Ronald MacKinnon (20 August 1940 – 17 September 2023), known as Ronnie McKinnon, 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 ...
who played for
Rangers
A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
central defender
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
who had been a winger in his youth during early spells at Junior level, made his
Rangers
A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
debut against Hearts on 8 March 1961 in a 3–0 win at Ibrox. He went on to make 487 appearances for the club in all competitions between 1961 and 1971,Rangers player McKinnon, Ronnie FitbaStats winning two Scottish League championships, four
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,League Cups.
His final Rangers appearance was in 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
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Second leg
''4–4 on aggregate; Austria Wien won on away goa ...
second round match against
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,
in
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, where he suffered a broken leg.On This Day: Ronnie McKinnon Rangers FC, 20 August 2019 Rangers went on to win the Cup Winners' Cup that season but McKinnon, who had been a regular for a decade but was already in the latter stages of his career, was put out of action entirely for a year due to the complications of the injury and the poor manner in which it was treated.
International career
McKinnon won a total of 28
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 Java ...
for
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, making his debut in a 1–0 win over
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
at
Hampden Park
Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...
in 1965, in which Rangers teammate
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 scored a memorable late winner. He also played in the 3–2 win over
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
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 the London Borou ...
in 1967. His only goal for Scotland came in a 3–2 win over
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, also in 1967. He 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 ...
.
Later and personal life
After leaving Rangers in 1973, McKinnon moved to South Africa, where he played local football for a season. He later returned to Scotland and settled on the
Isle of Lewis
The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...
where his mother was born and where he had spent time as a child during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
His connection to Rangers continued as he was an Honorary Member & Ambassador of The Lewis & Harris Rangers Supporters Club, and travelled to matches at Ibrox with the island fans at least once a season.
McKinnon's twin brother
Donnie
Donnie or Donny is a familiar form (hypocorism) of the masculine given name Donald, Donal, Don, or Donovan.
It may refer to:
People Arts and entertainment
* Donny Baldwin, American drummer best known as a member of Jefferson Starship and Starsh ...
was also a professional footballer, spending 14 seasons with
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...
as a centre-half. He was also one of the coaches for the Scotland national team for many years.
Death
McKinnon died on 17 September 2023, at the age of 83.
Honours
Rangers
*
Scottish League First Division
The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship.
History
The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the o ...
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 ...
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
British Home Championship
The British Home Championship (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Championship) was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotlan ...