Neilly Gibson of Rangers, the greatest forgotten player in history

dh1963

dh1963

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When asked to name the most elegant and graceful player to wear a Rangers shirt, a player with a sweet left foot, who could thread a ball through the eye of a needle, and who was the midfield conductor of the dominant team of his era, we would all think of the great Jim Baxter. Especially if we also ask who was the inspiration in Scotland destroying England in the home internatinals.
But back at the turn of the 20th Century, Rangers had the "original" Jim Baxter. A player of remarkable ball control who played left half in a side that swept all before them. His name was Neilly Gibson.
When William Wilton persuaded 21 year old Neilly Gibson to leave Royal Albert and sign for Rangers in 1894, he secured the services of a precocious talent who would become one of the greatest players in the Britain of the late Victorian age. Eulogies from opposition players and managers came his way as easily as his accuracy of passing and his deft first touch.
Gibson immediately became a fixture in Wilton's Rangers team, and spent a trophy laden 10 years wearing the Royal Blue. Although he had to wait till 1897 to win his first major honour at the club, a 2-0 Scottish Cup Final win over Dumbarton, he soon made up for lost time by adding to his medal collection. 4 successive league titles were won, starting with the legendary 1898/99 season when Gibson played in all 18 matches in a league season where the team finished with a 100% record, something never repeated anywhere till this day. He also added 2 more Scottish Cups to his collection, the last trophy he won as a Ranger being the 1903 final.
But Gibson truly found fame thanks to his displays in the dark blue of Scotland, none more than when he inspired a 4-1 thrashing of the English in 1900. Legendary England international Steve Bloomer scored their consolation goal that day, and was quoted afterwards as saying Neilly Gibson "the best player I have ever seen". Fellow England international Harry Wood called him "Pavlova in football boots". Among the other accolades he received was from legendary Scottish football referee and manager Willie McCartney who said Gibson was "the greatest player of my, and any, generation".
Neilly Gibson left Rangers in 1904 to join Partick Thistle, winning the last of his 14 Scotland caps while at Firhill.
A Rangers legend, one of the greatest footballers in Scottish football history, Neilly Gibson is inducted in the Rangers Hall of Fame.
And his legacy is beyond Rangers. His 3 sons Neil, Willie and James all went on to become professional footballers. By far the most famous was James, who was one of the famous Wembley Wizards in 1928.

Neilly Gibson, Rangers 1894-1904
Competitive appearances 192
Goals 22
4 League Titles
3 Scottish Cups
14 Scotland caps
Hall of Fame member.

The "Original Baxter". Long gone, never forgotten.
 
dh1963 said:
When asked to name the most elegant and graceful player to wear a Rangers shirt, a player with a sweet left foot, who could thread a ball through the eye of a needle, and who was the midfield conductor of the dominant team of his era, we would all think of the great Jim Baxter. Especially if we also ask who was the inspiration in Scotland destroying England in the home internatinals.
But back at the turn of the 20th Century, Rangers had the "original" Jim Baxter. A player of remarkable ball control who played left half in a side that swept all before them. His name was Neilly Gibson.
When William Wilton persuaded 21 year old Neilly Gibson to leave Royal Albert and sign for Rangers in 1894, he secured the services of a precocious talent who would become one of the greatest players in the Britain of the late Victorian age. Eulogies from opposition players and managers came his way as easily as his accuracy of passing and his deft first touch.
Gibson immediately became a fixture in Wilton's Rangers team, and spent a trophy laden 10 years wearing the Royal Blue. Although he had to wait till 1897 to win his first major honour at the club, a 2-0 Scottish Cup Final win over Dumbarton, he soon made up for lost time by adding to his medal collection. 4 successive league titles were won, starting with the legendary 1898/99 season when Gibson played in all 18 matches in a league season where the team finished with a 100% record, something never repeated anywhere till this day. He also added 2 more Scottish Cups to his collection, the last trophy he won as a Ranger being the 1903 final.
But Gibson truly found fame thanks to his displays in the dark blue of Scotland, none more than when he inspired a 4-1 thrashing of the English in 1900. Legendary England international Steve Bloomer scored their consolation goal that day, and was quoted afterwards as saying Neilly Gibson "the best player I have ever seen". Fellow England international Harry Wood called him "Pavlova in football boots". Among the other accolades he received was from legendary Scottish football referee and manager Willie McCartney who said Gibson was "the greatest player of my, and any, generation".
Neilly Gibson left Rangers in 1904 to join Partick Thistle, winning the last of his 14 Scotland caps while at Firhill.
A Rangers legend, one of the greatest footballers in Scottish football history, Neilly Gibson is inducted in the Rangers Hall of Fame.
And his legacy is beyond Rangers. His 3 sons Neil, Willie and James all went on to become professional footballers. By far the most famous was James, who was one of the famous Wembley Wizards in 1928.

Neilly Gibson, Rangers 1894-1904
Competitive appearances 192
Goals 22
4 League Titles
3 Scottish Cups
14 Scotland caps
Hall of Fame member.

The "Original Baxter". Long gone, never forgotten.
Click to expand...

Bearing in mind the very basic, even crude equipment that was available in those days, when football boots were one level up up from pitboots, I once read that Gibson could do keepy up with almost any object, even a length of wood, .... bizarre at it sounds.
He really was the Maradona of his day!

However, when the early geniuses are discussed by those who control the narrative down south, they never mention Neilly Gibson, whilst ironically they almost always do Steve Bloomer.
Like the great Bill Struth, people down south just ignore individuals who were true greats of the early British game, because they operated north and not south of the border.

Yet the league strength of top class football in both countries in those days was pretty similar, and Scotland's international team beat the England team more than the other way around, and often gave them a real skelping.
In fact most successful English club sides were choc full of Scottish players and even at that, the game in Scotland remained strong whilst annually being depleted of a huge amount of its finest sons.

Indeed if football ability really was a genetic trait, it would be little wonder that today's Scotland is now a genetic desert, all the ability has been drained down south.

One other point about the team that won every game in the league season, whilst it was only eighteen games, it should be remembered that the competitive field was much more level in those days, there was no enormous financial advantage held by big clubs, as there is today.
It really was a sporting achievement under real sporting circumstances.

One point about Struth.
(Hopefully the OP might do a wee article about our legendary manager.)
Struth's team of the thirties went annually up against the legendary Arsenal side of that era in challenge matches, that were contested like cup ties, yet Struth more often than not made that great Arsenal team his bitch.
It wasn't even Struth's finest club side!!!
Funnily enough when English journo's regale us with stories about that fine Arsenal team, they somehow never mention this! :p
 
bilkobear said:
Bearing in mind the very basic, even crude equipment that was available in those days, when football boots were one level up up from pitboots, I once read that Gibson could do keepy up with almost any object, even a length of wood, .... bizarre at it sounds.
He really was the Maradona of his day!

However, when the early geniuses are discussed by those who control the narrative down south, they never mention Neilly Gibson, whilst ironically they almost always do Steve Bloomer.
Like the great Bill Struth, people down south just ignore individuals who were true greats of the early British game, because they operated north and not south of the border.

Yet the league strength of top class football in both countries in those days was pretty similar, and Scotland's international team beat the England team more than the other way around, and often gave them a real skelping.
In fact most successful English club sides were choc full of Scottish players and even at that, the game in Scotland remained strong whilst annually being depleted of a huge amount of its finest sons.

Indeed if football ability really was a genetic trait, it would be little wonder that today's Scotland is now a genetic desert, all the ability has been drained down south.

One other point about the team that won every game in the league season, whilst it was only eighteen games, it should be remembered that the competitive field was much more level in those days, there was no enormous financial advantage held by big clubs, as there is today.
It really was a sporting achievement under real sporting circumstances.

One point about Struth.
(Hopefully the OP might do a wee article about our legendary manager.)
Struth's team of the thirties went annually up against the legendary Arsenal side of that era in challenge matches, that were contested like cup ties, yet Struth more often than not made that great Arsenal team his bitch.
It wasn't even Struth's finest club side!!!
Funnily enough when English journo's regale us with stories about that fine Arsenal team, they somehow never mention this! :p
Click to expand...

Fantastic summary.

1900 was actually the second time Gibson dominated a famous English team in a Scotland victory. The first one was 1896, when he and Jock Drummond were the Rangers players in a 2-1 victory. The 23 year old Gibson was man of the match that day too.

As for a Struth article, he's a bit better known than these earlier figures, but I'm sure I'll get to him eventually! Still at the early 1900s at the moment :cool:
 
dh1963 said:
Fantastic summary.

1900 was actually the second time Gibson dominated a famous English team in a Scotland victory. The first one was 1896, when he and Jock Drummond were the Rangers players in a 2-1 victory. The 23 year old Gibson was man of the match that day too.

As for a Struth article, he's a bit better known than these earlier figures, but I'm sure I'll get to him eventually! Still at the early 1900s at the moment :cool:
Click to expand...

No hurry, take your time, like the rest on here, I will enjoy the journey. :D
 
Another informative and excellent thread dh1963. I was given a copy of Rangers : The New Era as a birthday present in 1966 and recognised Neilly Gibson’s name. Your mentioning of Jock Drummond reminds of a story I read (possibly in the same book) about Jock Drummond as being the last Rangers player to play when wearing a bunnet.
 
The Meik's Crombie said:
Another informative and excellent thread dh1963. I was given a copy of Rangers : The New Era as a birthday present in 1966 and recognised Neilly Gibson’s name. Your mentioning of Jock Drummond reminds of a story I read (possibly in the same book) about Jock Drummond as being the last Rangers player to play when wearing a bunnet.
Click to expand...

If you see any of the team pictures of the time, you can always tell which on is Jock Drummond. The one with the flat cap on! Might make him the next player in this wee series I'm doing...
 
dh1963 said:
When asked to name the most elegant and graceful player to wear a Rangers shirt, a player with a sweet left foot, who could thread a ball through the eye of a needle, and who was the midfield conductor of the dominant team of his era, we would all think of the great Jim Baxter. Especially if we also ask who was the inspiration in Scotland destroying England in the home internatinals.
But back at the turn of the 20th Century, Rangers had the "original" Jim Baxter. A player of remarkable ball control who played left half in a side that swept all before them. His name was Neilly Gibson.
When William Wilton persuaded 21 year old Neilly Gibson to leave Royal Albert and sign for Rangers in 1894, he secured the services of a precocious talent who would become one of the greatest players in the Britain of the late Victorian age. Eulogies from opposition players and managers came his way as easily as his accuracy of passing and his deft first touch.
Gibson immediately became a fixture in Wilton's Rangers team, and spent a trophy laden 10 years wearing the Royal Blue. Although he had to wait till 1897 to win his first major honour at the club, a 2-0 Scottish Cup Final win over Dumbarton, he soon made up for lost time by adding to his medal collection. 4 successive league titles were won, starting with the legendary 1898/99 season when Gibson played in all 18 matches in a league season where the team finished with a 100% record, something never repeated anywhere till this day. He also added 2 more Scottish Cups to his collection, the last trophy he won as a Ranger being the 1903 final.
But Gibson truly found fame thanks to his displays in the dark blue of Scotland, none more than when he inspired a 4-1 thrashing of the English in 1900. Legendary England international Steve Bloomer scored their consolation goal that day, and was quoted afterwards as saying Neilly Gibson "the best player I have ever seen". Fellow England international Harry Wood called him "Pavlova in football boots". Among the other accolades he received was from legendary Scottish football referee and manager Willie McCartney who said Gibson was "the greatest player of my, and any, generation".
Neilly Gibson left Rangers in 1904 to join Partick Thistle, winning the last of his 14 Scotland caps while at Firhill.
A Rangers legend, one of the greatest footballers in Scottish football history, Neilly Gibson is inducted in the Rangers Hall of Fame.
And his legacy is beyond Rangers. His 3 sons Neil, Willie and James all went on to become professional footballers. By far the most famous was James, who was one of the famous Wembley Wizards in 1928.

Neilly Gibson, Rangers 1894-1904
Competitive appearances 192
Goals 22
4 League Titles
3 Scottish Cups
14 Scotland caps
Hall of Fame member.

The "Original Baxter". Long gone, never forgotten.
Click to expand...

20h8zya.jpg
 
Something that could never happen these days... Neilly Gibson was awarded a benefit match in 1904 for his service to the club. The opposition?

Celtic!
 
dh1963 said:
Something that could never happen these days... Neilly Gibson was awarded a benefit match in 1904 for his service to the club. The opposition?

Celtic!
Click to expand...

It was still going on some time later. We played Celtc in a benefit match for their Jimmy McGrory in 1934 - and we won 4-0! I wonder if that was the last game like that.
 
Great post, really interesting, love learning about the clubs less well known players, history etc.... cheers!
 
Dbear 65 said:
Great post, really interesting, love learning about the clubs less well known players, history etc.... cheers!
Click to expand...

I know it's a long time ago, but a player like Gibson should never become "less well known". The likes of Alan Morton joined the club only 16 years after Gibson left, but his name is absolutely immortal. Not sure why, but the greats from before WW1 never seem to get mentioned the way those after WW1 do.
A bloody good reason for the club to invest the time and money into a museum.
 
Some of the first players to play for our great club,have some amazing stats,RC Hamilton had 154 goals in 164 games,bloody hell that is quality :confused:
 
dh1963 said:
I know it's a long time ago, but a player like Gibson should never become "less well known". The likes of Alan Morton joined the club only 16 years after Gibson left, but his name is absolutely immortal. Not sure why, but the greats from before WW1 never seem to get mentioned the way those after WW1 do.
A bloody good reason for the club to invest the time and money into a museum.
Click to expand...
Agree with the need for a museum. As far as Neilly Gibson not being as well known as Alan Morton and his ilk is, as you have said, it was a long time ago. My grandfather raved about players like Davie Meiklejohn, Alan Morton, Bob McPhail etc and as a boy I knew about these players. I am sure a lot of of us on here have the same family connection.

Neilly Gibson is just too far back in time for most people IMO. It does not make them any less important. However this is why a Rangers Museum, the guys that do the Gallant Pioneers Tours and people like you who post these threads on the forum are so important to keep these players names alive for future generations.
 
Last edited:
Another great read dh1963. Please keep them coming. Another great player from that era was Nicol Smith whose story ends in tragic circumstances
 
Superb post. I love these tales of the good old days.

As for the bheggars being the opponents for the benefit game. Just wow!!!
 
newvalleyloyal said:
Another great read dh1963. Please keep them coming. Another great player from that era was Nicol Smith whose story ends in tragic circumstances
Click to expand...

I think there could be threads for a few more of the great team of the late 19th / early 20th century. Nicol Smith is a definite. Quite apart from being a magnificent right back, he also discovered Alec Smith, the greatest winger of our first 50 years.
 
dh1963 said:
When asked to name the most elegant and graceful player to wear a Rangers shirt, a player with a sweet left foot, who could thread a ball through the eye of a needle, and who was the midfield conductor of the dominant team of his era, we would all think of the great Jim Baxter. Especially if we also ask who was the inspiration in Scotland destroying England in the home internatinals.
But back at the turn of the 20th Century, Rangers had the "original" Jim Baxter. A player of remarkable ball control who played left half in a side that swept all before them. His name was Neilly Gibson.
When William Wilton persuaded 21 year old Neilly Gibson to leave Royal Albert and sign for Rangers in 1894, he secured the services of a precocious talent who would become one of the greatest players in the Britain of the late Victorian age. Eulogies from opposition players and managers came his way as easily as his accuracy of passing and his deft first touch.
Gibson immediately became a fixture in Wilton's Rangers team, and spent a trophy laden 10 years wearing the Royal Blue. Although he had to wait till 1897 to win his first major honour at the club, a 2-0 Scottish Cup Final win over Dumbarton, he soon made up for lost time by adding to his medal collection. 4 successive league titles were won, starting with the legendary 1898/99 season when Gibson played in all 18 matches in a league season where the team finished with a 100% record, something never repeated anywhere till this day. He also added 2 more Scottish Cups to his collection, the last trophy he won as a Ranger being the 1903 final.
But Gibson truly found fame thanks to his displays in the dark blue of Scotland, none more than when he inspired a 4-1 thrashing of the English in 1900. Legendary England international Steve Bloomer scored their consolation goal that day, and was quoted afterwards as saying Neilly Gibson "the best player I have ever seen". Fellow England international Harry Wood called him "Pavlova in football boots". Among the other accolades he received was from legendary Scottish football referee and manager Willie McCartney who said Gibson was "the greatest player of my, and any, generation".
Neilly Gibson left Rangers in 1904 to join Partick Thistle, winning the last of his 14 Scotland caps while at Firhill.
A Rangers legend, one of the greatest footballers in Scottish football history, Neilly Gibson is inducted in the Rangers Hall of Fame.
And his legacy is beyond Rangers. His 3 sons Neil, Willie and James all went on to become professional footballers. By far the most famous was James, who was one of the famous Wembley Wizards in 1928.

Neilly Gibson, Rangers 1894-1904
Competitive appearances 192
Goals 22
4 League Titles
3 Scottish Cups
14 Scotland caps
Hall of Fame member.

The "Original Baxter". Long gone, never forgotten.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting this mate. I'm genuinely fascinated by our history, particularly the early years. My concern is that with each passing generation information like this could be lost in the mists of time.
I've long felt that a museum is imperative. I know there would be considerable funds required to make this happen, but how much is our history worth? I'm sure if there's enough desire, we could make it happen.
 
dh1963 said:
I know it's a long time ago, but a player like Gibson should never become "less well known". The likes of Alan Morton joined the club only 16 years after Gibson left, but his name is absolutely immortal. Not sure why, but the greats from before WW1 never seem to get mentioned the way those after WW1 do.
A bloody good reason for the club to invest the time and money into a museum.
Click to expand...
We've all been saying it for years, a Museum is a most
 
dh1963 said:
I know it's a long time ago, but a player like Gibson should never become "less well known". The likes of Alan Morton joined the club only 16 years after Gibson left, but his name is absolutely immortal. Not sure why, but the greats from before WW1 never seem to get mentioned the way those after WW1 do.
A bloody good reason for the club to invest the time and money into a museum.
Click to expand...



Agree with this DH, I pressed the club for a number of years for Neilly Gibson to be included in our Hall of Fame. While i support the calls for a club museum i also think we should have a book on every player who has played for the first team from 1872. The McElroy/Ferrier Rangers player by player book only covered our post - war players. Perhaps we should be contacting Polar publishing of Leicester about this. This company brought out the club alphabet books on all the major English clubs which featured every player, they also had a Yahoo edition in the series. When i contacted them re: a Rangers version of the book i had a reply from Julia Byrne (director) saying they had paid an advance to Robert McElroy to commence research on a Rangers book in the Alphabet series. This would have been in the 1990's and as yet no such book has been published. A Rangers museum would no doubt concentrate on our major players leaving out the many unsung heroes who have worn the Light Blue. I always enjoy your threads on this subject and look forward to more of them. Might i suggest the name of our English goalkeeper Herbert Lock for future consideration. Herbert had a wonderful Rangers career but is hardly mentioned these days. Has Herbert Lock been included in our hall of fame yet?
 
What an interesting post.
I'd never heard of Neilly Gibson until now, and what a great story it is.
I'll have to have a look at your other posts to find out more of these gems
The Gers had over the years.
My first game was in 1958 or so, so I've also seen many greats, but these
lively tales of our early days of yore are absolutely top.
Thank you for posting this and your other stories too.
 
George Wishart said:
Agree with this DH, I pressed the club for a number of years for Neilly Gibson to be included in our Hall of Fame. While i support the calls for a club museum i also think we should have a book on every player who has played for the first team from 1872. The McElroy/Ferrier Rangers player by player book only covered our post - war players. Perhaps we should be contacting Polar publishing of Leicester about this. This company brought out the club alphabet books on all the major English clubs which featured every player, they also had a Yahoo edition in the series. When i contacted them re: a Rangers version of the book i had a reply from Julia Byrne (director) saying they had paid an advance to Robert McElroy to commence research on a Rangers book in the Alphabet series. This would have been in the 1990's and as yet no such book has been published. A Rangers museum would no doubt concentrate on our major players leaving out the many unsung heroes who have worn the Light Blue. I always enjoy your threads on this subject and look forward to more of them. Might i suggest the name of our English goalkeeper Herbert Lock for future consideration. Herbert had a wonderful Rangers career but is hardly mentioned these days. Has Herbert Lock been included in our hall of fame yet?
Click to expand...

If you were in any way behind Neilly Gibson getting his belated induction into the Hall of Fame, I doff my cap.
Herbert Lock is certainly an interesting story, I don't think he is in the HoF yet, and I don't think the great keeper of the 1899 100% team is in it either, Matt Dickie.
 
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