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.
‘Greigy is a one-off. He epitomises the Rangers spirit and is the genuine article – a true Rangers legend’ – Ally McCoist
There are few players who get to experience the high of winning one treble during their playing careers, John Greig managed to bag three trebles and captained the team to two of those tremendous achievements.
Below is listed every Scottish league top goalscorer since the Scottish League formally began in 1890. Rangers players are listed in bold.
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.
Bill Struth is without doubt one - if not the major influence on how successful Rangers are as a club. Below you can find out some interesting facts and trivia about this true Rangers and Scottish footballing legend.
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.
The Rangers Training Centre opened in 2001; cost £14million and is situated in Milngavie - to the North West of Glasgow. It was named after previous Rangers owner and Chairman Sir David Murray and was originally commonly known as Murray Park. In 2012, after the 1899 company's liquidation due to financial mismanagement of the club, the fans decided to remove the disgraced former owner's name from the centre.
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.