Description

John Greig signed Rangers letter genuine autographed memorabilia

Authentic John Greig signed Rangers letter genuine autographed memorabilia. Signed A4 Letter from 1992 signed in blue ballpoint pen.

John Greig, MBE (born 11 September 1942) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a defender. He spent his entire career with Rangers, as a player, manager and director. Greig was voted “The Greatest Ever Ranger” in 1999 by the club’s supporters and has been elected to Rangers’ Hall of Fame.

Youth

Greig played his youth football with United Crossroads Boys Club in Edinburgh; under the supervision of Eric Gardiner, and supported Hearts as a boy. It is unknown if Hearts showed any interest in signing him. Bob McAuley signed Greig for Rangers and despite his initial reluctance John Greig did as instructed by his father. However, after viewing a match between Rangers and Hibernian at Easter Road; where he witnessed them beating Hibs 6–1, he convinced the move was right.

Club career

A determined, forceful player, recognised for his great leadership qualities; Greig made 755 official appearances for Rangers (498 in the domestic league, 72 in the Scottish Cup, a club record 121 in the League Cup and 64 in European tournaments). He scored 120 goals for the club and won three domestic trebles. He, actually started his career with Rangers as a forward, prior to being moved back to midfield; playing initially alongside another Rangers legend in Jim Baxter—and finally to left back. It was therefore in those initial years that he scored the majority of his goals for the club.

Greig was captain when Rangers won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1972 beating Dynamo Moscow 3–2 in Barcelona. Although Greig’s an enormously successful playing career, his captaincy coincided with a period of sustained success for Rangers’ city rivals, Celtic, from the late 1960s until the mid-1970s. Greig’s fortitude during that period further cemented his reputation as one of Rangers’ most celebrated captains.

Granted a testimonial match in 1978 against a Scotland XI as part of the national squad’s preparations for the 1978 FIFA World Cup; Rangers won 5–0 before a crowd of 65,000 at Ibrox.

International career

Greig played for Scotland on 44 occasions, 15 as captain, between 1964 and 1975. He scored the late winner in Scotland’s 1–0 victory against Italy at Hampden Park on 9 November 1965 and in 1967 achieved the distinction of captaining the Scottish side who beat England 3-2—their first defeat as World Champions—at Wembley. Greig also represented the Scottish League XI 14 times.

Managerial career

Greig’s playing career ended in May 1978 and appointed manager of Rangers, replacing Jock Wallace. The club failed to win the league championship during Greig’s time as manager, finishing no higher than the second place achieved in 1978–79. Greig’s team had come close to winning a domestic treble and performed well in Europe in that first season. Rangers reached the quarter-final of the 1978–79 European Cup, defeating Italian champions Juventus and becoming the first club to win in European club competition at PSV’s Philips Stadion, before eventual elimination to Cologne.

Also the partial compensation of success in domestic cup competitions, with two Scottish Cups and two League Cups secured over the course of Greig’s five full seasons as manager. Furthermore, Greig was also responsible for signing Rangers’ greatest ever goal scorer Ally McCoist from Sunderland. However, these were isolated achievements, and Greig—under intense pressure from the Scottish media; Rangers supporters and the club’s directors—resigned in October 1983, replaced by the returning Wallace.