Archie Macpherson's Greatest Player

[MisterC 12,287]

Then again he might have been a boring bastard and just done what his manager wanted and we may have been denied seeing a true genius at play, I'll settle for those amazing few years watching a flawed genius than perhaps watching him play at 60/70%of his ability.

I'd settle for the flawed genius cult figure type than a boring bastard any day too if I had a choice in it. What a talent though wish i had seen him in his prime.

[Ozblue 4,331]

Ooft never saw that typo! Bloody predictive text Agree though if he had partied less and trained properly he really would have been a global all time great

That's why I never use predictive text ,MisterC

Baxter detested training, but even so training at Rangers during those days was absolutely amateurish,according to Harold Davis and even then Jim wanted nothing to do with it.

Christ Colin! I hated training but Baxter made me look like an obsessive workaholic

I guess us of that era should be thankful that we were afforded the privilege of seeing a born genius grace our ground with that rapier left peg of his.....Truly magical.

[Ozblue 4,331]

Then again he might have been a boring bastard and just done what his manager wanted and we may have been denied seeing a true genius at play, I'll settle for those amazing few years watching a flawed genius than perhaps watching him play at 60/70%of his ability.

There was not a hope in hell of that happening,mate I doubt very much if I will ever see a Scottish player even half as talented as Slim Jim again in my lifetime.

Geniuses such as James Curran Baxter are as scarce as Rocking Horse shit.

[slimjim1690 4,534]

There was not a hope in hell of that happening,mate I doubt very much if I will ever see a Scottish player even half as talented as Slim Jim again in my lifetime.

Geniuses such as James Curran Baxter are as scarce as Rocking Horse shit.

There's zero chance of it happening again bud, it was indeed a bygone age, anyone trying even a smidgen of JB's antics would be shown the door toot sweet, its all about the money now, mind you if the same amount of money was about back then it might have been a different story but somehow with JB I doubt it.

[Snagglepuss 37]

There's zero chance of it happening again bud, it was indeed a bygone age, anyone trying even a smidgen of JB's antics would be shown the door toot sweet, its all about the money now, mind you if the same amount of money was about back then it might have been a different story but somehow with JB I doubt it.

I don't know if I'm understanding your post correctly, but Slim Jim wanted paid more for his talent. If there had been megabucks on offer back then, Baxter would have wanted his share to support his lifestyle ( and why not?).

However, when you look at who he was and what he was, allowing him to leave for a reported £90 per week instead of the £60 Rangers were offering seems ridiculous. (I think these figures are correct, but maybe someone will correct me).

As for Slim's antics, we've had several players since who did as much as Baxter and survived comfortably. When you are a special talent, you will always get leeway...anywhere at all in the world.

[Bobby Hume 13,122]

Baxter was definitely a flawed genius who found it difficult to conform to the football standards of his time, but he was ours', The Rangers, and for all the great memories he laid out for us to enjoy, I am glad I saw him play.

Some of the best football I have ever seen from any player in the world came from him and his magical left boot.

I like many hundreds of thousands idolised this man, and when he finally left us for ever, it was as if I was losing my greatest friend and one of my saddest days.

For all his flaws he was undoubtedly the greatest player we have ever produced in this country ........ Bar none.

[slimjim1690 4,534]

Baxter was definitely a flawed genius who found it difficult to conform to the football standards of his time, but he was ours', The Rangers, and for all the great memories he laid out for us to enjoy, I am glad I saw him play.

Some of the best football I have ever seen from any player in the world came from him and his magical left boot.

I like many hundreds of thousands idolised this man, and when he finally left us for ever, it was as if I was losing my greatest friend and one of my saddest days.

For all his flaws he was undoubtedly the greatest player we have ever produced in this country ........ Bar none.

I was pretty young when I seen Baxter play but such was his genius that even at that young age I instinctively knew I was seeing something special and although I have a hard time remembering specific games my memories of watching Baxter have never diminished such was the brilliance of the man.

My parents were never into the fitba and so it was up to my uncle Freddy to take me to Ibrox and teach me the ways of The Rangers (his favourite was Sammy Cox) I remember once getting annoyed with Baxter because I though he wasn't trying as we weren't hammering some team, and my uncle Freddy said into my ear, "take another look son, he's just taking the pish out of them" after that I saw Jim Baxter in an entirely different light and a young boy got a great education that day.

[Ozblue 4,331]

There's zero chance of it happening again bud, it was indeed a bygone age, anyone trying even a smidgen of JB's antics would be shown the door toot sweet, its all about the money now, mind you if the same amount of money was about back then it might have been a different story but somehow with JB I doubt it.

I don't think anybody trying a smidgen of what Baxter did would even get in the door, never mind being chucked out of it It wouldn't matter a fuck how much Baxter made; he wouldn't have changed any. Fuck! I could tell you some stories about that guy What do you think would have happened if he had carried out his plan to score an own goal at Wembley in 1963?

[slimjim1690 4,534]

I don't think anybody trying a smidgen of what Baxter did would even get in the door, never mind being chucked out of it It wouldn't matter a fuck how much Baxter made; he wouldn't have changed any. Fuck! I could tell you some stories about that guy What do you think would have happened if he had carried out his plan to score an own goal at Wembley in 1963?

Haha!! It's a good job he never thought to get to a bookies or he would have scored a hat trick, I bet he was kicking himself afterwards when he thought of it though LOL.

[Ozblue 4,331]

Haha!! It's a good job he never thought to get to a bookies or he would have scored a hat trick, I bet he was kicking himself afterwards when he thought of it though LOL.

He certainly would have done it if Bryan Douglas hadn't scored for England in the 79' minute. He was fucking furious at big Ian Ure for making such a cock-up just inside the Scotland half.

Shortly after that match Slim Jim said to big Frank Haffey; " I felt like choking that big fucker" ;;;;;;;Frank asked him why he didn't? and Slim said "Because Big Harold Davis wisnae there to back me up"

[dummiesoot 16,009]

Wish I had seen him live, got goose bumps reading the write up above.

[Shuggy 1,308]

So ... if Baxter hadn't broken his leg, there might have been no Lisbon Lions?

[harlands plater 16,989]

I can't actually remember anything about the games themselves, but I started going to Ibrox in 1962 so I know I saw Jim Baxter play for Rangers and that makes me happy

[clan macrae 292]

Speaking on Radio Scotland tonight.

Without hesitation, he bypassed the Lisbon Lions, the Dalgishes and Sounesses and named Jim Baxter.

Must have been some player.

Archie wrote a book in the 1980s "The Blue and the Green" that revisited memorable Old Firm games that he had attended . He gives an account of a game in the early 1960s at Ibrox where Rangers won easily. Bobby Murdoch (Celtic player) tells Archie that the Celtic team in those days were absolutely terrified of being humiliated by Baxter and were beaten before they had left the dressing room. I think I am correct in saying that Baxter was never in a losing Rangers team against Celtic during his first period at Rangers. He was the king of cool and had a mixture of style and arrogance that had the Rangers fans in awe of him. My late mother Cathy was a great Baxter fan and I can remember as a young boy her and my Granda Finlay reminiscing abut how great a player he wa

I was lucky enough to see Baxter in the early sixties,without doubt a world class half back.Im also in no doubt if Jim had not broken his leg we would have won the European cup that year.

He was past it when he returned from England enjoyed a few pints with him in his pub at PRT.Great man.

[siamthedanger 2,857]

Unfortunately, he was before my time. Is there any player today or the past 10-20 years who is similar playing wise?

[Snagglepuss 37]

So ... if Baxter hadn't broken his leg, there might have been no Lisbon Lions?

There was no connection there. They finished 8th the year Baxter broke his leg, and we finished 5th. It was the following year, when Baxter had left, that they qualified for the EC by winning the League. That is when we could have stopped their Lisbon thing by winning the League ourselves, but instead we almost handed it to them on a plate in March of '66.

We had beaten them in the first OF league game of the season, but collapsed and lost heavily in the second half of the ne’erday game after leading from a first minute Davy Wilson goal.

Nevertheless, apart from that game, we won every game in January and February and we went into March equal on points, and with a game in hand.

By the time we got to the end of March (in the days of 2 points for a win), after the 4 games, we were 5 points behind. We had dropped 6 points from 8.

We then won the last 7 games on the bounce, and beat them in the Kai Johansen Cup Final, but the league damage had been done.

That inexplicable March collapse is what set them up for their big thing.

Out of interest...

We played 9 league games while Baxter was out with his broken leg. We won 7, drew 1, lost 1.

On his return, we went out of the Cup to Hibs in his first game. He then took part in 9 league games, and we won 4, drew 1, lost 4.

Slim then missed the last 2 games of the season, both of which we won.

We didn’t lose the league that year because Baxter broke his leg (although it could be argued we lost the games which cost us the league because he came back too soon).

Willie Waddell’s Killie won the League. We were 6 points behind in 5^th.

[Shuggy 1,308]

There was no connection there. They finished 8th the year Baxter broke his leg, and we finished 5th. It was the following year, when Baxter had left, that they qualified for the EC by winning the League. That is when we could have stopped their Lisbon thing by winning the League ourselves, but instead we almost handed it to them on a plate in March of '66.

We had beaten them in the first OF league game of the season, but collapsed and lost heavily in the second half of the ne’erday game after leading from a first minute Davy Wilson goal.

Nevertheless, apart from that game, we won every game in January and February and we went into March equal on points, and with a game in hand.

By the time we got to the end of March (in the days of 2 points for a win), after the 4 games, we were 5 points behind. We had dropped 6 points from 8.

We then won the last 7 games on the bounce, and beat them in the Kai Johansen Cup Final, but the league damage had been done.

That inexplicable March collapse is what set them up for their big thing.

Thanks, it's interesting reading about those days. Celtic 8th and Rangers 5th?!