Any club historians know anything about this?

[carrickblue 322]

I didn't realise they played 6-a-side footie as long ago as 1890

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Antique-Glasgow-Rangers-St-Mirren-Football-Prize-1890-Jas-Morrison-/370768277197?_trksid=p2045573.m2102&_trkparms=aid%3D555003%26algo%3DPW.CAT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D33%26meid%3D6107968832430598823%26pid%3D100034%26prg%3D1031%26rk%3D1%26

[nacho_nacho_man 477]

Clydesdale Harriers & Rangers FC:

More than any other club in Scotland, The Rangers always showed an interest in athletics generally.

Right at the beginning with the Clydesdale Harriers and the club having many members in common - eg William Wilton, Tom Vallance, JR Gow of Rangers were Harriers and on the Harriers football committee. Joint sports were organised with the athletic club providing the bulk of the officials and knowing who to invite to make the events a success.

The football club also invited Eric Liddell to train at Ibrox and such as Alfred Shrubb and Wyndham Halswelle competed at Ibrox. Bill Struth, legendary Rangers manager, had been an athlete and a professional runner in his younger days and he was keen to see athletics at Ibrox.

There were races at half time in big football matches (see the profiles for Hugh Barrow and Lachie Stewart in particular) and I remember clearly seeing one featuring Derek Ibbotson in the Mile at half time in the match between a Scottish Select and a South African Select with SA playing in the green and white of Hibernian and including two Rangers players (Johnny Hubbard and Don Kitchenbrand. He it was, who was given credit for the burgeoning of the Rangers Sports as a really big domestic competition with a significant international dimension.

The peak years for the sports however were the post-WW2 years and although the great draw for many of the crowd was the five-a-side tournament with all the Glasgow teams (Rangers, Celtic, Clyde, Third Lanark, Partick Thistle and Queen's Park) taking part, the Ibrox crowd was very knowledgeable about athletics and the management was sympathetic to the needs of the athletes.

http://www.ardbruach...gers Sports.htm

William McNeil, Moses McNeil, Tom Vallance and A Marshall were all founders of the Harriers.

http://www.clydesdal..._Connection.pdf