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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Wilton | ||
| Date of birth | (1865-06-09)9 June 1865 | ||
| Place of birth | Largs,Ayrshire, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 2 May 1920(1920-05-02) (aged 54) | ||
| Place of death | Gourock,Renfrewshire, Scotland | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 1899–1920 | Rangers | ||
William Wilton (9 June 1865 – 2 May 1920) was a Scottish football player, administrator and manager. He was the first manager ofRangers Football Club, serving in that position from 1899 until his death in 1920, and leading Rangers to nine major trophies. He had previously served as Rangers' match secretary to the reserve and first teams.
William Wilton was born at Blyth's Land on Nelson Street inLargs,Ayrshire on 9 June 1865, the son of James Wilton, astonemason from theIsle of Arran, and Janet Smith, a weaver fromPaisley.[1][2] Wilton grew up in Largs and theKingston area ofGlasgow, and worked in Glasgow as a mercantile clerk with a sugar broker and then a sugar refining machinery manufacturer.[3]
Wilton joined the club in September 1883 as a player but never progressed beyond the second string eleven.[4] He was soon appointed secretary to the club's youth team and reserve side. He was also on the special committee that oversaw the club's move fromKinning Park to thefirst Ibrox ground in 1887.
Wilton became match secretary of the first team in 1889, succeedingJames Gossland. The club shared the inauguralScottish League title in 1891. Wilton had been appointed as the league's first treasurer at the start of the season. In his decade as match secretary for the first team, the club won twoScottish league championships in 1891 and 1899, as well as threeScottish Cups in 1894, 1897 and 1898. He also won fourGlasgow Cups in 1893, 1894, 1897 and 1898, and aGlasgow Merchants Charity Cup in 1897. Rangers had achieved the first ever100% league record, winning all 18 games and scoring 79 goals in1898–99; to date no team has achieved the same, although several teams have gone unbeaten in a league season since.
When the club became a limited company in 1899, Wilton was chosen as manager. Under his stewardship as manager, Rangers won eight league championships and another Scottish Cup, nineGlasgow Cups and seven Charity Cups. He also guided the club's move to thesecond (extant) Ibrox Park in 1899 and its response to thedisaster at that venue three years later. In his final season as manager the club won its tenth league championship. Wilton died in a boating accident in May 1920.[4] He was Rangers manager in 881 matches (not including his earlier spell as secretary), of which they won 553.[5] He is buried atCathcart Cemetery in East Renfrewshire.[6]
| Team | Nation | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Win % | ||||
| Rangers |  Scotland | 28th May 1889 | 15th June 1920 | 1,090 | 688 | 183 | 219 | 2,675 | 1,261 | +1,414 | 63.12 |
| Total | 1,090 | 668 | 183 | 219 | 2,675 | 1,261 | +1,414 | 63.12 | |||
Rangers