Born on this day in 1944, the great Jim Forrest

dh1963

dh1963

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I'll not even attempt to match the kind of tribute post to Jim Forrest that @MO_TxTruBlu can do, his threads about the great Rangers players of the 1960s are way beyond compare.

But Jim Forrest was an absolutely remarkable Rangers centre forward.

He scored 146 goals in 166 appearances (including Glasgow Cup), giving him the second best goals per game ratio of any Rangers player in our history who played more than 100 games for the club. Only 2 of these were penalties, and his Rangers career was ended not that long after his 22nd birthday.

Who knows what records he might have set if it wasn't for the ridiculous decision to get rid of him after the Berwick cup defeat, a decision that must rank highly in the worst ever made by Rangers.

Sadly, just before my time, but there is some online footage by @Rangers Archive Footage to show this wonderful goalscorer doing what he did best, and for all too short a time in Royal Blue.

I hope he is enjoying a healthy and happy 77th birthday.

 
When you look at his age and scoring record in that time and consider how he was binned after one shit game....just incredible.
 
History shows that both him and George McLean (who also had an outstanding goalscoring record for Rangers) were treated shamefully by John Lawrence after Berwick.

Forrest's treatment though seems beyond incredible.

Who in their right mind would discard a 22 year old with such an incredible goalscoring record?

No older Bear has ever been able to give me a good reason for it.
 
dh1963 said:
I'll not even attempt to match the kind of tribute post to Jim Forrest that @MO_TxTruBlu can do, his threads about the great Rangers players of the 1960s are way beyond compare.

But Jim Forrest was an absolutely remarkable Rangers centre forward.

He scored 146 goals in 166 appearances (including Glasgow Cup), giving him the second best goals per game ratio of any Rangers player in our history who played more than 100 games for the club. Only 2 of these were penalties, and his Rangers career was ended not that long after his 22nd birthday.

Who knows what records he might have set if it wasn't for the ridiculous decision to get rid of him after the Berwick cup defeat, a decision that must rank highly in the worst ever made by Rangers.

Sadly, just before my time, but there is some online footage by @Rangers Archive Footage to show this wonderful goalscorer doing what he did best, and for all too short a time in Royal Blue.

I hope he is enjoying a healthy and happy 77th birthday.

Click to expand...
Great stuff thanks
 
Happy Birthday Jim.

Looking at season 1966-67 and Jim Forrest in particular.

He drew a blank in the opening game of the season against Hibs in a League Cup Sectional tie, Rangers won 1-0 George McLean scoring the winner 5 minutes from time.
Four days later in the same competition Forrest scored 5 of the goals in an 8-0 away win at Stirling Albion.
In the sixth and final match of the section he scored the only goal against Kilmarnock to clinch top spot on goal average from Hibs who had earlier beaten Rangers 3-2 at Easter Road.
The opening League game against Partick Thistle followed a week later, Rangers won 6-0 with Forrest leading the line, goal-scorers were McLean (4) Dave Smith and league debutant Alex Smith.
Forrest then played in the 1st Leg Quarter-Final match v Ayr Utd in midweek where Willie Johnston snatched the equaliser on the hour mark, it finished 1-1.
Back to league business 3 days later and Rangers go down 0-2 to Celtic with an unchanged XI from the previous match v Ayr Utd.

Forrest would miss the next 5 games (injured?) the 2nd Leg match v Ayr Utd (3-0), both Cup Winners Cup ties v Glentoran (1-1,4-0) and two League games Aberdeen (3-0) and Dundee Utd (3-2).
Forrest returned to the side on October 8th against Falkirk in the League, he was substituted for Jimmy Millar after an hour with Rangers leading 1-0 through a Davie Provan penalty, within 2 minutes of taking to the field Millar scored, Rangers went on to win 5-0.
Forrest missed out on the next game, a 1-1 draw at Tynecastle, Millar scored the goal (his last in a Rangers shirt). Forrest was also missing for both legs of the League Cup Semis v Aberdeen (2-2,2-0) and the Final itself against Celtic (0-1) the S-F and F took place during a ten day period, 19th October - 29th October).
Forrest again returned to the line-up on November 2nd, Rangers won the game 6-1 at Love Street, surprisingly Forrest failed to get on the scoresheet.
Forrest would feature in every League game thereafter 13 in total, scoring six of the 33 goals netted in those games (W10 D2 L1). He also played in both Cup Winners Cup ties against Dortmund 2-1 Ibrox (Johansen, A.Smith) and away 0-0.
All in all that season up until that fateful day in Berwick, Forrest had played in 17 League matches (8 goals) 7 League Cup (6) and two Cup Winners Cup (0)

Top Scorers
23. A. Smith (played 54)
17. Willoughby (14+1 sub)
16. McLean (22)
14. Forrest (27)

The season before that Forrest had scored 37 goals in 45 games (McLean netted 39 in 34)
The season before that Forrest got 57 in 50.
 
Fantastic striker, shabbily treated. One of my Dads heroes, met him at a lunch at the stadium a decade or so again - a gentleman who loves the club
 
Beer Belly Loyal said:
Forrest again returned to the line-up on November 2nd, Rangers won the game 6-1 at Love Street, surprisingly Forrest failed to get on the scoresheet.
Forrest would feature in every League game thereafter 13 in total, scoring six of the 33 goals netted in those games (W10 D2 L1). He also played in both Cup Winners Cup ties against Dortmund 2-1 Ibrox (Johansen, A.Smith) and away 0-0.
All in all that season up until that fateful day in Berwick, Forrest had played in 17 League matches (8 goals) 7 League Cup (6) and two Cup Winners Cup (0)

The season before that Forrest got 57 in 50.
Click to expand...
It might be worth noting that following that 6-1 v St Mirren in November that you mention,
Jim Forrest would go on to score 8 Goals in the next 7 League Games
(Not 6 like you mention).
Also worth noting, that the 5 games that Forrest played in January, and failed to score in,
He was operating as an Inside Left (No.10), and not as a Centre Forward.
George McLean was our Centre Forward for all 5 games played in January,
before both of them were binned following Berwick.
 
Agree with most of the posters. The knee jerk reaction after Berwick probably cost us the Cup Winners Cup that season as we did everything except put the ball in the net during the final.
 
MO_TxTruBlu said:
It might be worth noting that following that 6-1 v St Mirren in November that you mention,
Jim Forrest would go on to score 8 Goals in the next 7 League Games
(Not 6 like you mention).
Also worth noting, that the 5 games that Forrest played in January, and failed to score in,
He was operating as an Inside Left (No.10), and not as a Centre Forward.
George McLean was our Centre Forward for all 5 games played in January,
before both of them were binned following Berwick.
Click to expand...
Might also be worth noting that in those same 5 games you mention Alex Smith played as an inside forward (No8) and scored two, Bud Johnston (smashing player me growing up) played as a winger (No11) also bagged two. :shh:
 
MearnsUnionist said:
History shows that both him and George McLean (who also had an outstanding goalscoring record for Rangers) were treated shamefully by John Lawrence after Berwick.

Forrest's treatment though seems beyond incredible.

Who in their right mind would discard a 22 year old with such an incredible goalscoring record?

No older Bear has ever been able to give me a good reason for it.
Click to expand...
Tells us how little power Scot Symon really had I think.
I know Jim doesn't have many fond memories of Symon, but he knew the game and would never have sanctioned binning either Jim or George McLean in my view.
 
Beer Belly Loyal said:
Might also be worth noting that in those same 5 games you mention Alex Smith played as an inside forward (No8) and scored two, Bud Johnston (smashing player me growing up) played as a winger (No11) also bagged two. :shh:
Click to expand...
Okay, I'm really not sure what is noteworthy in any of that, or what your point is.

The point I was attempting to make was that you insisted
that Forrest only scored 6 goals in those 13 League Games, which was misleading and incorrect.
He scored 8 Goals.
Those 8 Goals came in the first 7 of those 13 League Games, before he hit that drought, and failed to score in the next 6 games, prior to Berwick.

I'm not sure what brought that on, if it was a sudden loss of form, or if he was carrying an injury.
He did miss 9 of 10 games between mid Sept. and the start of November, and the one game he did appear in, he had to go off injured just before Half Time with a damaged thigh muscle
(being replaced by Jimmy Millar, at the start of the second half, not after an hour as you indicated).
Perhaps he was still carrying a niggling injury, I don't know, but it has always struck me as strange that Symon would opt to play Forrest at Inside Left in those 5 games in January.

Incidentally, the Goals to Games Ratio that Forrest and McLean scored between them the previous season (65-66), was better than Millar/Brand or McCoist/Hateley ever achieved in a single season.
 
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