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There are some names that are a part of the very fabric of Rangers Football Club. One thinks of William Wilton, Bill Struth, David Meiklejohn, Alan Morton, Moses McNeil, Tom Vallance and so on. As a Club we are unique in World football. The plethora of genuine football greats who have represented Rangers through time have ensured our place in the very highest echelons of the sport. This article, however, is dedicated to one particularly special individual who was and is remains a legend to the legions of Rangers supporters worldwide: the one and only Jock Wallace.
This isn't an historical article on the life and times and achievements of Jock; The Rangers Historian and Follow, Follow carried out that particular theme in a far more fitting manner in their respective issues that followed Jock's passing. The aim of this small piece is to attempt to relate what he meant to the Rangers support and why a fair few Rangers fans feel he should be the next one to be honoured in the way Davie Cooper and Bill Struth have been in those magnificent banners that have been produced by The Blue Order. Jock Wallace never played for Rangers. Other Rangers managers won more trophies than he did during their times in charge. Yet there is no doubt that Jock Wallace will be forever remembered and revered by the Rangers support as one of the greatest Rangers who ever drew breath. There have been few individuals who have represented the traditions and principles of Rangers Football Club as much as him; he embodied the ethos of the Club.
Jock Wallace was one of us: a Rangers supporter. A giant of a man in every respect, his affection and devotion to Rangers FC was evident in every word he spoke. That's a huge part of the reason the Rangers support held him in such high esteem. He was born and bred a Rangers supporter and he was not afraid to let everybody and the world know it.
There isn't a Rangers fan anywhere - and particularly those who followed the team in the 1970s - who don't think on the guy as one of the select few individuals who will be held in the highest regard for as long as Rangers Football Club exists. An example of this follows. There can be few opposing managers that have ever received a standing ovation and rapturous welcome from the travelling Rangers support; yet that was exactly what was afforded to Jock Wallace when, as Motherwell manager, he was given a reception by the 15,000 or so Bears inside Fir Park for the opening game of season 1982/83. Such was the affection felt towards him, and with the memories of the Trebles in 1976 and 1978, not to mention Rangers' first Championship in 11 years in 1975 still fresh in the minds of the Rangers support, he was given a reception usually reserved for the parading of one of the many trophies Rangers won under his stewardship.
There was a certain inevitability that he would return to Ibrox in order to attempt to redress the slide that had set in following his departure. For a spell it looked as if he would indeed see the glory days returning with one particularly memorable win over Celtic in the 1984 League Cup Final one of, if not the definite highlight of his second time in charge. His quote when interviewed on TV prior to the game kicking off sums up the determination and belief that were integral parts of his character. When asked how he thought the game would go, it wasn't for him the banal clichés too many modern day managers are content to routinely go through, but a firm statement of confidence in his players: "Oh, I fancy The Rangers very strongly today." It was that kind of belief that the Rangers support was able to engage in at large again following a few seasons of disappointment.
History will show that ultimately, Jock Was unable to deliver in the 80s what he had done in the 70s. However, it is the contention of this article that those of us who enjoyed the Souness revolution of the late 80s have a lot to thank Jock Wallace for. Season 1986/97 will go down as one of the most memorable seasons in Rangers' long and distinguished history. Yet, perhaps surprisingly, very little is made that the foundations of the title-winning team were in place for Graeme Souness to build upon and had been put in place by his predecessor. While it can probably be suggested that Rangers had stagnated in the mid 80s and were in need of fresh ideas and a new impetus - provided by Souness - most of the title winning team were either purchases by or had been given their chance by Jock Wallace. When you look at what was arguably the best performance of that season - the 2-0 win over Celtic at Ibrox on Ne'erday - seven of the starting XI had plied their trade under Jock Wallace the season before: Stuart Munro, Dave McPherson, Derek Ferguson, Robert Fleck, Ally McCoist, Iain Durrant and Davie Cooper. Of those seven, Stuart Munro and Davie Cooper were brought to Ibrox by Jock, while Ally McCoist's career was rescued and Iain Durrant and Derek Ferguson were allowed to develop their vast potential. Dave McPherson's progress was such that he became a fixture of Souness' team and Robert Fleck's involvement in the team under Jock Wallace was to produce dividends in the form of his highly productive partnership with Ally McCoist when Souness took over. It must also be noted that one unique individual in 1986/87 was also a Wallace purchase: the incomparably eccentric Ted McMinn who became the cult hero of the Rangers support. Therefore, while Rangers did not win the League under Jock during his second spell, there can surely be little argument that the players he had at his disposal had developed to the point that a league title was within their grasp. Of course, the introduction of Souness and subsequently Chris Woods, Terry Butcher and Graham Roberts proved to be the over-riding factor in Rangers' eventual triumph but it is surely not out of the ordinary to suggest that Jock Wallace played a part as well. And nobody would have celebrated more when Rangers ended a nine year Championship drought in 1987.
Souness' spell as manager of Rangers, as we all know, began a period of domestic dominance by Rangers that was eventually to lead to Nine in a Row in 1997. Sadly, Jock did not live to see this achievement, passing away before what became the Ninth consecutive League Championship winning season started. That's part of the reason why this writer thinks Jock Should be the focal point of a banner: the Rangers support never really got the chance to give one of our favourite sons a fitting farewell when he was alive. A banner with his image on it would be a perfect way to ensure that his achievements with Rangers are celebrated forever and that he remains a pivotal figure in the emotions of the new, emerging generations of Rangers supporters as well as providing the opportunity for those of us who followed Rangers while he was manager to continually express our gratitude for what he did for our Club..
It's obvious that he was still highly revered by the Bears; witness his introduction to the Rangers crowd for a midweek fixture against Aberdeen in 1993. His presence on the park prior to the game kicking off helped generate an atmosphere at Ibrox that was reminiscent of when he was manager and played a part in Rangers' eventual 2-0 triumph that night. That's just a small example but it shows that his character - the one word that'll always be associated with him - rubbed off on everybody else who was inside Ibrox that night.
It is for the reasons highlighted in this article that it is fitting he should be a permanent feature among the Rangers support in the shape of a banner that has, in the same way, ensured the legends of Bill Struth and Davie Cooper are permanent features of games at Ibrox Park now. In a way, a banner with Jock Wallace on it also provides a kind of chronological order that links generations of Rangers supporters. The children of the Rangers fans who followed Rangers under Bill Struth would, in many cases, have began following Rangers in earnest when Jock first arrived at the Club. Of course the case can be validly made for other great Rangers, but to see the images of Struth and Wallace flying together, while providing a link with the past, also emphasises the way support for Rangers is handed down from generation to generation in a never-ending procession.
To see both banners flying side by side at the ground where both men brought so much success and devoted so much of their lives to would be an entirely appropriate gesture and a tribute to two great Rangers men that we are all indebted to for bringing so much glory to our beloved Club. So, to conclude, a phrase from The Rangers Historian is about the most fitting way to sum up why Jock Wallace should be honoured by way of a banner: "When people talk about who the great Rangers were, the miner's son from Wallyford may just be the greatest one of all."
Stevie Tyrie
Toryglen True Blues Rangers Supporters Club
The Jock Wallace Banner is another excellent project by the Blue Order group who have been responsible for the Davie Cooper, Bill Struth and the Blue Order banners (Which are all pictured below)
The banner cost a huge £2,500 to produce which was raised by donations through the blueorder.co.uk & followfollow.com websites.
I was responsible for the design of the banner which was chosen through a poll on the Blue Order website. I am delighted with the finished banner and was very proud to see it flying at Ibrox for the first time versus Dunfermline (01 October 2005).
Check out the photos below of the unveiling of the banner at Fairley Street before kick-off and a few more of the banner inside ibrox.
You can also view a short clip of the Rangers TV programme which shows the production of the banner at Hi-Fli in Kirriemuir. Click here to view.
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