Gallant Pioneers 
| Gallant Pioneers |
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Product Description The harrowing and heartbreaking stories behind the founding fathers of Rangers are sympathetically revealed and told for the first time. This is the first in-depth study of the club's early years' history for almost a century. Rangers are one of the most famous teams in world football, but the scale of their success is astonishing set against the backdrop of their formation in 1872. Back then, four young men gathered in a park in the west end of Glasgow and decided to set up a team that would do justice to the new craze of association football. Amazingly, William McBeath and Peter Campbell were just 15-years-old, Moses McNeil was only 16 and his brother Peter the elder statesman at 17. Soon they were joined by Tom Vallance, another 16-year-old who quickly rose to become captain of the famed club. None of those gallant pioneers was a native of Glasgow and yet within five years they were Scottish Cup finalists, set up in their spiritual home on the south side of the burgeoning industrial city and attracting a working class audience they have never since lost. But what became of the men who formed a club that's loved and cherished by so many? Rangers may have scaled great heights, but the personal lives of almost all the founding fathers were touched with terrible tragedy. Journalist Gary Ralston has used fresh research and uncovered hitherto unseen documents, records and transcripts to sympathetically recount the heartbreaking stories behind the men who created a great institution. He reveals the torrid tales of death through insanity, a drowning that denied a birthright as a steamship entrepreneur and the sad passing of a pioneer who lies buried in a pauper's grave in the forgotten fringes of an English cemetery, cast as a certified imbecile, tried as a fraudster and left to live out his life in the poorhouse. This fascinating insight into the earliest years of Rangers, the first in-depth analysis for almost a century, also tells of happier times, the links with royalty and football aristocracy such as Sir Stanley Matthews and the club's relationship with the city in which it was born and grew in the tumultuous Victorian era. It also traces the only two known surviving grandchildren of the founders and tells how they knew nothing about their grandfather's most famous achievement. "Rangers 1872: The Gallant Pioneers" tells one of football's most romantic tales - and also one of its saddest. Gary Ralston, 39, works with the Daily Record in Glasgow and has covered sport extensively for the paper, including the Beijing Olympics, World Cup final, Champions League final, Six Nations and Super Bowl. A journalist for 20 years, he has reported on Scottish football extensively at home and abroad at club and international level for papers including the Daily Express and The Sun. He started his full-time career at the Rangers News, the official club publication. He lives in Stirling with wife Laura, son Lewis and daughter Jennifer. The Blue Order are proud to support this book and the Founders Project, we hope all true blues learn the greatest fitba story never told!
When four young boys from the Gareloch decided to seek their fortune in Glasgow, little could they have known how this decision would change not only Scottish society forever, but the lives of millions of people around the world. Glasgow in the 1870’s was growing at an alarming rate, with trade-routes opened and industry, particularly on the Clydeside, bringing employment to thousands, people from all over the country, and beyond, were flocking to the city. Our four boys, Moses McNeil, his brother Peter, Peter Campbell and William McBeath were all students who arrived in Glasgow at the start of the decade. All four were keen rowers who inevitably found their way to the River Clyde which was a hive of activity. The section of the river at Glasgow Green was a popular area for Rowing Regatta’s which often drew crowds of many thousands. It is believed that while waiting on a boat to become available our four lads got involved in a game of football at the Fleshers Haugh area of Glasgow Green, intrigued by this new sport, and fired by a desire to participate in this compelling game, those four lads were determined to form their own football team in Glasgow. After several weeks of concentrated training, (these sessions took place in the old West End Park (now known as Kelvingrove Park ) it was time to put themselves to the test. Their first real opposition was Callender FC, Rangers recruited some ‘imports’ in Moses’ brother Harry McNeil and Willie McKinnon from Queens Park, also John Hunter and Willie Miller from the Eastern Club. The birth of the most famous of Scottish Clubs was now well under way. The name Rangers was chosen by Moses McNeil after noticing it in Alcock’s Football Annual. It was dynamic, as were a lot of the Clubs names chosen at the time, thus we had many Rovers and Wanderers. The game itself seen The Rangers take to the field in only street clothes ( a near-by bush was our changing room), and after a torrid, bruising battle the game finished 0-0.William McBeath was awarded man of the match and due to his efforts on the day he had to spend a week in bed recovering. There were incredible accounts of elder brother William McNeil being told he was too old for membership and promptly storming off with the ball under his arm saying ’If you can’t have me, you can’t have my ball’’.(William went on to play many games for the Club) It wasn’t easy in those days to organize a game of football and it’s believed that Moses would often head across town to Glasgow Green early on a Saturday morning and plant two sticks in the ground as a mark of this patch of land was ‘claimed’. By the following year 1873, the structure of the new Club had been formalized including the institution of an annual meeting, the election of officers and the arrangement of fixtures. Rangers had been late in applying for membership of the Scottish Football Association and as a result had to miss the Scottish Cup competition of season 1873-74. They entered the competition the following season and their first competitive game was on the 12th October 1874 when they beat Oxford 2-0 on the Queens Park Recreation ground .Goals were described by a reporter of the day as being scored by ’’Mr. McNeil who sent both the Oxford goalkeeper and the ball under the tape, and the second neatly by Mr’Gibb’’. In the second round, The Rangers were drawn against Dumbarton at Fleshers Haugh, where the match ended goalless, but in the replay, at Dumbarton, Rangers went down by a goal to nil. Due to the Club growing in popularity it was soon going to be time to say farewell to our birthplace and look for a new home. The year was 1875 and after nearly securing a home at Shawfield, the Club secured their first private field at Burnbank. This ground was situated on the south side of Great Western Road at Barrington Drive. It was leased to the Club by the Glasgow Accies Rugby Club who were formed in 1866, they in turn became the Glasgow Hawks in 1997. Our first match at Burnbank was on the 11th September 1875 when we entertained Vale of Leven, who at the time, were second only in stature to Queens Park. The Rangers managed to achieve a notable 1-1 draw. Two other notable events during Rangers tenure at Burnbank were Moses McNeil becoming the first Rangers player to be capped by Scotland, where he played in a 4-0 victory over Wales. The club at long last was granted a game against Queens Park at Hampden Park. Queens won the match by 2-0 but the young Rangers left the field amid loud cheers to all who were present. The Rangers were soon to be on the move again. At the end of season1875-76 The Rangers had agreed to take over Clydesdale’s Kinning Park ground. In the mid-19th century Kinning Park was a mere rural outpost on the very edge of Glasgow. Clydesdale who had both football and cricket teams ( the football team would play during the winter months) were moving to a new home at Titwood (Pollokshields) where they remain to this day. By the time The Rangers had arrived in Kinning Park the area was quickly becoming a built up residential and industrial area. The playing field was situated where the eastbound carriageway of the M8 now runs between Kinning Park subway station and West Scotland Street/Portman Street. The wonderful thing is thousands of supporters drive to the Stadium every match day at Ibrox, blissfully unaware that they’re passing over what was once the Club’s home ground and the scene of many of its early triumphs. Our new ground was officially opened on the 2nd September 1876 with a fixture against our old foes Vale of Leven, in front of an incredible crowd of 1,500. The Rangers recorded a 2-1 victory which at the time ‘’caused a real stir’’ It was our finest victory to date. Later that season The Rangers were to contest their first ever Scottish Cup Final at Hamilton Crescent in Partick, the home of the West of Scotland Cricket Club, incredibly we were only in our fourth year. We lost narrowly to Vale of of Leven 3-2 in a replay after the first game had finished 1-1. By 1882 the financial affairs of the Club were in a serious condition, so much so that had the president of the time George Goudie not extended a loan of £30, then The Rangers could have so easily folded. By the mid-1880’s Rangers had outgrown their home and a committee was set up to look into the possibility of finding a new ground. This matter had became a matter of urgency when in 1887 the Club were served notice to vacate their Kinning Park home by March 1st. Kinning Park was closed on the 26th February 1887 with a match between the Ancients and Moderns. William Crichton who was Honorary Secretary urged the Club to move west to the Ibrox District as he predicted that Glasgow was spreading in that direction. The move along Paisley Road West to Ibrox was met with much surprise by the citizens of Glasgow as we were moving so far out of the city. An incredible thought when you consider today’s transport network. A 10 year lease was signed on the land at Copland Road and work began to ready the new ground in time for the start of season 1887. Old Ibrox was situated just few yards from our current location, the centre circle was roughly where the Superstore now stands, the Grandstand was located where Edmiston House is, The new ground which had a magnificent 300 foot long Grandstand and a pavilion in the corner had an overall capacity of 15,000. Our opening match was on the 20th August 1887 against Preston Invincibles which saw us lose 8-1.Whilst situated here we won our first ever League Championship in season 1890/91, which we shared with Dumbarton. This season also saw our first ever home match with catholic side Celtic (a Club which had been formed 3 years previous), and who’s policies would lead to a rivalry and division in our city that no other could match around the football world. Two years later saw The Rangers win their first ever Scottish Cup defeating Celtic 3-1 in front of 17,000 spectators at Hampden. The Rangers were now truly on their way. A further Scottish Cup was secured in 1897 and our first outright League Championship was won during season 1898-99, when we won every one of our 18 games played. During season 1898-99 The Rangers became a limited company. The Board recognized that Old Ibrox had become too small for the increasing support so the decision was taken to move a few hundred yards to our current site. A decision that would see a boys club formed by four teenagers on the banks of the Clyde a mere 27 years previous, grow and become the World’s Most Successful Club. I can only hope, especially for our young supporters that this has highlighted the fact that our founders had to fight hard to keep the Club alive and be accepted during our early years. There was no financial assistance that many other clubs enjoyed. It’s this sheer grit and determination that seen THE Rangers grow into one of the World’s major clubs. It’s this determination to succeed that has stood us in good stead for many years and hopefully many more to come. Le bluebear
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