The name of Archibald Leitch might not be well known to many fans but if ever a man who was not a footballer deserves his name on the Ibrox Hall of Fame it's he. Born in Glasgow, Leitch became football clubs' stadium architect of choice. His stands and terraces could be found at every major ground in the country. Millions of fans stood on and loved the terraces that he created - Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Fulham and many more all had Archie to thank; for it was him that designed and constructed their footballing homes.
Rangers have won honours both domestically and in European cup competitions. They have won the Scottish League Championship a record 55 times and the Scottish League Cup a record 27 times. In their first league season, 1890–91, they won the Scottish Football league jointly with Dumbarton and their most recent success came in the 2010–11 Scottish Premier League.
Since 1978 when Rangers signed a deal with Umbro they have had a specific kit manufacturer and since 1984 have had a kit sponsor. The following tables detail Rangers' shirt sponsors and kit suppliers by year.
No one who witnessed Rangers’ 2nd treble in 3 seasons when we defeated Aberdeen 2-1 in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden would believe that the man hugged and congratulated by Jock Wallace would be invited to replace Wallace as manager of Rangers. There are many rumours circulating as to why Jock Wallace left Rangers in 1978 but to say it was a shock would be an understatement. Jock Wallace epitomised Rangers and was a very successful and shrewd coach/manager. His departure left a gaping void and the board hoped that John Greig would be the man to fill this void.
Rangers have a very proud history in Europe being the first Scottish club to play a competitive European tie whilst participating in the European Cup in season 1956-57 season and became the fist Scottish or British Club to reach a European final when in 1961 we lost 4-1 on aggregate to Fiorentina in the inaugural European Cup Winners Cup final. During this campaign we defeated Wolves in the semi-final the game that gave us the wonderful Wolverhampton Town song which has thankfully, found it’s way back onto our hymn sheet in recent years.
Two tragic events in Rangers history will remain defining moments for every Rangers supporter. They stand as a gauge of football's real importance while reminding every football fan of just how safety and organisation are a huge necessity at our stadia.
From hooped shirts and socks (yes, hoops!), to white shirts, to light blue tops, to different sponsors and badges; all data available on the strip is available from Dave Moor at the excellent Historical Kits. A huge thanks to his website for taking the time and effort to painstakingly reproduce each kit from our history.
Since the club's formation in 1872, over thirty players have permanently held the position of club captain for Rangers. The first was Tom Vallance, from 1876 to 1882. The longest-serving captain is John Greig, who held the role from 1965 until his retirement in 1978. The current club captain is James Tavernier, who took over from Lee Wallace in 2018.
