Rangers History Ralph Brand

The two opposing managers that day were both Legendary ex Rangers Centre Forwards.
Willie Thornton (Rangers) and Jimmy Millar (Raith Rovers)!
And Slim Jim was playing for Rangers that day, I didn't appreciate how great it was to see those legends as an 8 year old but I do now
 
Great post again MO

It fair brought back some childhood memories. That was the best team in our history during that period imo. Certainly from a footballing standpoint.
Theres a case to be made that Scott, MacMillan, Millar, Brand, and Wilson was the most potent forward line in our history. Indeed the entire standard of Scottish football was a lot better back then with several teams good enough to give us a game. I was a little on the young side to fully appreciate Ralph Brand’s talent, but I feel honoured nevertheless to have witnessed him and that great side play,

Can't argue with that.
That 60-61 season when The Front Five scored 130 Goals between them.
Scott (22), McMillan (15), Millar (26), Brand (44), Wilson (23).
You got two wingers chipping in with over 20 goals each.
 
What a brilliant article that was. Thank you very much for posting it.
Learned a lot about Mr Brand there that I didn't know.
He lives just round the corner from me in Currie although sadly, he hasn't been at home for quite some time now due to not being in great health.

When we first moved here about 9 years ago, Mr Brand was still going out for a wee run a few days a week, wearing an old Rangers blue drill top, fit as a fiddle then. Still driving his taxi too.

I'm a bit young to have seen him play but still revered him from reading about his career and hearing stories from older family bears. Took me ages to pluck up the courage to speak to him about football.
I had some photos on my phone that had been colourised by Andythephotodoctor (sp)
Mr Brand really enjoyed seeing them and smiled as he picked out Baxter, Miller etc in colour.
Sadly it was soon after this that his health started failing and I didn't get the chance to talk to him about football much more.

What an absolute gentleman.
A man I never saw play live, but he will always be a legend to me.
 
A fantastic bit of research @MO_TxTruBlu. I

I have told this story before so I will bore everyone with it again. Whenever I hear Derry’s Walls being sung at games in recent years, my mind goes back to the days when I was a nipper perched on one of the crush barriers. My Dad used to change the “sword and shield” line to “and Ralphie Brand”. I have been known to sing that line particularly in the footballing presence of the Unmentionables.

With heart and hand and Ralphy Brand we'll guard old Derrys walls

WATP

Got me marching round the house singing that now :))
 
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I wonder why we sold players like Brand and Wilson when they were only 28?

That is a good question, and my thoughts on it are that Symon believed we had better.
I think with Ralph Brand, he was no longer an automatic choice by the 64-65 season, making only 32 appearances (16 Goals), as opposed to the previous four seasons where he was averaging 55 games a season, with a return of 38 goals a season.
Jim Forrest was obviously the main man, having scored 57 Goals in 50 games in 64-65, and though George McLean was not the prolific goalscorer that Brand was, I think Symon saw the Forrest McLean partnership as the future.
Symon was right, if you look at the stats.
1965-66 season George McLean was our top scorer with 39 Goals in only 34 Games, which is an incredible return.
Despite this, the big Dandy one was never a favourite with the fans, and I can only put that down to the fact that he was replacing Ralph Brand who was much loved by the fans.
Forrest scored 35 Goals in 44 Games that same season, which meant the Forrest McLean partnership had combined to score 74 Goals between them.
The Millar Brand partnership had combined to score that many goals in a single season, only once, in the 62-63 season scoring 80 Goals between them, but they had played in 102 games combined, whereas Forrest and McLean scored 74 Goals in only 78 games between them.
I'm not sure that we have ever had a front two that combined to score so many goals in so few games, as Forrest and McLean did that 65-66 season.
Even the best season that we got from Hateley McCoist (92-93) where the combined to score 78 Goals, they needed 103 games combined to achieve that.
Sadly we shall never know how well that Forrest McLean partnership might well have done, as our Chairmen saw fit to dump them both, just six months after that record setting 65-66 season, whilst they were 22, and 23 years old.

As for Davy Wilson, it was obvious by 1967 that Willie Johnston was Symon's preferred Left Winger, as he was immediately reinstated to the team following his injury, at the expense of Davy Wilson, for those last 3 vital games of the 66-67 campaign, despite the fact that Wilson was doing well and scoring some vital goals.
Symon was desperate to add Orjan Persson to the ranks that summer, and offered Wilson to Dundee Utd as a sweetener to get his man.
Again, Persson was no Davy Wilson, but he was a good player, and unfortunately Symon only had him for 13 games, before he was sacked.
I think Persson scored 30 Goals in 100 games for Davie White, but when Waddell came in, he obviously did not rate the big Swede, giving him only 3 games in 6 months, before getting rid of him at the end of that 69-70 season.
Another player who should have remained at Ibrox a lot longer than he did.
Persson went on to play in two World Cups (70' and 74') after Waddell deemed him surplus to requirements!
 
That is a good question, and my thoughts on it are that Symon believed we had better.
I think with Ralph Brand, he was no longer an automatic choice by the 64-65 season, making only 32 appearances (16 Goals), as opposed to the previous four seasons where he was averaging 55 games a season, with a return of 38 goals a season.
Jim Forrest was obviously the main man, having scored 57 Goals in 50 games in 64-65, and though George McLean was not the prolific goalscorer that Brand was, I think Symon saw the Forrest McLean partnership as the future.
Symon was right, if you look at the stats.
1965-66 season George McLean was our top scorer with 39 Goals in only 34 Games, which is an incredible return.
Despite this, the big Dandy one was never a favourite with the fans, and I can only put that down to the fact that he was replacing Ralph Brand who was much loved by the fans.
Forrest scored 35 Goals in 44 Games that same season, which meant the Forrest McLean partnership had combined to score 74 Goals between them.
The Millar Brand partnership had combined to score that many goals in a single season, only once, in the 62-63 season scoring 80 Goals between them, but they had played in 102 games combined, whereas Forrest and McLean scored 74 Goals in only 78 games between them.
I'm not sure that we have ever had a front two that combined to score so many goals in so few games, as Forrest and McLean did that 65-66 season.
Even the best season that we got from Hateley McCoist (92-93) where the combined to score 78 Goals, they needed 103 games combined to achieve that.
Sadly we shall never know how well that Forrest McLean partnership might well have done, as our Chairmen saw fit to dump them both, just six months after that record setting 65-66 season, whilst they were 22, and 23 years old.

As for Davy Wilson, it was obvious by 1967 that Willie Johnston was Symon's preferred Left Winger, as he was immediately reinstated to the team following his injury, at the expense of Davy Wilson, for those last 3 vital games of the 66-67 campaign, despite the fact that Wilson was doing well and scoring some vital goals.
Symon was desperate to add Orjan Persson to the ranks that summer, and offered Wilson to Dundee Utd as a sweetener to get his man.
Again, Persson was no Davy Wilson, but he was a good player, and unfortunately Symon only had him for 13 games, before he was sacked.
I think Persson scored 30 Goals in 100 games for Davie White, but when Waddell came in, he obviously did not rate the big Swede, giving him only 3 games in 6 months, before getting rid of him at the end of that 69-70 season.
Another player who should have remained at Ibrox a lot longer than he did.
Persson went on to play in two World Cups (70' and 74') after Waddell deemed him surplus to requirements!
Thanks MO for a superb article and subsequent posts. That 63-64 team were my Rangers team and I enjoy reminiscing about them. I even wrote to Davy Wilson who kindly wrote a friendly reply and the autographs of the team. Great memories! On to 55.
 
That is a good question, and my thoughts on it are that Symon believed we had better.
I think with Ralph Brand, he was no longer an automatic choice by the 64-65 season, making only 32 appearances (16 Goals), as opposed to the previous four seasons where he was averaging 55 games a season, with a return of 38 goals a season.
Jim Forrest was obviously the main man, having scored 57 Goals in 50 games in 64-65, and though George McLean was not the prolific goalscorer that Brand was, I think Symon saw the Forrest McLean partnership as the future.
Symon was right, if you look at the stats.
1965-66 season George McLean was our top scorer with 39 Goals in only 34 Games, which is an incredible return.
Despite this, the big Dandy one was never a favourite with the fans, and I can only put that down to the fact that he was replacing Ralph Brand who was much loved by the fans.
Forrest scored 35 Goals in 44 Games that same season, which meant the Forrest McLean partnership had combined to score 74 Goals between them.
The Millar Brand partnership had combined to score that many goals in a single season, only once, in the 62-63 season scoring 80 Goals between them, but they had played in 102 games combined, whereas Forrest and McLean scored 74 Goals in only 78 games between them.
I'm not sure that we have ever had a front two that combined to score so many goals in so few games, as Forrest and McLean did that 65-66 season.
Even the best season that we got from Hateley McCoist (92-93) where the combined to score 78 Goals, they needed 103 games combined to achieve that.
Sadly we shall never know how well that Forrest McLean partnership might well have done, as our Chairmen saw fit to dump them both, just six months after that record setting 65-66 season, whilst they were 22, and 23 years old.

As for Davy Wilson, it was obvious by 1967 that Willie Johnston was Symon's preferred Left Winger, as he was immediately reinstated to the team following his injury, at the expense of Davy Wilson, for those last 3 vital games of the 66-67 campaign, despite the fact that Wilson was doing well and scoring some vital goals.
Symon was desperate to add Orjan Persson to the ranks that summer, and offered Wilson to Dundee Utd as a sweetener to get his man.
Again, Persson was no Davy Wilson, but he was a good player, and unfortunately Symon only had him for 13 games, before he was sacked.
I think Persson scored 30 Goals in 100 games for Davie White, but when Waddell came in, he obviously did not rate the big Swede, giving him only 3 games in 6 months, before getting rid of him at the end of that 69-70 season.
Another player who should have remained at Ibrox a lot longer than he did.
Persson went on to play in two World Cups (70' and 74') after Waddell deemed him surplus to requirements!


Thanks for the detailed reply MO, very much appreciated.
I suppose it makes sense when Willie Johnston was coming through the ranks at that time.
I suppose the same thing happened a few years earlier with Alex Scott and Willie Henderson.
When you look at the team from around '64 to '66 and how young they were.
Provan, Greig, McKinnon, Baxter, Henderson, McLean, Forrest all early twenties.
Even Brand and Wilson were only mid-twenties at that time.
I seem to remember Brand being critical of Scot Symon and his training methods at the time with Symon being 'old school' and tracksuit managers coming in.

When you look at the goals return from Forrest and McLean it makes the decision to dump them in '67 all the more ridiculous.
They were only 22 and 23 years old!!
 
That takes me back. Remember them all very fondly and had a wee dance with him when I met him at the corner of Buchanan Street and Gordon St one day. He couldn't beat me with a feint to the left which I followed. We stood still and smiled then he walked past me.
 
That is a good question, and my thoughts on it are that Symon believed we had better.
I think with Ralph Brand, he was no longer an automatic choice by the 64-65 season, making only 32 appearances (16 Goals), as opposed to the previous four seasons where he was averaging 55 games a season, with a return of 38 goals a season.
Jim Forrest was obviously the main man, having scored 57 Goals in 50 games in 64-65, and though George McLean was not the prolific goalscorer that Brand was, I think Symon saw the Forrest McLean partnership as the future.
Symon was right, if you look at the stats.
1965-66 season George McLean was our top scorer with 39 Goals in only 34 Games, which is an incredible return.
Despite this, the big Dandy one was never a favourite with the fans, and I can only put that down to the fact that he was replacing Ralph Brand who was much loved by the fans.
Forrest scored 35 Goals in 44 Games that same season, which meant the Forrest McLean partnership had combined to score 74 Goals between them.
The Millar Brand partnership had combined to score that many goals in a single season, only once, in the 62-63 season scoring 80 Goals between them, but they had played in 102 games combined, whereas Forrest and McLean scored 74 Goals in only 78 games between them.
I'm not sure that we have ever had a front two that combined to score so many goals in so few games, as Forrest and McLean did that 65-66 season.
Even the best season that we got from Hateley McCoist (92-93) where the combined to score 78 Goals, they needed 103 games combined to achieve that.
Sadly we shall never know how well that Forrest McLean partnership might well have done, as our Chairmen saw fit to dump them both, just six months after that record setting 65-66 season, whilst they were 22, and 23 years old.

As for Davy Wilson, it was obvious by 1967 that Willie Johnston was Symon's preferred Left Winger, as he was immediately reinstated to the team following his injury, at the expense of Davy Wilson, for those last 3 vital games of the 66-67 campaign, despite the fact that Wilson was doing well and scoring some vital goals.
Symon was desperate to add Orjan Persson to the ranks that summer, and offered Wilson to Dundee Utd as a sweetener to get his man.
Again, Persson was no Davy Wilson, but he was a good player, and unfortunately Symon only had him for 13 games, before he was sacked.
I think Persson scored 30 Goals in 100 games for Davie White, but when Waddell came in, he obviously did not rate the big Swede, giving him only 3 games in 6 months, before getting rid of him at the end of that 69-70 season.
Another player who should have remained at Ibrox a lot longer than he did.
Persson went on to play in two World Cups (70' and 74') after Waddell deemed him surplus to requirements!
74 goals in 78 games and they probably missed as many again such was our strength back then.
 
Great post again MO

It fair brought back some childhood memories. That was the best team in our history during that period imo. Certainly from a footballing standpoint.
Theres a case to be made that Scott, MacMillan, Millar, Brand, and Wilson was the most potent forward line in our history. Indeed the entire standard of Scottish football was a lot better back then with several teams good enough to give us a game. I was a little on the young side to fully appreciate Ralph Brand’s talent, but I feel honoured nevertheless to have witnessed him and that great side play,
Exactly the same, I was 8 in 1960,dad took me for the first time, vaguely remember the games but,getting lifted over!smell of smoke,pie and bovrils and the wee invalid cars all round the running track,just may have widened a young boys eyes at Ibrox,especially at nighttime games!
 
Ralph Brand (on the ground, just off the field of play) scoring Rangers third in the 3-1 v Dundee 1964 Scottish Cup Final, from an acute angle, leathering the ball off the inside of the far post.

It was his Third consecutive Scottish Cup Final that he scored in (4 if you include the 1-1 draw in 63').
Having scored in back to back successive League Cup Finals in 60' and 61', this was his 8th Scottish Final, having scored in 6 of them.
He would go on to play in the 2-1 v Celtic League Cup Final in the 64-65 season, giving him the record of having played in NINE Scottish Finals, and never on the losing side.


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64-65 was to be Brand's final season at Ibrox, but he still weighed in with 11 goals in his first 14 games, including Hat Tricks against St Johnstone and Airdrie, and bagged a couple in the 3-1 win over Red Star Belgrade in the European Cup at Ibrox. He collected another League Cup winners gong in October, as Rangers defeated Celtic 2-1 in the Final.
Brand who had worn his traditional No.10 shirt throughout the previous 9 League Cup games, switched to Outside Right for the Final in place of the injured Henderson, as Rangers went with a forward line of
Brand, Millar, Forrest, Baxter and Johnston.
This was Rangers Sixth consecutive domestic trophy, and their 11th out of a possible 14 domestic trophies in four and a half years.
In early Nov. Rangers beat Red Star Belgrade 3-1 in the European Cup Play off at Highbury, with Brand scoring the third. Highbury was somewhat of a favourite ground for Brand, having scored there twice previously in April 59' with 2 goals in a 3-0 win v Arsenal, and scoring against them again in May 63' in a 2-2 draw.
Brand actually scored 5 goals in 3 games v Arsenal, having scored 2 in a 4-2 win against them in Dec 60' at Ibrox.
Brand fell out of the picture at the end of November, and would make only 7 appearances in the second half of the season.
Fittingly, his last official appearance in a Rangers shirt, came on the final day of the season, and of course,
it was Ralph Brand who scored the only goal of the game, in a 1-0 win at Third Lanark.

Ralph Brand at the age of 28, was sold to Manchester City in the Summer of 65' for £30,000

His Rangers collection was 4 League Championships, 3 Scottish Cups, and 4 League Cups
He scored more goals for Rangers in the 1960's than any other player.
His career at Ibrox saw him score 220 Goals in 339 Games.
He represented the Scottish League XI, 5 times, scoring 8 Goals.
His International career saw him score 8 Goals in 8 Games for Scotland
His goalscoring record should certainly have warranted more Caps, and surely would have, but for the unfortunate fact that Scotland's greatest ever forward and No.10, Denis Law, was up there with World's best in the 1960's.

A quote from Ralph Brand some years later
"My highlight was just playing for Rangers.Walking into the dressing each week and seeing the No.10 shirt was mine was a special feeling."

It was a special feeling for those of us fortunate enough to have witnessed Ralph Brand, and that great Rangers side in the first half of the 1960;s.
Great memories he was a tremendous player.
 
Loved Ralph Brand was my favourite player when growing up and going to see the famous as a 9 year old, Was at the piggery when beating them 5/1 , wish I was that age again. WATP.
 
Incredible they only played 6 times together its the team that most of us can name.
With heart and hand and Ralphy Brand.
 
I wonder why we sold players like Brand and Wilson when they were only 28?
Remember in the early sixties no substitutes were used many players played on with injuries. When I played for my school team in the quarter final of the Glasgow schools cup I pulled a muscle and played on out in the wing. At that time you played on unless you had a broken leg. We won that quarter final game and I wasn't fit enough for the semi final and we lost the game. Probably that's why loads of players retired early through injuries.
 
Happy birthday Ralph, I have great memories of your goals and great play. Fantastic scoring record for Rangers and Scotland.
 
I am lucky enough to have witnessed this team play a number of times. Including Alex Scott and Harold Davis
That team only played together 6 times amazingly enough.

Tha named eleven remarkably only started 6 games together

I'm assuming you are talking about that famous XI with Ritchie, Greig, McKinnon and Henderson.
Before them though, The Line up of
Niven, Shearer, Caldow, Davis, Paterson, Baxter, Scott, McMillan, Millar, Brand, Wilson
Played a remarkable 16 consecutive games unchanged,
between Oct 29th1960, when we defeated Kilmarnock 2-0 in the League Cup Final, up until we beat St Johnstone 1-0 in a League match at Ibrox on Jan 14th 1961.
 
I remember the tuck shop in my school sold bars of chocolate called M & B bars as that was stamped on them. Everyone thought it meant Miller & Brand but it was obviously the company producing them's initials but a nice thought at the time.
 
I'm assuming you are talking about that famous XI with Ritchie, Greig, McKinnon and Henderson.
Before them though, The Line up of
Niven, Shearer, Caldow, Davis, Paterson, Baxter, Scott, McMillan, Millar, Brand, Wilson
Played a remarkable 16 consecutive games unchanged,
between Oct 29th1960, when we defeated Kilmarnock 2-0 in the League Cup Final, up until we beat St Johnstone 1-0 in a League match at Ibrox on Jan 14th 1961.
Yes was talking about Ritchie
Shearer
Caldow
Greig
McKinnon
Baxter
Henderson
McMillan
Millar
Brand
Wilson
 
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