GATESIDE secondary school c1952

Sept.2016 Margaret Allison, Cambuslang, Scotland
passed this old photograph onto me she knew I'd like it as my father-in-law Jackie Tait is in it :) Webmaister. See more photos

*Davy Wilson went on to star for Glasgow Rangers & Scotland (info from Rangers FC website)

Davie Wilson was the finest outside left Rangers had found for 30 years. Not since the days of Alan Morton, the “Wee Blue Devil” of the Twenties and early Thirties, had anyone filled the position with such class.

What’s more, Wilson had a natural striker’s touch which made him dangerous in front of goal. His strike rate of 157 goals in 373 games was extremely high for a winger.

In fact, Wilson holds the post-war Rangers record for the most goals scored by one player in a game.

His SIX against Falkirk in 1962 beat the mark set by Don Kitchenbrand, who scored five against Queen of the South in 1956.

Wilson’s tally has never been equalled, though Jim Forrest scored five twice, against Hamilton in 1965 and Stirling in 1966, Derek Parlane also got five against Dunfermline in 1974 and Marco Negri did the same against Dundee United in 1997.

When you consider some of the revered strikers Rangers have had in the last 50 years, Wilson’s record is some achievement.

Wilson was born on January 10 1939 and was signed from Baillieston Juniors in May 1956. He was a mere 5ft 6ins tall but was fast and a very direct sort of player.

One of his trademarks was to drift unseen into the box towards the far post when Alex Scott or Willie Henderson were raiding down the right flank and successfully pick up on their crosses.

Wilson played his first match for Rangers in a friendly against the British Army in December 1956. Rangers had put out a weakened team and lost 3-1, but it was Wilson who got their goal.

His league debut followed in January 1957 in the 3-1 defeat of Dundee and he scored his first League goal in March in a 5-2 win over Motherwell.

Despite showing promise it was still a quiet beginning. Johnny Hubbard and later Andy Matthew were the regular outside lefts and Wilson had to bide his time in his first two seasons, playing in a total of 18 League games and scoring three times.

He did, however, get two games in the European Cup, scoring against St Etienne in September 1957

By season 1958-59 he was making strides as Rangers won the Championship. His 15 League games were not enough, however, to earn him a medal.

But he had to wait only until the following April to strike gold when he played in the Scottish Cup Final in which Rangers beat Kilmarnock 2-0.

Wilson was now first choice at No.11 and scored 22 goals in 52 games that term.

He was particularly successful in that Scottish Cup run, scoring seven times on the way to the Final, including a hat-trick against Berwick Rangers in the first round and two vital goals in the 4-1 defeat of Celtic in the semi-final.

Rangers also reached the semi-final of the European Cup in 1959-60 and Wilson found the net three times in his eight appearances including one against their eventual conquerors Eintracht Frankfurt.

In the 1960-61 season Wilson played in all Rangers’ 60 matches and scored 23 goals.

He won his first Championship winners’ medal and a League Cup medal, too, as Rangers beat Kilmarnock 2-0 in the final.

Wilson was also part of the Cup Winners’ Cup run that took Rangers to their first European final.

He played in all eight games and scored the crucial away goal that took them past Ferencvaros in the first round.

But it was to be a losers’ medal that awaited him as Rangers went down to Fiorentina 4-1 on aggregate in the final which was played over two legs in May 1961.

Wilson was now reaching his peak and his six-shooting performance in a 7-1 win at Falkirk in March 1962 was among a haul of 30 goals he scored in 58 games that season.

Wilson played centre-forward that day at Brockville Park, but he was in his regular left wing slot as Rangers won the League Cup 3-1 in a replay against Hearts and the Scottish Cup with a 2-0 defeat of St Mirren.

Wilson got Rangers second in the final against St Mirren and was Rangers’ leading scorer in the League Cup with nine goals, including a hat-trick against Third Lanark in a section game and two to beat St Johnstone in the semi-final.

Rangers had been 2-0 down in that match but thanks to Wilson’s brace and an Eric Caldow penalty beat St Johnstone 3-2.

Season 1962-63 was Wilson’s best year as a goalscorer. His 23 in the League, putting him second only behind Jimmy Millar’s 27, proved vital as Rangers regained the Championship.

Rangers scored 94 goals in the title race and Wilson, Millar and Ralph Brand accounted for 69 of them.

Wilson scored all four as Rangers beat Partick Thistle 4-0 in April and hit five in seven games in the Scottish Cup, including one in the 3-0 win over Celtic in the final. His final haul for the season was 33 goals in 55 games.

But as Rangers headed towards their first trophy in their Treble season of 1963-64, Wilson’s luck turned against him.

He broke his ankle in the 3-1 League Cup semi-final victory over Berwick Rangers and had to sit out the Final which Rangers won 5-0 against Morton.

The injury kept Wilson out from October to February. His comeback game was against St Mirren. Wilson scored, but Rangers lost 3-2.

He then played in all 10 remaining league games, scoring five times as Rangers took the title by six points from Kilmarnock.

He got the only goal of the game against Dunfermline to put Rangers through to the Scottish Cup Final and received his fourth winners’ medal in the competition as Rangers triumphed 3-1 over Dundee.

He was to win the Scottish Cup again in 1966 when Celtic were beaten 1-0 in a replayed final, making his total honours with Rangers two Championships, five Scottish Cups and two League Cups.

Wilson was capped 22 times by Scotland, making his debut in 1961 in the infamous 9-3 defeat by England. However, he was to enjoy two particularly satisfying revenge victories over the English.

The first was in 1962 when he scored Scotland’s opening goal in a 2-0 win at Hampden and the second a year later at Wembley when the Scots came through 2-1 despite being reduced to 10 men.

His Rangers team-mate Eric Caldow had his leg broken in three places after just six minutes and it was Wilson who moved to left back in his place and gave a sterling performance.

Season 1966-67 was to be Wilson’s last year in the Light Blue. He scored an important away goal against Slavia Sofia to help put Rangers through to the European Cup Winners’ Final.

But he did not appear in the Final when Rangers lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich at the end of May 1967.

In fact, Wilson had already played his last game for Rangers in the 1-1 draw at Dundee the previous month and in the summer he was transferred to Dundee United as part of a player exchange deal for Swedish international winger Orjan Persson.

Wilson, at his peak, had consistently scored 20 goals a season and there was enough left in the tank for him to enjoy five years at Tannadice. He moved to Dumbarton in 1972 and later became their manager.

Davy in the Rangers trophy room