Rangers History Rangers' Other Jimmy Smith

MO_TxTruBlu

Well-Known Member
If you know your history and all that, then most of you will have at least heard of the legendary Jimmy Smith,
arguably Rangers greatest ever goalscorer.

Prior to the great Jimmy though, we had another Jimmy Smith on the books.

1926-27 season and Bill Struth gives the 24 year old Jimmy Smith his debut in our second League match of the season v Dunfermline at Ibrox, in place of the legendary Tommy Cairns, who had been our Captain for over a decade.
The forward line that day was Archibald, Cunningham, Doc Marshall, Smith and Morton.
Rangers won 2-0 with goals from Hugh Shaw and Sandy Archibald.
James Smith would make only one more appearance in a Rangers shirt, a month later at Tynecastle.
The forward line that day was Fleming, Smith, Doc Marshall, Cairns and Morton
Another 2-0 win for Rangers with goals from Jimmy Fleming and Tommy Cairns.
That was it, these were the only two games that particular Jimmy Smith played for Rangers.
Having been at Ibrox for just over one year, he was released and transferred down a Division to Ayr Utd at the end of that season.

The following season 1927-28, that very same Jimmy Smith scored a staggering 66 Goals in 38 League Games, as Ayr United stormed to the Second Division Championship.
To this day, some 90 plus years later, it remains a British Goalscoring record, and one that is unlikely ever to be beaten.
He also scored 2 in the Scottish Cup, and 4 in friendlies, taking his total to 72 for the season!

Jimmy Smith was transferred south to Liverpool for £6,000 five games into the 1929-30 season, after Liverpool had desperately lost 3 of their opening 5 fixtures in England's top flight (0-5, 0-3, 0-3).
Smith made his debut for Liverpool at Old Trafford, and instantly became a hero on Merseyside, as he scored both goals in a 2-1 win for Liverpool over Manchester United.
He would be an ever present for the remainder of the season, finishing as Liverpool's top scorer with 23 Goals in 37 Games.
The Following season saw Smith continue his goalscoring form with 14 Goals in 21 Games, before he was surprisingly dropped from the team, midway through the season.
Amazingly, one year later, Smith left Anfield to play amateur for non league Turnbridge Well Rangers, where he reputedly scored 90 goals!
Smith‘s career took a decidedly downward turn after Liverpool. He played one season as an amateur for Tunbridge Wells Rangers in the Eastern Section of the Southern League before joining third division south team Bristol Rovers where he struggled to hold a regular place. Smith scored ten goals in 26 League games for third division Newport County in the 1935-36 season.
He touched down at Notts County before returning to his homeland to Dumbarton in 1937, at the age of 35.
His first season back in Scotland saw the veteran Smith score 29 Goals in 35 Games.
The following season 1938-39 saw Jimmy Smith's playing career come to an end, though he still managed 7 Goals in 11 games.
He took over as Dumbarton‘s manager in 1939.
He was appointed as director in 1941 as the club could no longer afford a manager and stayed in that capacity until 1943.

Meanwhile, during all of this, over at Ibrox, Bill Struth introduced another Jimmy Smith to the Rangers first team in the latter part of the 1928-29 season.
With the League already wrapped up, Rangers who had gone through the entire season undefeated
(30 League Games, 5 Scottish Cup), gave the 17 year old Jimmy Smith his debut in an away match at Hamilton.
The forward line that Wednesday night was Archibald, Muirhead, Smith, McPhail and Morton.
Surprisingly Rangers suffered their only League defeat of the season that night, as they lost 1-3.
Smith would get one more game that season in a 0-0 draw v Ayr Utd.

His record was exactly the same as the previous Jimmy Smith, 2 games, no goals,
but Mr Struth was not about to let this Jimmy Smith go.
Smith made only one appearance the following season 1929-30, scoring once in a 3-1 win v Dundee.
It would be 1930-31 that Jimmy Smith established himself in the Rangers side, and the rest as we know is history.

Over the next 16 seasons 1930-46, our Jimmy Smith would score 364 Goals in 387 Games for Rangers

When Jimmy retired from playing, he stayed another 20 years at Ibrox as Trainer and chief scout, until 1967.

When Jimmy passed away in Dec 2003 at the age of 92, he was the oldest living Ranger.
 
Good read Mo. It's very surprising to me that (as far as I know) there's never been a book written about THE Jimmy Smith, a Rangers legend if ever there was one.
 
Magnificent stuff, every day really is a schoolday.

I also didn't know Jimmy Fleming sometimes played on the right wing.
 
Magnificent stuff, every day really is a schoolday.

I also didn't know Jimmy Fleming sometimes played on the right wing.

Jimmy Fleming first came into the side on October 1925 as a replacement for the great Geordie Henderson, at Centre Forward, but his last 4 games of that initial season he played 3 on the right wing, and 1 on the Left Wing.
His second season (1926-27) saw Fleming play half of his 30 appearances on the wing, 8 on the right wing, and 7 on the left wing,
in for two of our greatest wingers ever, in Sandy Archibald, and Alan Morton.
Fleming still managed 41 Goals in 59 games, in those two seasons, despite playing a third of those games on the wing.

The next three seasons 1927-30, he was our Centre Forward scoring 119 Goals in 126 Games!

With Jimmy Smith forcing himself into the side, alongside the virtually ever present Bob McPhail in 1930-31, Fleming only made 15 appearances, with 9 of those on the right wing.
1931-32 Jimmy Fleming made 32 appearances, ALL of them on the Wing, 13 on the Right, 19 on the Left. As a winger for that entire season, he still chipped in with 22 Goals in 32 Games!
We also had the great Sam English at Centre Forward for that season, and the next.
Same again for 1932-33, 24 appearances, 21 at Outside Left, 2 at Outside Right, and 1 at Centre Forward, with a return of 15 Goals.
1933-34 was Jimmy Fleming's last full season at the Club, and he was mainly a back up for Jimmy Smith (who scored 46 Goals in 38 Games).
Fleming made 18 appearances that season, 7 on the wing, and 11 appearances back at Centre Forward, where his goalscoring was off the charts.
A record 9 Goals in one game, in the 14-2 Scottish Cup win v Blairgowrie, and he followed that a week later with 5 Goals in a 6-0 win at Dundee in the League.
He actually played 5 games in a 5 week period where he scored in all 5 games, a total of 20 goals!
Not bad for a 32 year old back up Striker.
He had also scored twice at Highbury earlier that season, as Rangers beat Arsenal 3-1 (5-1 on Agg.), for the British Championship.
His tally for that 1933-34 season, 28 Goals in 19 Games!
Jimmy Fleming only made 4 appearances after that, before joining Ayr Utd.

His scoring record of 231 Goals in 278 Games is even more phenomenal, when you consider that at least one third of his games, he played on the wing!
 
Jimmy Fleming first came into the side on October 1925 as a replacement for the great Geordie Henderson, at Centre Forward, but his last 4 games of that initial season he played 3 on the right wing, and 1 on the Left Wing.
His second season (1926-27) saw Fleming play half of his 30 appearances on the wing, 8 on the right wing, and 7 on the left wing,
in for two of our greatest wingers ever, in Sandy Archibald, and Alan Morton.
Fleming still managed 41 Goals in 59 games, in those two seasons, despite playing a third of those games on the wing.

The next three seasons 1927-30, he was our Centre Forward scoring 119 Goals in 126 Games!

With Jimmy Smith forcing himself into the side, alongside the virtually ever present Bob McPhail in 1930-31, Fleming only made 15 appearances, with 9 of those on the right wing.
1931-32 Jimmy Fleming made 32 appearances, ALL of them on the Wing, 13 on the Right, 19 on the Left. As a winger for that entire season, he still chipped in with 22 Goals in 32 Games!
We also had the great Sam English at Centre Forward for that season, and the next.
Same again for 1932-33, 24 appearances, 21 at Outside Left, 2 at Outside Right, and 1 at Centre Forward, with a return of 15 Goals.
1933-34 was Jimmy Fleming's last full season at the Club, and he was mainly a back up for Jimmy Smith (who scored 46 Goals in 38 Games).
Fleming made 18 appearances that season, 7 on the wing, and 11 appearances back at Centre Forward, where his goalscoring was off the charts.
A record 9 Goals in one game, in the 14-2 Scottish Cup win v Blairgowrie, and he followed that a week later with 5 Goals in a 6-0 win at Dundee in the League.
He actually played 5 games in a 5 week period where he scored in all 5 games, a total of 20 goals!
Not bad for a 32 year old back up Striker.
He had also scored twice at Highbury earlier that season, as Rangers beat Arsenal 3-1 (5-1 on Agg.), for the British Championship.
His tally for that 1933-34 season, 28 Goals in 19 Games!
Jimmy Fleming only made 4 appearances after that, before joining Ayr Utd.

His scoring record of 231 Goals in 278 Games is even more phenomenal, when you consider that at least one third of his games, he played on the wing!

Mr Struth had a reputation for building rock solid defences, but he could spot a centre forward. His career as manager featured one outstanding goalscorer after another.
 
The Rangers teams of this era were truly formidable & must be considered a match for some of the great teams in our history. In the nine seasons between 1926-27 & 1934-35 we captured 8 League Championships, 5 Scottish Cups, 4 Glasgow Cups & 7 Glasgow Charity Cups, for a total of 24 of 36 available trophies, a phenomenal record in the days when it was far more than a 2 horse race.
 
Mr Struth had a reputation for building rock solid defences, but he could spot a centre forward. His career as manager featured one outstanding goalscorer after another.

Imagine 1931-32 when two of our all time greatest strikers (Jimmy Smith and Jimmy Fleming)
cannot get that Centre Forward spot because Mr Struth has brought in Sam English!
English, McPhail and winger Jimmy Fleming score 100 goals between them.

Mr Struth could indeed spot a goalscorer.
I believe it was he who even signed the man who was our top goalscorer in the 1960's.
 
The Rangers teams of this era were truly formidable & must be considered a match for some of the great teams in our history. In the nine seasons between 1926-27 & 1934-35 we captured 8 League Championships, 5 Scottish Cups, 4 Glasgow Cups & 7 Glasgow Charity Cups, for a total of 24 of 36 available trophies, a phenomenal record in the days when it was far more than a 2 horse race.

That is just incredible!

Not saying this was our best XI during those wonderful nine years, but here is 11 players from that era that played a helluva lot of games for Rangers in their respective careers, before, during and after that Golden period.
................................................................................Jerry Dawson (491)

...................................Dougie Gray (851)..................................................Tully Craig (293)

..............Davie Meiklejohn (598)................Jimmy Simpson (357)...................George Brown (380)

....................................Tommy Muirhead (345)..........................Bob McPhail (443)
Sandy Archibald (625)................................Jimmy Smith (390)................................Alan Morton (470)

Add to that you have the likes of Tom Hamilton (297), Whitey McDonald (222), Doc Marshall (243) and Jimmy Fleming (278).

Just prior to that period we had some Greats who were coming to the end of their careers,
such as Willie Robb (270), Bert Manderson (438), Billy McCandless (248), Arthur Dixon (393),
Tommy Cairns (475), Andy Cunningham (426) and Geordie Henderson (211).
At the tail end of that great run, we were introducing the likes of Torry Gillick and Alex Venters, who would go on to play 372 and 384 Games respectively.

That is two dozen Rangers Players that everyone should know about.
 
If you know your history and all that, then most of you will have at least heard of the legendary Jimmy Smith,
arguably Rangers greatest ever goalscorer.

Prior to the great Jimmy though, we had another Jimmy Smith on the books.

1926-27 season and Bill Struth gives the 24 year old Jimmy Smith his debut in our second League match of the season v Dunfermline at Ibrox, in place of the legendary Tommy Cairns, who had been our Captain for over a decade.
The forward line that day was Archibald, Cunningham, Doc Marshall, Smith and Morton.
Rangers won 2-0 with goals from Hugh Shaw and Sandy Archibald.
James Smith would make only one more appearance in a Rangers shirt, a month later at Tynecastle.
The forward line that day was Fleming, Smith, Doc Marshall, Cairns and Morton
Another 2-0 win for Rangers with goals from Jimmy Fleming and Tommy Cairns.
That was it, these were the only two games that particular Jimmy Smith played for Rangers.
Having been at Ibrox for just over one year, he was released and transferred down a Division to Ayr Utd at the end of that season.

The following season 1927-28, that very same Jimmy Smith scored a staggering 66 Goals in 38 League Games, as Ayr United stormed to the Second Division Championship.
To this day, some 90 plus years later, it remains a British Goalscoring record, and one that is unlikely ever to be beaten.
He also scored 2 in the Scottish Cup, and 4 in friendlies, taking his total to 72 for the season!

Jimmy Smith was transferred south to Liverpool for £6,000 five games into the 1929-30 season, after Liverpool had desperately lost 3 of their opening 5 fixtures in England's top flight (0-5, 0-3, 0-3).
Smith made his debut for Liverpool at Old Trafford, and instantly became a hero on Merseyside, as he scored both goals in a 2-1 win for Liverpool over Manchester United.
He would be an ever present for the remainder of the season, finishing as Liverpool's top scorer with 23 Goals in 37 Games.
The Following season saw Smith continue his goalscoring form with 14 Goals in 21 Games, before he was surprisingly dropped from the team, midway through the season.
Amazingly, one year later, Smith left Anfield to play amateur for non league Turnbridge Well Rangers, where he reputedly scored 90 goals!
Smith‘s career took a decidedly downward turn after Liverpool. He played one season as an amateur for Tunbridge Wells Rangers in the Eastern Section of the Southern League before joining third division south team Bristol Rovers where he struggled to hold a regular place. Smith scored ten goals in 26 League games for third division Newport County in the 1935-36 season.
He touched down at Notts County before returning to his homeland to Dumbarton in 1937, at the age of 35.
His first season back in Scotland saw the veteran Smith score 29 Goals in 35 Games.
The following season 1938-39 saw Jimmy Smith's playing career come to an end, though he still managed 7 Goals in 11 games.
He took over as Dumbarton‘s manager in 1939.
He was appointed as director in 1941 as the club could no longer afford a manager and stayed in that capacity until 1943.

Meanwhile, during all of this, over at Ibrox, Bill Struth introduced another Jimmy Smith to the Rangers first team in the latter part of the 1928-29 season.
With the League already wrapped up, Rangers who had gone through the entire season undefeated
(30 League Games, 5 Scottish Cup), gave the 17 year old Jimmy Smith his debut in an away match at Hamilton.
The forward line that Wednesday night was Archibald, Muirhead, Smith, McPhail and Morton.
Surprisingly Rangers suffered their only League defeat of the season that night, as they lost 1-3.
Smith would get one more game that season in a 0-0 draw v Ayr Utd.

His record was exactly the same as the previous Jimmy Smith, 2 games, no goals,
but Mr Struth was not about to let this Jimmy Smith go.
Smith made only one appearance the following season 1929-30, scoring once in a 3-1 win v Dundee.
It would be 1930-31 that Jimmy Smith established himself in the Rangers side, and the rest as we know is history.

Over the next 16 seasons 1930-46, our Jimmy Smith would score 364 Goals in 387 Games for Rangers

When Jimmy retired from playing, he stayed another 20 years at Ibrox as Trainer and chief scout, until 1967.

When Jimmy passed away in Dec 2003 at the age of 92, he was the oldest living Ranger.
Brilliant, absolutely loved that read, more please @MO_TxTruBlu
 
That is just incredible!

Not saying this was our best XI during those wonderful nine years, but here is 11 players from that era that played a helluva lot of games for Rangers in their respective careers, before, during and after that Golden period.
................................................................................Jerry Dawson (491)

...................................Dougie Gray (851)..................................................Tully Craig (293)

..............Davie Meiklejohn (598)................Jimmy Simpson (357)...................George Brown (380)

....................................Tommy Muirhead (345)..........................Bob McPhail (443)
Sandy Archibald (625)................................Jimmy Smith (390)................................Alan Morton (470)

Add to that you have the likes of Tom Hamilton (297), Whitey McDonald (222), Doc Marshall (243) and Jimmy Fleming (278).

Just prior to that period we had some Greats who were coming to the end of their careers,
such as Willie Robb (270), Bert Manderson (438), Billy McCandless (248), Arthur Dixon (393),
Tommy Cairns (475), Andy Cunningham (426) and Geordie Henderson (211).
At the tail end of that great run, we were introducing the likes of Torry Gillick and Alex Venters, who would go on to play 372 and 384 Games respectively.

That is two dozen Rangers Players that everyone should know about.
Mr Struth had a conveyer belt like system with regards to talent at that time. A perfect balance of experienced veterans, skillful seasoned pros and upcoming, hungry talented youngsters. Many of whom, as your list shows would be ‘Rangers’ for long spells and play their way into the history books and into the hearts and minds of Rangers supporters all over the world generation after generation.
 
Good read Mo. It's very surprising to me that (as far as I know) there's never been a book written about THE Jimmy Smith, a Rangers legend if ever there was one.

That is something you might want to consider as you head into retirement Big Man.
I can't think of anyone better qualified, or dedicated than your good self.
 
I wonder what happened at Liverpool for him to be dropped. I hope we had a sell on clause :))

Liverpool payed £6,000. to Ayr Utd in Sept 1929 for Jimmy Smith.
37 Goals in 58 Games in his first 18 months
6 months later he was Transfer listed, for £1,000.
I think he was sold for £650!
 
The Rangers teams of this era were truly formidable & must be considered a match for some of the great teams in our history. In the nine seasons between 1926-27 & 1934-35 we captured 8 League Championships, 5 Scottish Cups, 4 Glasgow Cups & 7 Glasgow Charity Cups, for a total of 24 of 36 available trophies, a phenomenal record in the days when it was far more than a 2 horse race.

In comparing that team to the team of the early 1960's...who wins?

Between April 1960, and October 1964
Rangers collected 11 out of a possible 14 Trophies (the last 6 being consecutive)
3 League Championships, 4 Scottish Cups, 4 League Cups
 
In comparing that team to the team of the early 1960's...who wins?

Between April 1960, and October 1964
Rangers collected 11 out of a possible 14 Trophies (the last 6 being consecutive)
3 League Championships, 4 Scottish Cups, 4 League Cups
Not bad at all, but 1932-35, 12 of 13, 3 League Championships, 3 Scottish Cups, 3 Glasgow Cups & 3 Glasgow Charity Cups.
Both wonderful teams.
 
In comparing that team to the team of the early 1960's...who wins?

Between April 1960, and October 1964
Rangers collected 11 out of a possible 14 Trophies (the last 6 being consecutive)
3 League Championships, 4 Scottish Cups, 4 League Cups

Personally I would go with the 20s-30s. It was dominance over a longer period, and during that time there is a very good argument Rangers weren't just the best team in Scotland but very possibly the best team anywhere.
 
Personally I would go with the 20s-30s. It was dominance over a longer period, and during that time there is a very good argument Rangers weren't just the best team in Scotland but very possibly the best team anywhere.

My granda told me that in the 1930s when Rangers visited the country, the Viennese authorities wouldn't let Rangers out of the country till they had beat us. Rapid Vienna 4-3 in 1934 perhaps?
 
My granda told me that in the 1930s when Rangers visited the country, the Viennese authorities wouldn't let Rangers out of the country till they had beat us. Rapid Vienna 4-3 in 1934 perhaps?

Found this article in The Rangers Standard that mentions that game. We beat them in the return!

The story of inter-war Rangers is one that has a number of doors still to open. But when many are trying to undermine the stature of this 140-year-old institution, there is no better time to tell the history of one of the greatest Rangers eras.

The ‘Scotch’ giants were pioneers of taking the game across the planet and many in the 1920s saw Rangers as the pinnacle of football under the legendary William Struth. The Light Blues made an historic visit to North America – a trip incredibly well received by Scots migrants there – as well as visits to Scandinavia and Central Europe.

Whilst there are certainly similarities between the famous Austrian ‘Wunderteam’ side of the early 1930s-as explored by the excellent Jonathan Wilson in his book ‘Inverting the Pyramid’-and the short-passing style of the Scots, it is unclear whether the team is directly connected to Struth’s much-acclaimed squad. Interestingly enough, the Austrians disposed of the Scottish national team 5-0 in Vienna – which many say marks the start of the famous ‘Wunderteam’ era.

In the early 1930s, a reported 56,000 crammed into Ibrox – the highest attendance that season – to watch Rangers secure a respectable 3-3 draw with SK Rapid Vienna in a mid-season friendly encounter. The Austrians were touring the United Kingdom and Glasgow was their first port of call. Rapid went on to face Liverpool, winning 5-2, before a trip to London to take on Queen’s Park Rangers.

Both clubs put out strong teams to mark the occasion, Rangers starting with their usual front-five of Sandy Archibald, Bob McPhail, Sam English, Jimmy Smith and Jimmy Marshall. A sign of the quality in Struth’s ranks was that Alan Morton – seen as the best outside-left of that generation – was out of the squad.

The visitors started with - Raftl; Jestrab, Czeika; Wagner, Smistik, Pesser; Wessilik, Kaburek, Bican, Binder, Luef.

Coverage was minimal in those days and it was only on the 23rd that actual reports of the game began to be published. One national newspaper Tagesdoft dedicated only a few paragraphs in their sport section, but described it as an ‘historic adventure for Austrian sport.’

Incredibly, Rangers were 3-1 down in this encounter against the impressive Austrians. Jimmy Smith had put the Gers in-front, only for the Rapid attackers to ‘react to the battle’ by going ahead before half-time. Smith netted a second, whilst Bob McPhail was on the score-sheet, too.

The Austrians were so impressed by Struth’s side that the party took in Rangers’ 3-1 Scottish Cup victory over Arbroath, just two days later. There were only 5,000 fans at Ibrox but the Light Blues came out comfortable winners thanks to goals from Jimmy Smith and a double from Bob McPhail.

Tagesdoft reported: ‘Rangers, in line with their expectations, came out with a 3-1 win. They had made half a dozen changes, and tended not to try in the game, especially, having come out not as safe in their last two matches (East Stirling 3-2/Rapid). The momentum of their attack this night was mainly focused on McPhail.’

Struth was comfortable with a second-string Rangers side in their game with Arbroath, lining up as follows: Dawson, Hamilton, Gray, Meiklejohn, Marshall, English, McPhail, Smith, McDonald, Main, Craig.

On their return home, Sporttagblatt reflected: ‘Rapid should be immensely proud of their adventure in UK, to battle with the greatest side from Scotland is not easy.’

As pioneers of the game, Rangers continued to reach new heights and in the summer of 1933, the club went on a pre-season tour of Germany, where they played a ***-Select team across the country. Struth’s travelling party played five games in 14 days, winning 5-0 in Berlin, 3-1 in Hamburg, 5-0 in Bochum and 3-2 in Dresden but losing 2-1 in Munich.

There are no archives available until Tuesday 6 June but the Wiener Sporttagblatt’s front page led with ‘RAPID DEFEATS MAJOR OPPONENT’, following a return match against Rangers in which the Austrians came out 4-3 victors. Below, it reads – ‘The Glasgow Rangers Fall – Binder Secures the Hat-Trick – A strange goal.’

Franz Binder, nicknamed 'Bimbo', was certainly a talented marksman in this Rapid Vienna side. He scored 267 goals in 242 club matches with 16 in 19 as part of the famous ‘Wunderteam’ – but interestingly enough, he also played for Germany after the outbreak of war in 1939, scoring 10 goals in nine games.

The Sporttagblatt pointed out a Rangers ‘over-flow in attack’ in the second half that caused the Austrians all-sorts of problems at the back. In particular, English came in for some interesting attention, with the paper describing the record-breaking Rangers centre-forward as ‘unplayable with his collection of skills’.

It added: ‘We have the different Scottish methodologies in memory; short passing game from man to man, the calculated system and no ball playing aimlessly, even long crosses avoided as far as possible. Well, that was, and no longer seems to attract practice. Is there at all yet a Scottish example? In Scotland, apparently not, perhaps elsewhere.’

Rangers were flying the flag for British football under the legendary Struth and in their next clash against Rapid on 14 August 1934, the Light Blues were coming off-the-back of two consecutive league championships. From November (1933) to August (1934), Rangers didn’t lose a single match but they were dealt a hammer blow in the summer, losing talented inside-half Sandy Archibald.

However, forward Jimmy Smith was beginning to reach his peak, scoring 41 goals in 32 league matches in 1933-34 and he would go on to net 36 in 32 in 1934-35. His overall tally at Ibrox eventually hit 300 goals between 1928 and 1946. Three days before the Rapid match, Smith scored six goals in a 7-1 win over Dunfermline on the opening day of the 1934-35 league campaign.

For Rapid’s second trip to Glasgow, a crowd of 50,000 gathered at Ibrox. The Light Blues lined up with a strong spine – but Struth opted for a fresh frontline against Vienna: Dawson; Gray, MacDonald; Meiklejohn, Simpson, Brown; Main, Macaulay, Smith, McPhail, Nicholson.

The visitors followed a similar formation with: Raftl; Jestrab, Czeika; Wagner, Smistik, Luef; Ostermann, Kaburek, Bican, Binder, Pesser.

The setting could not have created a better impression to the Austrian guests. Rangers had 12,000 ‘season-ticket’ but admirably decided to share the 48,000 ticket sales, which helped cover Rapid’s travel in Scotland. A variety of superlatives were used by the Austrian media when describing the match, including, ‘a propaganda festival for football’, ‘a sporting sensation’ and interestingly, ‘After all, the game was also a financial success, including the wonderful weather may have contributed also some.’

And Sporttagblatt continued: ‘Before the match, the two national anthems played and a prolonged applause thundered, as the teams entered.’

Rapid started well with Kaburek ‘waiting too long’ in the first chance for the Austrians in the second minute of the match – having just been dealt the unfortunate task of playing into the blazing sun. As Rangers began to dominate, Rapid made an interesting tactical switch, moving to a ‘W-Formation’ and ‘in this way, they were able to withstand the stronger, imposing attacking play of the Scots’.

Smith’s ‘unstoppable shot’ early on forced a great save from the Rapid keeper, which prompted rapturous applause from the home supporters. The Light Blues were in front soon after with McPhail crossing for Smith who headed into the net. Two more goals from Nicholson and 19-year-old Macaulay put the Rangers 3-0 up at half-time against their stunned Austrian counterparts. Rapid could only manage one consolation goal in the second period.

Just three days after their defeat to Rangers, Rapid Vienna suffered a 5-1 hammering by Heart of Midlothian in Edinburgh.

The outbreak of the Second World War meant that a number of Rapid’s gifted stars were swooped up by the German national team during the Nazi’s occupation of Austria.

In December 1954, Rangers scraped a 1-0 victory against Rapid at Ibrox with John Prentice scoring the only goal of the game. A decade later, the two sides clashed in the European Cup Last 16, with Davie Wilson giving the Light Blues a 1-0 lead to take to Austria. Scott Symon’s side were too strong in Vienna, coming away with a 3-0 aggregate victory.

Highlights of the return match in Vienna are available on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jVUdgP-lnA
 
Back
Top