David Wilson (10 January 1937 – 14 June 2022)Rangers legend Davie Wilson passes away aged 85, Ibrox club confirm
Aiden Smith, The Herald, 14 June 2022 was a Scottish international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as an

outside left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. He was perhaps best known for his decade at Rangers in which he played an important role in the club's success of the early 1960s; he also made over 100 appearances for

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

. He was also selected 22 times for the Scotland national team, and was later a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

, primarily at

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

where he had ended his playing career.

Club career

Wilson, a native of the mining village of Newton just outside Glasgow, was a Rangers supporter in childhood. On a visit to

Ibrox Stadium Ibrox Stadium is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox, Glasgow, Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers F.C., Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest List of foot ...

he received advice from former star

Alan Morton Alan Lauder Morton (24 April 1893 – 12 December 1971) was a Scottish footballer who played as a outside left for Queen's Park, Rangers and Scotland. Playing career Club Morton was born in the Jordanhill district of Glasgow. He grew up in A ...

who played left wing, the position in which Wilson became established. As a teenager he was rejected by local

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

club Cambuslang Rangers for being too small, and instead began his career at

Baillieston Baillieston ( sco, Bailiestoun) is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It is about east of the city centre. It also gives its name to Ward 20 of Glasgow City Council and forms part of the Glasgow East constituency of the UK Parliament. Geograph ...

. He soon came to the attention of Rangers who signed him in 1956.

Rangers

Wilson made his first-team debut on 2 January 1957 just prior to his 20th birthday, was selected for European matches against AS Saint-Étienne and

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

and played sufficient games for a League winner's medal in 1959, but it was not until the 1959–60 season that he became a regular in the side. He also began to score frequently, with 22 goals from 50 appearances in all competitions having only scored 8 in 51 in his first three seasons combined. Rangers reached the semi-finals of the European Cup and won the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,following season was even more successful, as Rangers won the Scottish Football League and the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

. Wilson played every minute of the campaign's 56 matches and scored over 20 goals, forming part of what would become known as one of the greatest Rangers forward lines, along with

Ralph Brand Ralph Laidlaw Brand (born 8 December 1936) is a Scottish retired footballer, who played as a striker for Rangers, and latterly, Manchester City, Sunderland, Raith Rovers and Hamilton Academical. Playing career Born and raised in Edinburgh, Br ...

, Jimmy Millar and

Willie Henderson William Henderson (born 24 January 1944) is a Scottish retired footballer. He played most of his career for Rangers, and spent the latter part of his career with Sheffield Wednesday, in Hong Kong with Hong Kong Rangers and with Airdrieonians ...

, supported by

Jim Baxter James Curran Baxter (29 September 1939 – 14 April 2001) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a left half. He is generally regarded as one of the country's greatest ever players. He was born, educated and started his career ...

. However, there was disappointment in the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...

overcame Rangers in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. 1961–62 ended with Scottish Cup and League Cup victories, and Wilson achieved a club record which has never been equalled since when he scored six times against Falkirk (a 7–1 win) 17 March 1962 (however Jimmy Smith had achieved the feat twice in the 1930s). Four days later on 21 March he scored a hat-trick for the Scottish League in a 4–3 victory against the English League at

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...

. Around that time he declined an approach from Everton for what would have been a British record transfer fee. The next year brought a League and Cup

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

and Wilson hit over 30 goals, including four in one match against

Partick Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and ...

and one in the replayed cup final against Celtic. In 1963–64, Wilson missed a large part of the winter through injury – a broken ankle – including the League Cup Final, but returned to play in the

Scottish Cup Final The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, is a knockout cup competition in Scottish football. Organised by the Scottish Football Association, it is the third oldest existing football competition in the w ...

as Rangers completed the second treble in their history. However, in 1965 they only finished in fifth place after Baxter broke a leg, and in the League Cup Wilson was injured in the semi-final and again could not take part in the final. Rangers regained the Scottish Cup in 1966 against Celtic but lost out in the other competitions to the same opponents, who were beginning a period of dominance. Wilson played in both cup finals but made only 21 appearances overall, his fewest since 1958. Wilson's last campaign with Rangers was 1966–67, as

Willie Johnston William McClure Johnston (born 19 December 1946) is a Scottish former professional footballer, best remembered for his time at Rangers and West Bromwich Albion. He made 22 international appearances for Scotland and was selected for their 1978 ...

and new signing

Alex Smith Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is an American former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he received first-team All-American honors and won the 2 ...

became the preferred choices on the left flank. He made 29 appearances and scored eight goals, being introduced as a substitute for Johnston in the League Cup final loss to Celtic and the infamous Scottish Cup defeat to Berwick. He did not feature in Rangers' second Cup Winners' Cup Final although he played his part in the run including the winning goal in the semi-final, away to

Slavia Sofia PFC Slavia Sofia ( bg, ПФК Славия София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, the First League. Slavia's home groun ...

. Wilson departed from Ibrox aged 30, having scored a total of 159 goals in 382 matches in all competitions. He was naturally right-footed, and became adept at dribbling with either foot, crossing from the byline on the left, and cutting inside to shoot powerfully with his stronger foot or connect with through balls – tactics which brought an impressive goal tally particularly for a player who was not a dedicated striker (he is ranked seventh of all post-WWII scorers for Rangers). He has since been inducted to the Rangers Hall of Fame.

Dundee United

In August 1967 Wilson transferred to

along with teammates Jimmy Millar and Wilson Wood, with Orjan Persson moving in the opposite direction. He spent four seasons at Tannadice, playing over 150 matches (129 in Division One) as the club consistently finished in the top half of the league. His time with the club coincided with that of future Rangers boss

Walter Smith Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish association football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers. A defender, Smith's playing car ...

, whose father had worked with Wilson whilst he was apprenticed to a local steelworks in the village of Westburn, and who would later be signed by Wilson's backroom team in his time as an assistant manager. In 2017 Wilson became a member of United's Hall of Fame.

Dumbarton

Wilson moved to

in January 1972, helped the club win promotion at the end of that season. He retired as a player at the end of the following campaign in 1973, aged 36, after helping Dumbarton maintain their status in the top division; he thereafter became a coach at the club.

International career

Having appeared for the Under-23 side, Wilson made 22 full appearances for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

between 1960 and 1965, scoring ten goals; he was in the squad which won the 1961–62 and 1962–63 editions of the British Home Championship with perfect records. He enjoyed three wins over rivals

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, including scoring in 1962 at Hampden, and playing most of the 1963 fixture at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

at left back after his Rangers mate Eric Caldow had his leg broken (before the days of substitutions); he had also featured and scored in Scotland's embarrassing 9–3 defeat in 1961. Wilson also represented the

Scottish League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

seven times, scoring three goals. In 2014, Wilson was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame, which he described as his "greatest honour".

Managerial career

Having served as assistant manager to Alex Wright (footballer, born 1930), Alex Wright at Dumbarton – during which time the ''Sons'' reached the semi-final stage of the 1975–76 Scottish Cup#Semi-final, 1975–76 Scottish Cup – Wilson had two spells as manager of the Boghead Park club (1976–1978 and 1984–1986), developing players such as Murdo MacLeod, Graeme Sharp and Graeme Sinclair in his first stint and 1983–84 in Scottish football#First Division, taking the side into the Scottish Premier Division, Premier Division in his second, widely regarded as a commendable achievement for a part-time club. After a short period as assistant to John Lambie (footballer, born 1941), John Lambie at Hamilton Academical F.C., Hamilton Academical, during which they knocked Rangers out of the 1986–87 Scottish Cup, Wilson also had a spell as manager of Dumfries club Queen of the South F.C., Queen of the South, taking over after the surprise resignation of promotion winning Nobby Clark (footballer), Nobby Clark.

Personal life

In retirement Wilson remained an enthusiastic supporter of Rangers, attending many matches and functions and commenting on the club's History of Rangers F.C.#McCoist's tenure, liquidation and relaunch (2011–2015), struggles. He was also an after-dinner speaker. In his spare time he kept racing pigeons, and was a lifelong Teetotalism, teetotaler and non-smoker. An authorised biography, ''Wilson on the Wing'', was published in 2020.Rangers fan writes Davie Wilson book after contacting club legend on Facebook
Glasgow Times, 21 February 2020 He died on 14 June 2022, aged 85.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Wilson goal.''

Honours

As player

Rangers * List of Scottish football champions, Scottish League Championship: 1958–59 Scottish Division One, 1958–59, 1960–61 Scottish Division One, 1960–61, 1962–63 Scottish Division One, 1962–63, 1963–64 Scottish Division One, 1963–64 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

: 1960–61 Scottish League Cup, 1960–61, 1961–62 Scottish League Cup, 1961–62 * UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: runner-up 1961 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, 1960–61 Scotland * British Home Championship: 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64 British Home Championship, 1963–64 (shared)

As manager

Dumbarton *Scottish Football League First Division, Scottish First Division promotion: 1983–84 Scottish First Division, 1983–84 *Stirlingshire Cup: 1985–86 in Scottish football, 1985–86

Notes

References

External links

International stats
at Londonhearts.com
Scottish Football Hall of Fame profile
*

hosted at ''Glesca Pals'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Davie 1937 births 2022 deaths Footballers from Glasgow Scottish footballers Scotland international footballers Rangers F.C. players Sportspeople from Cambuslang Dundee United F.C. players Dumbarton F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. non-playing staff Hamilton Academical F.C. non-playing staff Scottish football managers Dumbarton F.C. managers Queen of the South F.C. managers Association football wingers Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players Scottish Junior Football Association players Baillieston Juniors F.C. players Scotland under-23 international footballers Scottish Football League managers Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees Footballers from South Lanarkshire