George Lewis Young (27 October 1922 – 10 January 1997) was a Scottish

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, rugb ...

who played as a defender. He is best remembered for his 16-year association with Rangers and for being the first player to receive more than 50

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for the Scotland national team.

Career

Club

Born in

Grangemouth Grangemouth ( sco, Grangemooth; gd, Inbhir Ghrainnse, ) is a town in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkir ...

, Young started his career with junior side Kirkintilloch Rob Roy before moving to Rangers in 1941. Although primarily considered a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

, he was often played at right back during his 16 years in

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south b ...

, to accommodate

Willie Woodburn William Alexander Woodburn (8 August 1919 – 2 December 2001) was a Scottish footballer who played for Rangers and Scotland. He was the last footballer in Britain to receive a life ban from the game for indiscipline, although the ban was late ...

in Rangers' renowned ''Iron Curtain'' defence.Hall of Fame , George Young
Rangers FC Young won the

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

and

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

in 1946–47 and the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1948–49. Young himself scored twice from the penalty spot in the 4–1 Scottish Cup Final victory over

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

which wrapped up the ''Treble''. Young won further League titles in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

and

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

, also collecting Scottish Cup winner's medals in 1950 and 1953 to take his senior medal haul to 12. The "lucky" Champagne cork he always carried earned him the nickname ''Corky''. In total, Young had 458 appearances, scoring 31 goals for the Ibrox club (not including 180 wartime games and 32 goals) when he departed in 1957.Rangers player Young, George
FitbaStats

International

Young was selected for a string of 34 consecutive senior Scotland matches between 1948 and 1953. His total of 54 caps made him the first member of the

Scotland Football Hall of Fame The Scottish Football Hall of Fame is located at the Scottish Football Museum. Nominations are made each year by fans and a committee selects the inductees. The first inductions to the Hall of Fame were in November 2004 in a ceremony at Hampden Par ...

. Young was selected as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 48 of those appearances. He was also the first player to appear for Scotland as a substitute, when he replaced

Billy Campbell William Oliver Campbell (born July 7, 1959) is an American film and television actor. He first gained recognition for his recurring role as Luke Fuller in the TV series '' Dynasty''. Then he became known for playing Rick Sammler on ''Once and ...

of Morton in a

Victory International The term Victory International or Victory Internationals refers to two series of international football matches played by the national football teams of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales at the end of both the First and Second World Wars. The ...

against

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in May 1946 (the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility f ...

have since classified the match as a full international, but it is not recognised by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

). Young captained Scotland throughout the

1949–50 British Home Championship 1949–50 British Home Championship was one of the most significant competitions of the British Home Championship football tournament. This year saw the competition doubling up as Group 1 in the qualifying rounds for the 1950 FIFA World Cup. It was ...

tournament, which FIFA had decreed to be a British qualifying group for the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

in Brazil. The top two teams in the Home Internationals would qualify for Brazil, but the SFA decided Scotland would only travel as British Champions. England's 1–0 win at

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

relegated the Scots to second place and they did not travel. Four years later, Scotland again qualified as second-placed country in the Home Internationals, and this time the SFA decided they would travel to Switzerland for the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

. Rangers, however, had arranged a tour of North America at the same time and refused to release their players, including Young. In the qualifying tournament for the

1958 FIFA World Cup The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the sixth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country. Brazil ...

in Sweden, Scotland were placed in a group with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

and Switzerland. The group began in May 1957, by which time Young had announced he would retire from playing at the end of that season. He led Scotland to a 4–2 victory over Spain in the opening game at Hampden on 8 May, and was again captain for their 2–1 victory over Switzerland, in

Basle , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...

on 19 May. However, he sustained a thigh strain in that match and did not play in a 3–1 friendly win over then world champions

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

in Stuttgart three days later. Young was not selected for the return match with Spain in Madrid on 26 May, which Spain won 4–1, meaning his international career was over. Young also won 22 caps for 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 ...

between 1947 and 1956, the second-highest all-time total for the team.

Later life

After leaving Rangers, Young had a three-year spell as manager of

Third Lanark Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...

between 1959 and 1962. He was then a successful

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

ier, although lost money in other business ventures. Despite his long association with Rangers, the club declined to arrange a testimonial for Young in his retirement as they were worried it would set a precedent for many other retired players. Eventually a benefit match was played in May 1986 in

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had ...

between 'Young's XI' which wore the Scotland kit and contained several current internationals, and '

Don Revie Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England mana ...

's XI' which wore the England kit.Throwback Thursday Brockville hosts a "Scotland v England" game for local boy
Falkirk FC, 20 August 2020 Young died at the age of 74, on 10 January 1997.

Tam Dalyell Sir Thomas Dalyell, 11th Baronet, , ( ; 9 August 1932 – 26 January 2017), known as Tam Dalyell, was a Scottish Labour Party politician who was a member of the House of Commons from 1962 to 2005. He represented West Lothian from 1962 to 198 ...

, The Independent, 13 January 1997

Honours

;Rangers *

Scottish League Championship The Scottish League Championship (currently the Tennents League Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic rugby union league system within Scotland. Operated by the Scottish Rugby Union, the championship was founded in 1973 as the fi ...

: 1946–47, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1952–53, 1955–56, 1956–57 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1947–48, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1952–53 *

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 existe ...

: 1946–47, 1948–49

Individual

* Scottish FA International Roll of Honour: 1956

References

External links

*
Rangers F.C. profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, George 1922 births 1997 deaths Kirkintilloch Rob Roy F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Association football defenders Scottish footballers Scotland international footballers Scotland wartime international footballers Scottish football managers People from Grangemouth Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees Scottish Football League players Third Lanark A.C. managers Scottish Football League representative players Footballers from Falkirk (council area) Scottish Football League managers Scottish Junior Football Association players Outfield association footballers who played in goal