrox.

Along with team-mate Tom Cairns, Bert Manderson left Rangers for Bradford City in the summer of 1927.

No.9

Tommy Muirhead
(1917-1930)

Signed for £20 from Hibs in May 1917, Fife-born Muirhead was a fine half-back or inside-forward who eventually became captain of Rangers.

He netted 49 goals in 353 appearances for the Light Blues and collected eight championship medals.

Although Tommy played in a creative position that was by no means the whole story of his game - he simply loved the opportunity to make a biting tackle!
Scotland also made use of his services and he was capped eight times between 1922 and 1930.

Muirhead left Ibrox in 1930 and went on to manage both St Johnstone and Preston North End before making a switch into sports journalism.

No.10

Sandy Archibald
(1917-1934)

Appearances: 580. Goals: 148.
Honours: 13 Scottish titles, 3 Scottish Cups. 8 caps (Scotland).

Celtic's legendary manager of the era Willie Maley once said of Archibald: "So long as he is on the pitch we can never be sure of victory, no matter the score."

Over an incredible 17-year-period Archibald proved himself to be a fantastic player - and not just in Old Firm games.

Born and raised in Fife, Archibald joined Rangers from Raith Rovers as 19-year-old and won the championship in his first season. Amazingly, he won 12 more titles with Rangers which is a British record.

Some records try to deprive him of the 1933-34 championship success but he made a significant contribution with 15 appearances in what was his final season with the club.

The powerful and athletic miner from Aberdour was also successful in the Scottish Cup, winning the competition three times, most famously in the much celebrated 1928 Final.

Archibald scored twice - both shots from distance - to help inflict a 4-0 defeat on Celtic and end an agonising 25-year drought in the competition.

No.11

Alan Morton

The portrait of Morton which stands as the top of the marble staircase in the Ibrox Main Stand is a testament to the esteem in which he is held.

The winger was legendary manager Bill Struth's first signing for the club in 1920 and what an acquisition he turned out to be.

Despite a lack of stature - he was only 5' 4" tall - the former Queen's Park man was one of the most devastating Rangers players of all time.

Using his speed, control and balance to bemuse defenders, Morton consistently supplied his forwards with the service needed to fire the Gers' goals.

In his 13 years as a player with Rangers, the club won ten championships and two Scottish Cups and his 115 goals (and countless 'assists') from 495 matches were a huge factor in the team's success.

Morton was also a superb servant to Scotland and earned the nickname 'The Wee Blue Devil' after an exceptional display against England at Wembley in 1928.

In all he played eleven times against the 'Auld Enemy' as part of his 31-cap international total.

No.12

Davie Meiklejohn

IF there was every a man who was born to captain Rangers, it was Davie Meiklejohn. Born in Govan, Meiklejohn was one of a long line of great Rangers captains and probably the finest skipper of the pre-war generation.

A positionally-astute defender and one of manager Bill Struth's 'gaffers on the park', he was a vital member of the highly-successful Rangers sides of the 1920s and '30s.

The late Willie Thornton, a Rangers legend himself, paid Meiklejohn the ultimate tribute when he called him 'The greatest player I ever saw'.

Signed from Maryhill Juniors in 1919, 'Meek' spent eighteen years at Ibrox before retiring in 1936.

During that time, he amassed an astonishing haul of twelve championship medals and five Scottish Cup badges.

His finest moment came in the 1928 Old Firm Scottish Cup Final when Rangers
ended their barren spell of 25 years without a cup triumph in front of a then record crowd of 118,115. With regular captain Tommy Muirhead injured, Meiklejohn assumed the role and was outstanding in the first half when Celtic pressurised the Rangers defence.

With 55 minutes of the match gone, Allan Morton's cross left picked out Jimmy Fleming and his shot beat precocious Celtic keeper John Thomson and looked to have clearly crossed the line before Celtic captain Willie McStay punched it away.

These days McStay would have been sent off but Rangers were awarded a penalty and their supporters held their breath.

Under enormous pressure, 'Meek' took a short run up and coolly converted the spotkick, drilling it into the corner of the net. It inspired Rangers to a famous 4-0 win and gave them the League and Cup double for the first time.

He said at the time: "I saw, in a flash, the whole picture of our striving to win the Cup. I saw the dire flicks of fortune which had beaten us when we should have won.

"That ball should have been in the net. It was on the penalty spot instead. If I scored, we would win; if I failed we could be beaten. It was a moment of agony."

Meiklejohn also won 15 caps for Scotland and twice captained his country against England, most memorably when he led the Scots to a 2-0 win over the Auld Enemy at Hampden in 1931.

The Scots were given no chance as England crowed about the abilities of Everton's Dixie Dean, but Meiklejohn shackled Dean and the Scots celebrated.
Meiklejohn retired at the end of the 1935/36 season and initially became a newspaper columnist, working with the Daily Record.

He returned to football as manager of Partick Thistle in 1947. Tragically, he collapsed in the directors box at Broomfield after Thistle's game with Airdrie on August 22, 1959 and died on the way to hospital. He was just 58 years old.

Over 2000 mourners attended his funeral at Craigton Cemetery near Ibrox. Former team mate and then Rangers director Allan Morton said: "No cause was ever lost when Davie was behind you. He will go down in history as one of the greatest Rangers to wear the colours."

No.13

Alex Venters

One of the all-time great Rangers goal-scorers, bagging 102 goals during the dominating era of the 30s.

Even although he was an inside forward he had an uncanny knack of finding the net with a one in two ratio.

Venters was equally prolific during the War but these games were unofficial.

He also scored 18 times against Celtic in various competitions which made him very popular.

A compositor in the printing industry, Venters died prematurely at the age of 45 in 1959.

No.14

Dougie Gray
(1925-1947)

In terms of durability, Dougie Gray has few equals. He is Rangers' longest-serving player of all time having spent a total of 22 years at Ibrox between 1925 and his official retirement in 1947.

During that period he appeared in an amazing 940 matches and won no less
than ten official Scottish League championship medals, adding six Scottish Cup badges for good measure.

Aberdeenshire-born, Gray joined Rangers from a team with the unlikely name
of Aberdeen Muggiemoss in the summer of 1925 and he was soon to become a
vital cog in the Ibrox machinery.

Lacking any real physical advantages, the full-back based his game on timely intervention and uncomplicated distribution and also cultivated the habit of making vital goal-line clearances on the occasions when his goalkeeper Jerry Dawson was beaten.

Possibly the finest tribute that could be paid to Dougie Gray was that legendary Ibrox manager Bill Struth often referred to him as his 'best-ever signing'. Gray was capped ten times by Scotland.

No.15

BOB McPHAIL

If anyone was picking a Greatest Rangers team they would surely select McPhail as one of the strikers

Signed in April 1927 from Airdrie for what was then a considerable fee of £5000, McPhail gave an early indication of what was to come when he cored two goals in the 4-1 Charity Cup semi-final win over Celtic at the end of the season.

McPhail was a fantastic talent and had already displayed his considerable skills with Airdrie, helping them win the Cup in 1924 at the age of 18.

Barrhead-born Bob had a brilliant work ethic but his astonishing eye for a goal was something to behold. He developed an uncanny understanding with Allan -Morton and then Davie Kinnear in the Rangers strike force and it was invariably highly productive.

He earned the rather uncomplimentary nickname of Greetin' Boab for berating team mate Torry Gillick one day and the tag stuck

He scored 230 league goals for Rangers which was a record which stood for over 50 years until a certain Ally McCoist claimed it and will surely hold onto it forever.

He played with fantastic strikers like Jimmy Smith and Sam English, but McPhail's longevity and consistency was remarkable.

His record of six Scottish Cup wins with Rangers is shared only by Celtic's Jimmy McMenemy and Billy McNeill and is unlikely to be surpassed in the current climate of continual player movement.

No.16

Jimmy Smith

Jimmy Smith was a real old-fashioned, bludgeoning type of centre-forward in the mould of England's Nat Lofthouse.

He was first spotted as a free-scoring youngster with East Stirling and went on to enjoyed a lengthy Ibrox career which spanned three decades.

Whether on the ground or in the air, Smith's powerful physical presence always posed problems for defenders and allowed him to find the net with pleasing regularity.

He amassed a huge tally of goals including 300 in both peace and wartime league matches.

Jimmy was also a great character who enjoyed nothing better than a laugh with his fellow players and some banter with the supporters.

After retiring in 1946 he served the club as both trainer and chief scout for a further 21 years.

No.17

JERRY DAWSON

Dubbed the Prince of Goalkeepers, Dawson was a hugely effective last line of defence in the great team of the 1930s when Rangers dominated Scottish football in some style.

He was not tall, but like Andy Goram of the modern age he had terrific reflexes and tremendous bravery.

He played 211 times for the club and won the league on five occasions. he was successful in the Scottish Cup twice and earned 14 Scotland caps.

No.18

BOBBY BROWN

The first great Rangers keeper of the modern era played in 296 games - keeping 109 clean sheets - and had what was then the unusual habit of making sure he turned out with a new pair of white laces in his boots for every one of his matches.

For six years - between August 10 1946 and April 16 1952 - he never missed a League game, playing in an astonishing run of 179 matches.

Tall, blond and agile, Brown was the last line in a famous Rangers defence which became known as the Iron Curtain which also featured George Young, Jock Shaw, Ian McColl, Willie Woodburn and Sammy Cox.

He played as a part-timer throughout his Ibrox career, combining football with life as a schoolmaster.

Brown was to win three Championships (1946-47, 1948-49 and 1949-50), three Scottish Cups in a row (1-0 in a replay against Morton in 1948, 4-1 against Clyde in 1949 and 3-0 over East Fife in 1950) and two League Cups (4-0 against Aberdeen in 1946-47 and 2-0 over Raith Rovers in 1948-49).

He was also ever-present during the historic 1948-49 season when Rangers became the first team to win the Treble.

In 1947, he won the first of his three full Scottish caps, making his debut against Northern Ireland at Windsor Park.

In May 1956 he was transferred to Falkirk for £2,200 but within a year he had retired and later became manager of St Johnstone, guiding them into the top division.
In February 1967 he was appointed manager of Scotland, a position he held until July 1971. Although Scotland failed to qualify for the 1970 World Cup, Brown had the satisfaction of a 3-2 victory over England in a European Championship qualifier at Wembley.

No.19

Jock Shaw

Not for nothing was Jock Shaw known as "Tiger". His tackling had bite and his uncompromising style made him a feared and respected opponent.

Jock, like so many players of his time, missed out on countless honours and international caps because of the war. His 287 games spread over 15 years do not begin to tell the story.

Legendary manager Bill Struth signed him for £2,000 for Rangers in July 1938 from Airdrie and he made his debut at left back on the opening day of the League season in a 3-3 draw with St Johnstone.

He won the title in his first season, but the -Second World War forced the abandonment of the Scottish League fixtures until 1946

Shaw played 28 of the 30 League games as Rangers won the first peacetime Championship. He also got a winners' medal in the new League Cup as Aberdeen were beaten 4-0 in the Final.

He won the first of his four Scotland caps - all of them as captain - in a 1-1 draw against England at Wembley in April 1947.

That year also marked another milestone for Shaw. At the age of 34 he scored his first official league goal for Rangers with a penalty against Airdrie.

His first Scottish Cup winners' medal also came at the end of that season in a 1-0 win over Morton.

He became a trainer, managing Rangers' third team, and also worked on the groundstaff at Ibrox. Future stars such as the young John Greig, Sandy Jardine and Willie Henderson all came under his charge.
He had won four Championships, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups. And undoubtedly, but for the war, there would have been more.