.png) Craig withIreland in 1914 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander Breckenridge Craig | ||
| Date of birth | 2 April 1886 | ||
| Place of birth | Galway, Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 16 February 1951(1951-02-16) (aged 64) | ||
| Place of death | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Full-back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Rutherglen Glencairn | |||
| 1905–1912 | Rangers | 102 | (0) |
| 1911–1912 | →Morton (loan) | 28 | (0) |
| 1912–1914 | Morton | 52 | (1) |
| 1914–1916 | Rangers | 42 | (0) |
| Johnstone | |||
| International career | |||
| 1908–1914 | Ireland[1] | 9 | (0) |
| 1915[2] | SFL XI (wartime) | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Alexander Breckenridge Craig (born 2 April 1886 – 16 February 1951) was afootballer who played forRangers,Greenock Morton andIreland as aleft back.[3]
He is one of only four players born in what is now the Republic of Ireland to play for Rangers; the others wereAlex Stevenson,Jon Daly andJames Lowry McAuley.
Galway-born Craig had moved to Scotland with his family by the time of the1891 United Kingdom Census, residing in theHutchesontown district ofGlasgow.[4] He joinedRangers from junior sideRutherglen Glencairn in January 1905. His initial seasons atIbrox Park coincided with a rare lean spell for the club, and he left without a single major winner's medal.[5] The closest he came was in1905 when Rangers lost a replayedScottish Cup final 3–1 toThird Lanark. In his last season,1910–11, Rangers did win the league title, but Craig made just a single appearance and so was not entitled to a medal.[6]
By the time of his move toGreenock Morton, Craig was proving his versatility by slotting in regularly on the left-hand side of defence. In May 1914 he returned to Rangers, making his second debut in aGlasgow Charity Cup Final defeat byCeltic. He was a regular in theGers side for the initial war-time campaign[5] and was still on the club's books when hostilities ended though his last appearances were made in April 1916. Still without a significant club honour, Craig finished his playing days in the Western League withJohnstone.
Craig's international career began as he reaped the benefits ofBilly McCracken's expulsion by theIrish FA. He made hisIreland debut in a 3–1 defeat byEngland in February 1908, playing in each of that year'sBritish Home Championship ties at right-back. But it was at left-back that Craig played during each of the1914 Home Championship games as Ireland claimed the title outright for the first time.