| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Wilson | ||
| Date of birth | (1937-01-10)10 January 1937[a] | ||
| Place of birth | Cambuslang, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 13 June 2022(2022-06-13) (aged 85) | ||
| Place of death | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Position | Outside left | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1954–1956 | Baillieston Juniors | ||
| 1956–1967 | Rangers | 227 | (99) |
| 1967–1972 | Dundee United | 129 | (20) |
| 1972–1973 | Dumbarton | 48 | (2) |
| Total | 405 | (121) | |
| International career | |||
| 1958 | Scotland U23 | 1 | (0) |
| 1960–1964 | Scottish League XI | 7 | (3) |
| 1960–1965 | Scotland | 22 | (10[b]) |
| 1961[5] | SFA trial v SFL | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1974–1977 | Dumbarton (assistant) | ||
| 1977–1980 | Dumbarton | ||
| 1980–1981 | Kilmarnock (assistant) | ||
| 1984–1986 | Dumbarton | ||
| 1986–1987 | Hamilton Academical (assistant) | ||
| 1987–1989 | Queen of the South | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
David Wilson (10 January 1937 – 13 June 2022)[6][7] was a Scottish internationalfootballer who played as anoutside left. He was perhaps best known for his decade atRangers in which he played an important role in the club's success of the early 1960s; he also made over 100 appearances forDundee United.
He was also selected 22 times for theScotland national team, and was later amanager, primarily atDumbarton where he had ended his playing career.
Wilson, a native of the mining village ofNewton[8][9] just outside Glasgow, was aRangers supporter in childhood. On a visit toIbrox Stadium he received advice from former starAlan Morton who played left wing, the position in which Wilson became established.[9]
As a teenager he was rejected by localJunior clubCambuslang Rangers for being too small, and instead began his career atBaillieston.[10] He soon came to the attention of Rangers who signed him in 1956.
Wilson made his first-team debut on 2 January 1957 just prior to his 20th birthday, was selected for European matches againstAS Saint-Étienne[11] andAC Milan and played sufficient games for aLeague winner's medal in 1959, but it was not until the1959–60 season that he became a regular in the side. He also began to score frequently, with 22 goals from 50 appearances in all competitions having only scored 8 in 51 in his first three seasons combined. Rangers reached the semi-finals of theEuropean Cup and won theScottish Cup.[11]
Thefollowing season was even more successful, as Rangers won theScottish Football League and theScottish League Cup. Wilson played every minute of the campaign's 56 matches and scored over 20 goals, forming part of what would become known as one of the greatest Rangers forward lines, along withRalph Brand,Jimmy Millar andWillie Henderson, supported byJim Baxter.[8][9] However, there was disappointment in theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup asFiorentina overcame Rangers inthe final.[11][12]
1961–62 ended with Scottish Cup and League Cup victories,[11] and Wilson achieved a club record which has never been equalled since when he scored six times againstFalkirk (a 7–1 win) 17 March 1962[10][11] (howeverJimmy Smith had achieved the feat twice in the 1930s).[13] Four days later on 21 March he scored a hat-trick for the Scottish League in a 4–3 victory against theEnglish League atVilla Park. Around that time he declined an approach fromEverton for what would have been a British record transfer fee.[14] Thenext year brought a League and Cupdouble and Wilson hit over 30 goals, including four in one match againstPartick and one in thereplayed cup final againstCeltic.[11]
In1963–64, Wilson missed a large part of the winter through injury – a broken ankle[11] – including theLeague Cup Final, but returned to play in theScottish Cup Final as Rangers completed the secondtreble in their history.[15] However, in1965 they only finished in fifth place after Baxter broke a leg,[9] and in the League Cup Wilson was injured in the semi-final and again could not take part in the final.
Rangers regained the Scottish Cup in1966 against Celtic but lost out in the other competitions to the same opponents, who were beginning aperiod of dominance. Wilson played in both cup finals[11] but made only 21 appearances overall, his fewest since 1958. Wilson's last campaign with Rangers was1966–67, asWillie Johnston and new signingAlex Smith became the preferred choices on the left flank. He made 29 appearances and scored eight goals, being introduced as a substitute for Johnston in theLeague Cup final loss to Celtic and theinfamous Scottish Cup defeat to Berwick. He did not feature in Rangers' secondCup Winners' Cup Final[11][16] although he played his part in the run including the winning goal in the semi-final, away toSlavia Sofia.[17]
Wilson departed from Ibrox aged 30, having scored a total of 159 goals in 382 matches in all competitions.[18] He was naturally right-footed, and became adept at dribbling with either foot, crossing from the byline on the left, and cutting inside to shoot powerfully with his stronger foot or connect with through balls – tactics which brought an impressive goal tally particularly for a player who was not a dedicatedstriker (he is ranked seventh of all post-WWII scorers for Rangers).[19] He has since been inducted to the RangersHall of Fame.[8]
In August 1967 Wilson transferred toDundee United along with teammates Jimmy Millar andWilson Wood, withOrjan Persson moving in the opposite direction. He spent four seasons atTannadice, playing over 150 matches (129 in Division One) as the club consistently finished in the top half of the league.[20] His time with the club coincided with that of future Rangers bossWalter Smith, whose father had worked with Wilson whilst he was apprenticed to a localsteelworks in the village ofWestburn, and who would later be signed by Wilson's backroom team in his time as an assistant manager.[9][21] In 2017 Wilson became a member of United's Hall of Fame.[22]
Wilson moved toDumbarton in January 1972, helped the club win promotion at the end ofthat season. He retired as a player at the end of thefollowing campaign in 1973, aged 36, after helping Dumbarton maintain their status in the top division;[23] he thereafter became a coach at the club.
Having appeared for theUnder-23 side,[24] Wilson made 22 full appearances forScotland between 1960 and 1965, scoring ten goals;[b][25] he was in the squad which won the1961–62 and1962–63 editions of theBritish Home Championship with perfect records. He enjoyed three wins over rivalsEngland, including scoring in 1962 atHampden, and playing most of the 1963 fixture atWembley atleft back after his Rangers mateEric Caldow had his leg broken (before the days of substitutions);[9][11] he had also featured and scored in Scotland's embarrassing 9–3 defeat in 1961.[9][25] Wilson also represented theScottish League XI seven times, scoring three goals.[26]
In 2014, Wilson was inducted into theScottish Football Hall of Fame, which he described as his "greatest honour".[10][21]
Having served as assistant manager toAlex Wright at Dumbarton – during which time theSons reached the semi-final stage of the1975–76 Scottish Cup[27] – Wilson had two spells as manager of theBoghead Park club (1976–1978[28] and 1984–1986),[29] developing players such asMurdo MacLeod,Graeme Sharp andGraeme Sinclair in his first stint andtaking the side into thePremier Division in his second, widely regarded as a commendable achievement for a part-time club.
After a short period as assistant toJohn Lambie atHamilton Academical, during which they knocked Rangers out of the1986–87 Scottish Cup,[30] Wilson also had a spell as manager ofDumfries clubQueen of the South, taking over after the surprise resignation of promotion winningNobby Clark.[31]
In retirement Wilson remained an enthusiastic supporter of Rangers, attending many matches and functions and commenting on the club'sstruggles.[32][10][8] He was also an after-dinner speaker.[33] In his spare time he kept racing pigeons, and was a lifelongteetotaler and non-smoker.[9]
Davie was a family man who loved his family dearly; his wife Avril, daughter Sheena, son David and his beloved grandchildren Carly, Harry, Anna, David and latterly Billy.
An authorised biography,Wilson on the Wing, was published in 2020.[34]
He died on 13 June 2022, aged 85, released to press on 14 June.[6][7]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 April 1961 | Wembley Stadium, London, England |  England | 2–3 | 3–9 | 1961 British Home Championship |
| 2 | 3–5[b] | |||||
| 3 | 7 October 1961 | Windsor Park,Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Northern Ireland | 1–0 | 6–1 | 1962 British Home Championship |
| 4 | 14 April 1962 | Hampden Park,Glasgow, Scotland | England | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1962 British Home Championship |
| 5 | 8 May 1963 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Austria | 1–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 6 | 2–0 | |||||
| 7 | 13 June 1963 | Bernabeu,Madrid, Spain |  Spain | 4–1 | 6–2 | Friendly |
| 8 | 25 November 1964 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | Northern Ireland | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1965 British Home Championship |
| 9 | 3–2 | |||||
| 10 | 27 May 1965 | Olympiastadion,Helsinki, Finland |  Finland | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Rangers[18]
Scotland
Dumbarton
