John Martin Bokas Wallace (6 September 1935 – 24 July 1996) was a Scottish professional
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 lea ...
and manager. Wallace played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
, and has the unique distinction of being the only player ever to play in the English, Welsh and Scottish Cups in the same season; this was set during the 1966–67 season where he played in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
and
Welsh Cup
The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Berwick Rangers.
As manager of Rangers over two spells in the 1970s and 1980s, Wallace became one of Scottish football's best-known and most successful coaches.
Playing career
Wallyford-born Wallace's playing career began inauspiciously. A goalkeeper, he was freed by his first club,
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
, but rekindled his career by signing for
Workington
Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...
in 1952, dovetailing football with work in the local pit.
National Service
National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
with the King's Own Scottish Borderers afforded Wallace the opportunity of signing for the local club, Berwick Rangers. After character-defining military service in Northern Ireland and – famously – the jungles of Malaya, Wallace's playing career extended to Airdrieonians,
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
Wallace's managerial career began in 1966 as player-manager of Berwick Rangers. His rise to national prominence came in 1967, when he played for and managed the Berwick Rangers side which defeated Rangers in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,famous cup upsets in Scotland. That achievement in turn propelled Wallace into a coaching job at Hearts in 1968. In addition Wallace set a unique record of being the only player to play in the Scottish Cup,
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
and
Welsh Cup
The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...
in the same season – having played in the latter two competitions for Hereford United in the early part of the 1966–67 season.
Success at Rangers
It was in 1970 that Wallace arrived at his spiritual home,
Ibrox Stadium
Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Scottish Premiership team Rangers, Ibrox is the third-largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated ca ...
, as coach of Rangers under manager Willie Waddell. The partnership with Waddell was one that helped Rangers win the
1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup
The 1971–72 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup football club tournament was won by Rangers, who defeated Dynamo Moscow in the final.
Preliminary round
First leg
----
Second leg
''4–4 on aggregate; Austria Wien won on away goa ...
. After the European triumph, Waddell left his post as manager to take a behind-the-scenes role and Wallace was appointed as manager. In his first season in charge – the club's centenary – he won the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1974–75, it was Wallace who presided over the Rangers team that finally ended
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
's nine-year period of dominance and won the League championship for the first time in eleven years. In the 1975–76 and 1977–78 seasons, Wallace was to capture the treble of all three Scottish trophies.
Wallace's management of Rangers in the mid-1970s saw the club regain the ascendancy it had enjoyed throughout much its history. But just as the prospect of further sustained success beckoned, Wallace unexpectedly resigned as manager in 1978. The precise cause was never fully established, as Wallace maintained silence until his death in 1996. Most of the speculation centred on alleged disputes with the Rangers board (and with Waddell in particular) about transfer budgets or Wallace's own salary.Two Trebles in three years made Rangers' big Jock the king of Scottish football David Leggat / adapted by Chris Jack, Evening Times, 15 October 2014
Leicester City
Wallace's subsequent career spanned an eclectic mix of clubs. His first post was as manager of Leicester City in England. Wallace steered the club to
Football League Second Division
The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...
title glory in 1980, and took them to the 1982
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
Johan Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Regarded as one of the greatest ...
. Despite negotiations lasting three weeks, in which the player himself expressed his desire to play for City, a deal was never agreed.
Return to Scotland
Wallace returned to Scotland in 1982, taking charge of
Motherwell
Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
. In November 1983 he returned to manage a Rangers side that, under
John Greig
John Greig (born 11 September 1942) is a Scottish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He spent his entire career with Rangers F.C., Rangers, as a player, manager and d ...
, had consistently under-performed since Wallace's departure. The success of the New Firm of
Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
and
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...
had seen Rangers turn to
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...
, the Aberdeen manager, who rejected the offer to take over at Ibrox. The club then approached Dundee United boss Jim McLean, who also declined, prompting Rangers to turn to Wallace again. In spite of capturing two League Cups, Wallace's second spell with Rangers was a frustrating one as the club failed to dent the dominance of the New Firm and offered only sporadic challenge to
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
. Arguably his primary achievement in that spell was supporting a young, unsure
Ally McCoist
Alistair Murdoch McCoist (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former association football, footballer who has since worked as a Manager (association football), manager and TV pundit.
McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Jo ...
who went on to lead the forward line in the club's successes some years later. He was sacked by Rangers in April 1986, and then had short spells with
Sevilla
Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula.
Seville ...
in Spain from 1986 to 1987, and in England with Colchester United from 1988 to 1990.
Wallace died from
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
in 1996, aged 60, and is still widely remembered by Rangers fans as one of their club's greatest ever managers.
Management style
Wallace was a classic Scottish manager of the type familiar to modern fans in the guise of Sir Alex Ferguson, renowned for their ability to lose their temper and terrify players who were not trying their best.
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker ( ; born 30 November 1960) is an English Sports broadcasting, sports broadcaster and former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Lineker is the only player t ...
, who played under Wallace at Leicester City, is quoted as saying " epinned me against the dressing room wall at half-time and called me a lazy English this and that. We were 2–0 up and I'd scored both goals. I didn't score in the second half – I was still shaking!"
Mark Warburton
Mark Warburton (born 6 September 1962) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who is currently the Sporting Director and Head of Soccer for Sporting Club Jacksonville ...
, who later went on to also manage Rangers, said of his time as a youth player at Leicester City, that he took a dislike to the training methods of Wallace, later saying "he was a Marine. We had runs on sand-dunes, running until we threw up. I learned a lot from that, never treating a player that way". However, most of Wallace's players adored him.
Honours
Rangers
*
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports 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 ...
Football League Second Division
The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...