Random events in Rangers history that happened in this corresponding week. Here are some memorable moments that happened between October 24 and October 30.
October 24 1993 – Treble holders Rangers win their fifth successive domestic trophy by beating Hibs 2-1 in the League Cup Final at Parkhead. Walter Smith’s team were badly affected by injuries in the opening weeks of the season, with their opponents sitting above them in the league table on the morning of the match. An Ian Durrant opener was cancelled out by a comedy own goal by Dave McPherson, and as the match entered the closing stages, Smith sent on substitute Ally McCoist, only recently back from a leg break and still well short of match fitness. The greatest goalscorer in Rangers history then showed the 48,000 crowd why he earned that title. A scarcely believable overhead kick from his golden boot flew past Jim Leighton with just nine minutes left, winning the cup for Rangers.
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October 25 1905 – Bob McPhail is born in Barrhead. A Scottish Cup winner with Airdrie as a teenager, he joined Rangers in 1927 and went on to become one of the greatest players in Rangers illustrious history. The inside forward had scored an incredible 230 official league goals for the club by the time he left Ibrox in 1940, setting a record that only Ally McCoist has ever beaten. McPhail won 9 league titles at a time Bill Struth’s team dominated the Scottish game. He also won 6 more Scottish Cups with Rangers to add to the one with Airdrie, scoring in five different Scottish Cup finals matches (another club record). He also picked up 7 Glasgow Cups and 6 Charity Cups, and in later years donated his huge medal collection to the club for display in the trophy room. McPhail played a role with the reserve team for decades after his playing career ended, and was a regular at Ibrox until shortly before his death in 2000. McPhail is a member of both the Rangers hall of fame and the Scottish Football hall of fame. A giant amongst giants.
October 26 2021 – Rangers FC is in mourning at the news that Walter Smith had died. Quite simply, the greatest Rangers manager in modern times, a man who served the club he always supported as Assistant Manager, Manager, and a brief spell as Chairman. Walter Smith will forever be associated with the most important thing for any Rangers manager – winning trophies. Between 1986 and 1990, he was assistant to Graeme Souness and helped lift 3 league titles and 4 League Cups. Then as a manager across two spells at the club, he went on to win 10 more championships, 5 Scottish Cups, 5 League Cups, and took Rangers to the final of the 2008 UEFA Cup. A leader, a tactician, a figurehead, and one of the most loved and respected figures ever in Scottish football. Perhaps his famous quote about Rangers sums up the great man: “Do not enter unless you are ready to put yourself second – and that should be the one and only time second is good enough for you”. The statue outside the stadium unveiled in 2024 was a fitting and lasting memorial to one of the greatest of Rangers men.
October 27 2004 – what turned out to be pivotal night in the league season, the one that ended so memorably in “Helicopter Sunday”. Alex McLeish’s Rangers were a goal down at East End Park to Dunfermline but came back to win with second half goals by Jean-Alain Boumsong and Nacho Novo. Meanwhile, at Parkhead, a last-minute goal by Aberdeen gave them a shock 3-2 win over Martin O’Neill’s league leaders, a first home league defeat for them in over three years. With an Old Firm game at Ibrox on the horizon, Rangers had narrowed the gap to just two points and the title race was on.
October 28 1983 – despite a midweek win over Hearts in the League Cup, Rangers manager John Greig announces his resignation. The man later voted as The Greatest Ranger had taken the job in 1978 when still a player, and immediately retired after a magnificent career on the pitch. But he struggled to build a winning team in his five full seasons in charge, winning 2 Scottish Cups and 2 League Cups, but failing to lift the league title. He resigned after a terrible start to the new season, Rangers having lost 5 out of the 9 league games they had played, and already languishing well down the table and out of another title race. Assistant boss Tommy McLean would take charge until the club could name a successor. Greig would never manager another club, he has never represented any senior club apart from Rangers since the day he joined up at Ibrox in 1960 as a teenager.
October 29 2022 – Under pressure Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst gets a welcome win with a 4-1 defeat of Aberdeen at Ibrox. After falling behind, the team responded and eased to a comfortable win thanks to goals by Antonio Colak, John Lundstram, James Tavernier, and substitute Alfredo Morelos. The game is watched by previous head coach Michael Beale from the stands, and he also meets fans in a local Rangers pub before the game. Beale would end up replacing the Dutchman in the dugout before the year was out.
October 30 1994 – Rangers travel to Hampden to play Celtic in a league fixture, Celtic playing at the national stadium for the season while Parkhead underwent renovation. Mark Hateley scored two first half goals either side of a Celtic counter, before Man of the Match Brian Laudruip sealed the 3-1 win with a devastating solo goal on the counter attack. The Dane was lighting up the Scottish game in his debut season for Rangers.
