| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1929-06-11)11 June 1929 | ||
| Place of birth | Blairhall, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 17 July 2008(2008-07-17) (aged 79) | ||
| Place of death | Kingussie, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| – | Coupar Angus | ||
| 1951–1962 | Rangers | 221 | (0) |
| 1962–1969 | Partick Thistle | 182 | (0) |
| Total | 403 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 1953–1960 | Scottish League XI | 7 | (0) |
| 1955[1] | Scotland B vs A trial | 1 | (0) |
| 1960[2] | SFL trial v SFA | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
George Niven (11 June 1929 – 17 July 2008) was a Scottish footballer who played during the 1950s and 1960s as agoalkeeper forRangers andPartick Thistle.
Niven was signed to Rangers fromjunior sideCoupar Angus in 1951 by managerBill Struth. He made his debut againstAberdeen on 19 April 1952 in the final league match of the season, which finished 1–1. He spent over ten years atIbrox and won fiveleague championships, twoScottish Cups, oneLeague Cup, fourGlasgow Cups and threeCharity Cups. He made 327 appearances in total for the club.
In February 1962 he joinedPartick Thistle. Whilst inMaryhill he would make a total of 232 first class appearances and become an ever present in theJags goal. He never missed a league match in three separate seasons: 1962–63, 1963–64 and 1967–68.
He lost his place as number one when old rival from Rangers,Billy Ritchie, joined Thistle. After not featuring in the first team all season (his last game coming in a 0–0 draw at Airdrie in April 1968), he left in the summer of 1969. Niven retired from playing shortly after this.
Niven never played for theScotland national football team.[3] It is understood that he has played the most games for Rangers of any Scottish player who has not been capped by Scotland.[3] Niven was selected twice for Scotland, but had to withdraw each time due to injury and was replaced byFrank Haffey.[3] He did, however, represent theScottish League XI seven times.[3][4]
Niven died on 17 July 2008, aged 79.[5]
