Today we look at a match against Partick Thistle that resulted in a win and a new assistant manager for Rangers, a goalscoring European debut for Mark Walters and a 6:2 win over Springburn based club Northern FC.
On this day in 1968, Rangers took on Partick Thistle and a largely forgettable match resulted in a 2:0 win thanks to two late goals from Sandy Jardine. However, after the match it was confirmed that the manager of the Jags and Ibrox legend Willie Thornton was to leave his post as manager of Thistle and move back to Ibrox as assistant to manager Davie White.
Chairman John Lawrence said of the appointment the day after the match: "I look on the arrival of Willie Thornton as our assistant manager as one of our best ever signings. I'm quite certain that the relations between Davie White and Willie Thornton will be most amiable – in fact one happy family at Ibrox.”
Twenty years later, in 1988, Rangers faced Katowice in the UEFA Cup 1st Round at Ibrox, winning 1:0. The match was the Rangers European debut for Mark Walters and it was the English winger's goal that was the difference between the sides. The match didn't start well for the Light Blues with Ian Durrant substituted due to an injury after just half an hour of the match and keeper Chris Woods being forced into a series of smart saves.
However the goal from Walters came in the 78th minute after the ball fell to him from a Davie Cooper corner, the ninth of the match for Rangers. Katowice manager Wazlei Zmuda spoke to the media after the match wearing a Rangers tie, commenting: “In the first half we were the better team but it was different after that when Rangers dictated play. They are a good side.”
In 1892, Rangers took on a side from the Springburn area of Glasgow called Northern FC (1874-1896) at Ibrox, in front of just 1,000 fans due to the "early hour of starting". Northern took the lead twice in the first half, only for Rangers to bring it back twice to make the score 2:2 with the men from Springburn playing against a slight breeze.
Both teams didn't leave the pitch at half time, instead electing to change sides and start play straight away. The second half was to prove a different story to the first and Rangers pulled away, winning by six goals to two.
There was a family connection in the match, as brothers Hugh and Andrew McCreadie from Girvan both played and scored, Hugh bagging a hat-trick and Andrew grabbing one. Hugh played for the club 194 times, scoring 61 goals and Andrew played 197 times, scoring 15 from the centre of defence - despite only being five foot five inches tall!
Interestingly, Hugh McCreadie's connection with the club didn't end when he left Rangers for pastures new. He subsequently applied for a job as a groundsman at the club as a fifty year old, citing Sir John Ure Primrose as a reference!
