Andy Penman - of Rangers and Dundee

A huge favourite of mine, I simply loved Andy Penman who was a wonderfully gifted footballer. I remember he collapsed during an away game and it was then revealed that he was suffering from diabetes. Thanks for sharing. Though Andy never won any medals, the memories I have of him are fond and lasting.
 
Good player, my Dads mate gave me two shillings to bet my dad that he would not score the penalty against Newcastle and the goalie saved it.
my dad refused to give me the bet money and i wish his mate had never mentioned it.
 
This is from an old post some 14 years ago.

Andy Penman...Best Rangers Player Never to have won a Medal

A classy inside forward that we signed from Dundee in April 67'.
One of the best footballers in the country, when the country was indeed resplendent with beautiful footballers.
He was the first player I heard referred to as a 'dead ball specialist'.
Ironically, for a dead ball specialist, with a rocket shot, Penman actually missed more penalties than he scored (and some costly ones they were too).
He missed one on his official home debut v Celtic in a 1-1 draw, one against Hearts a few weeks later in another 1-1 draw, one in the Fairs Cup Semi Final v Newcastle in a 0-0 draw in 69'.
Hell, he even missed two in one game against Partick Thistle on New Years day 1970.
That apart, Penman was an excellent player for Rangers, with a goal return of 1 in 3 games, and a great passer of the ball.
Often criticised by many Rangers fans for being too slow, Penman was actually a very cultured and intelligent player, so much so, that after only one season at Ibrox, the great Benfica side that lost in the European Cup Final to Man Utd at Wembley in 68', made an approach to Rangers for his services, to feed the great Eusébio.

Penman was a genius, a child prodigy in the art of football, who straight from school in Rosyth, went down to Everton where he made his debut at the age of 15 in a non-league derby against Liverpool.
Homesick, he returned to Scotland and signed for Dundee.
He played his first competitive game in Scotland at the age of 15. His debut against Hearts in 1958, shortly before his 16th birthday made him one of the youngest players ever to play in the top Scottish league of the time and maybe even of all time.
He collected a League Championship winners medal with Dundee whilst still a teenager, and went all the way to the Semi Finals of the European Cup, the following season.
He was known to Dundee fans as the "Boy King" and latterly as the "Penalty King".
Penman had already scored 100 League Goals for Dundee, when Rangers paid them £30,000 plus George McLean at the beginning of April 1967
Ineligible for the remainder of that 67' season, it would be some four and a half months before Andy Penman would grace Ibrox.
On Aug 16th 1967, Celtic, as newly crowned European Champions were to be the visitors for the opening game at Ibrox. 94,168 paid to watch a new look Rangers side take them on.
Gemmell (the Bastart) had scored from the penalty spot to give Celtic a 1-0 lead at the half.
Rangers who had bombarded their opponents for most of the match were awarded a penalty right on the hour mark. Andy Penman stepped up to take the pretty important kick.
Penman struck it hard and beautifully just inside the post, and Celtic goalkeeper Ronnie Simpson amazingly dived across the goal to pull off a miraculous save.
With Celtic clinging on to their undeserved and meagre lead, and only two minutes left on the clock, Rangers were awarded a free kick some 25 yards from goal.
Penman stepped up and rammed the ball directly into the back of Simpson's net.
Ibrox erupted with such a volume of noise that it could be heard on Cornwall St, two subway stations away.

Following Symon's dismissal ten weeks later, Penman would remain at Ibrox throughout the White and Waddell years, and was still playing in Wallace's early games.
He was described in a Rangers publication as "a midfield player of class and startling vision, a fine passer of the ball who could clip balls precisely through, round and over defences to give his forwards clear, untramelled runs at goal.
He played in 2 Scottish Cup Finals for Rangers, in which they lost them both.
Against Celtic in 1971 he carved their defence apart time after time only for Colin Stein and Willie Johnston to miss the chances"(I actually thought it was Johnston that missed both chances, but there you go).

Andy Penman was at Ibrox for six years between 1967 and 1973, and witnessed some memorable moments, though he never collected a Winners medal.
He made 150 appearances for Rangers, and scored 49 goals
 
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A huge favourite of mine, I simply loved Andy Penman who was a wonderfully gifted footballer. I remember he collapsed during an away game and it was then revealed that he was suffering from diabetes. Thanks for sharing. Though Andy never won any medals, the memories I have of him are fond and lasting.


I've seen photos from Barcelona, with him, Jim Denny, Graham Fyfe, Gerry Neef and possibly Derek Parlane all in the dressing room after the game.

Were they unused subs and did they get medals?
 
I've seen photos from Barcelona, with him, Jim Denny, Graham Fyfe, Gerry Neef and possibly Derek Parlane all in the dressing room after the game.

Were they unused subs and did they get medals?
As far as I know, they were unused subs, and did not get a medal.
Only the 11 players who played received a medal, plus Jock Wallace requested an additional 2 medals for Ronnie McKinnon and Colin Jackson who missed the Final through injury.
 
A great Rangers player back in the day, cultured midfielder with an eye for a goal. Super free kick specialist. One of my all time favourites
 
This is from an old post some 14 years ago.

Andy Penman...Best Rangers Player Never to have won a Medal

A classy inside forward that we signed from Dundee in April 67'.
One of the best footballers in the country, when the country was indeed resplendent with beautiful footballers.
He was the first player I heard referred to as a 'dead ball specialist'.
Ironically, for a dead ball specialist, with a rocket shot, Penman actually missed more penalties than he scored (and some costly ones they were too).
He missed one on his official home debut v Celtic in a 1-1 draw, one against Hearts a few weeks later in another 1-1 draw, one in the Fairs Cup Semi Final v Newcastle in a 0-0 draw in 69'.
Hell, he even missed two in one game against Partick Thistle on New Years day 1970.
That apart, Penman was an excellent player for Rangers, with a goal return of 1 in 3 games, and a great passer of the ball.
Often criticised by many Rangers fans for being too slow, Penman was actually a very cultured and intelligent player, so much so, that after only one season at Ibrox, the great Benfica side that lost in the European Cup Final to Man Utd at Wembley in 68', made an approach to Rangers for his services, to feed the great Eusébio.

Penman was a genius, a child prodigy in the art of football, who straight from school in Rosyth, went down to Everton where he made his debut at the age of 15 in a non-league derby against Liverpool.
Homesick, he returned to Scotland and signed for Dundee.
He played his first competitive game in Scotland at the age of 15. His debut against Hearts in 1958, shortly before his 16th birthday made him one of the youngest players ever to play in the top Scottish league of the time and maybe even of all time.
He collected a League Championship winners medal with Dundee whilst still a teenager, and went all the way to the Semi Finals of the European Cup, the following season.
He was known to Dundee fans as the "Boy King" and latterly as the "Penalty King".
Penman had already scored 100 League Goals for Dundee, when Rangers paid them £30,000 plus George McLean at the beginning of April 1967
Ineligible for the remainder of that 67' season, it would be some four and a half months before Andy Penman would grace Ibrox.
On Aug 16th 1967, Celtic, as newly crowned European Champions were to be the visitors for the opening game at Ibrox. 94,168 paid to watch a new look Rangers side take them on.
Gemmell (the Bastart) had scored from the penalty spot to give Celtic a 1-0 lead at the half.
Rangers who had bombarded their opponents for most of the match were awarded a penalty right on the hour mark. Andy Penman stepped up to take the pretty important kick.
Penman struck it hard and beautifully just inside the post, and Celtic goalkeeper Ronnie Simpson amazingly dived across the goal to pull off a miraculous save.
With Celtic clinging on to their undeserved and meagre lead, and only two minutes left on the clock, Rangers were awarded a free kick some 25 yards from goal.
Penman stepped up and rammed the ball directly into the back of Simpson's net.
Ibrox erupted with such a volume of noise that it could be heard on Cornwall St, two subway stations away.

Following Symon's dismissal ten weeks later, Penman would remain at Ibrox throughout the White and Waddell years, and was still playing in Wallace's early games.
He was described in a Rangers publication as "a midfield player of class and startling vision, a fine passer of the ball who could clip balls precisely through, round and over defences to give his forwards clear, untramelled runs at goal.
He played in 2 Scottish Cup Finals for Rangers, in which they lost them both.
Against Celtic in 1971 he carved their defence apart time after time only for Colin Stein and Willie Johnstone to miss the chances".
(I actually thought it was Johnston that missed both chances, but there you go).

Andy Penman was at Ibrox for six years between 1967 and 1973, and witnessed some memorable moments, though he never collected a Winners medal.
He made 150 appearances for Rangers, and scored 49 goals

14 years on and it still remains a great post, MO. You are correct about the penalty misses. I was at that New Year's Day game in 1970 against Thistle when he missed twice from the spot, but my memory is that the second miss came from a re-take after he had missed from his first attempt. On the medal front, I remember reading that he was on the bench as a substitute at Barcelona so he probably did get a winners medal for that. He was a genuinely great striker of the ball from outside the box but imo he tended to go for placement instead of power from his spot kicks and that imo always gives a goalie a better chance of a save. It cost us very dearly. One of my other abiding memories of Penman however is of a shot that he hit in the dying seconds of a game against Morton at Cappielow in a midweek game in 1968. We had come back from 3-1 down in the last 10 minutes to equalise and pushed for a winner. Penman hit a shot that we all thought was in until a Morton player (possibly Stan Rankin) stretched to get the tip of his toe to divert the ball round the post. It cost us the league. It was yet another case of what might have been which I've always counted beside the same thoughts had Andy scored with those spot kicks.
 
14 years on and it still remains a great post, MO. You are correct about the penalty misses. I was at that New Year's Day game in 1970 against Thistle when he missed twice from the spot, but my memory is that the second miss came from a re-take after he had missed from his first attempt. On the medal front, I remember reading that he was on the bench as a substitute at Barcelona so he probably did get a winners medal for that. He was a genuinely great striker of the ball from outside the box but imo he tended to go for placement instead of power from his spot kicks and that imo always gives a goalie a better chance of a save. It cost us very dearly. One of my other abiding memories of Penman however is of a shot that he hit in the dying seconds of a game against Morton at Cappielow in a midweek game in 1968. We had come back from 3-1 down in the last 10 minutes to equalise and pushed for a winner. Penman hit a shot that we all thought was in until a Morton player (possibly Stan Rankin) stretched to get the tip of his toe to divert the ball round the post. It cost us the league. It was yet another case of what might have been which I've always counted beside the same thoughts had Andy scored with those spot kicks.
I do hope he did get one, but my understanding is that back then, only the 11 players who played received a medal. Jock Wallace requested an additional 2 medals for Ronnie McKinnon and Colin Jackson who missed the Final through injury.
So many might have beens in Penman's time at Ibrox. A player we should have signed sooner, still that was a great Rangers side that I grew up with and loved.
 
14 years on and it still remains a great post, MO. You are correct about the penalty misses. I was at that New Year's Day game in 1970 against Thistle when he missed twice from the spot, but my memory is that the second miss came from a re-take after he had missed from his first attempt. On the medal front, I remember reading that he was on the bench as a substitute at Barcelona so he probably did get a winners medal for that. He was a genuinely great striker of the ball from outside the box but imo he tended to go for placement instead of power from his spot kicks and that imo always gives a goalie a better chance of a save. It cost us very dearly. One of my other abiding memories of Penman however is of a shot that he hit in the dying seconds of a game against Morton at Cappielow in a midweek game in 1968. We had come back from 3-1 down in the last 10 minutes to equalise and pushed for a winner. Penman hit a shot that we all thought was in until a Morton player (possibly Stan Rankin) stretched to get the tip of his toe to divert the ball round the post. It cost us the league. It was yet another case of what might have been which I've always counted beside the same thoughts had Andy scored with those spot kicks.
I always thought he received a ECWC medal.
Oh well.
Stand corrected.

Did Andy Penman that either missed or scored I can’t remember which against Newcastle, away at the Fairs City Cup?
Say ‘69?
Did that tournament not go onto to be the UEFA Cup??
 
I always thought he received a ECWC medal.
Oh well.
Stand corrected.

Did Andy Penman that either missed or scored I can’t remember which against Newcastle, away at the Fairs City Cup?
Say ‘69?
Did that tournament not go onto to be the UEFA Cup??
That newcastle team cheated all game and were there for the taking and if penman has scored that penalty we would have won that game easily , it is still newcastles only trophy in what 54 years and they beat us to get it pffffffft.
 
As far as I know, they were unused subs, and did not get a medal.
Only the 11 players who played received a medal, plus Jock Wallace requested an additional 2 medals for Ronnie McKinnon and Colin Jackson who missed the Final through injury.

A mate of mine won his jersey (number 13) from the final in a raffle at his testimonial match at Caley Park Inverness.
 
Ridiculous that he never won a single medal in his Rangers career.

There can’t be many people who played for us for six years and won nothing.
 
I do hope he did get one, but my understanding is that back then, only the 11 players who played received a medal. Jock Wallace requested an additional 2 medals for Ronnie McKinnon and Colin Jackson who missed the Final through injury.
This is absolutely correct. Only 13 medals were issued to the Barca Bears.
 
Never seen andy play but i worked with him in rosyth dockyard
His legs were a mess as they didnt wear shinpads back then
Told me he hated willie waddell
 
I remember him from my early years supporting the Gers and also remember the Arbroath game which he ran the show. Taken from us at 51 years old, far too young.
 
First pro footballer I’d ever seen in the flesh who smoked. And he lit up right after he set foot outside the stadium :eek: Thought the management would’ve been all over that.
I remember back in the 60's, my Dad treated us to the Min Stand, one match.
Andy was sitting among other players who weren't playing that day.
Climbed down over the seats to get autographs. Came to Andy, and before he signed my programme, he pulled out a 20 packet of fags, and lit up.
 
Hearts at Ibrox, shooting into the Broomloan Road end.
Can remember Donald Cruikshank Hearts keeper looking at photographer behind the goal as if saying "What happened there"?

Owned a pub in Neilston a long time ago.
Sorry to be sticky - Hearts keeper was Jim Cruickshank! (Donald Ford was their centre-forward).
 
Hearts at Ibrox, shooting into the Broomloan Road end.
Can remember Donald Cruikshank Hearts keeper looking at photographer behind the goal as if saying "What happened there"?

Owned a pub in Neilston a long time ago.
The Ponderosa; right next door to the Pineapple. Back in the days when we were more interested in The Beano than the bevvy.
 
Great post Mark, one of our best results against the vermin was the 4-2 victory in September 68 at Parkhead. Goals by Persson, Johnston 2 and the excellent Andy Penman were decisive. The following night myself another pal and Ronnie McDonald ( now chairman at Hamilton Accies) composed and sang new a Rangers song whilst walking back from town to Knightswood. Surprisingly it wasn't very good, but we enjoyed it.
 
Not that I remember it, but Andy Penman scored the first goal I ever saw Rangers score.
My first match was a 1968 pre season friendly v Arsenal and he scored our first in a 2-2 draw.

My mum sewed a number 8 on the back of my Rangers shirt when I was 5 years old because that made him my first ever favourite Rangers player.
 
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