John Miller "Ian" McColl (7 June 1927 – 25 October 2008)[5] was a Scottish football player and manager. McColl played as a defender for Queen's Park and Rangers, while he also represented both the Scotland national team and the Scottish League. After retiring as a player, he managed the Scotland national team and English club Sunderland.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Miller McColl[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 7 June 1927[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Alexandria, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 25 October 2008 (aged 81) | ||
| Place of death | Glasgow, Scotland[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Vale of Leven | |||
| 1943–1945 | Queen's Park | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1945–1960 | Rangers | 362 | (12) |
| International career | |||
| 1950–1958 | Scotland | 14 | (0) |
| 1952–1958 | Scottish League XI | 7 | (3) |
| 1958[4] | SFL trial v SFA | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1960–1965 | Scotland | ||
| 1965–1968 | Sunderland | ||
| 1967 | → Vancouver Royal Canadians (USA) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Early life
editBorn in Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire,[2] the grandson of Scotland international William McColl, McColl developed his footballing skills with Vale of Leven (Juniors), and joined Queen's Park in 1943[6] when he moved to Glasgow to study engineering at the University of Glasgow.[7] He continued his studies after turning professional and later worked as a qualified engineer.[3]
Playing career
editRangers manager Bill Struth signed McColl in 1945.[8] During his 15-year spell at Ibrox, he won six League championships, five Scottish Cups and two League Cups.[8] He captained the club during the 1950s and was part of what was known as the Iron Curtain defence, alongside the likes of Sammy Cox, Willie Woodburn and George Young.[8]
His final appearance for Rangers was in the 1960 Scottish Cup Final, a 2–0 win against Kilmarnock. He made a total of 575 appearances for the Glasgow club in all competitions.[9] He also won 14 caps for Scotland and represented the Scottish League XI.[10]
Managerial career
editAfter his playing career, he quickly went into management. He was appointed manager of Scotland in 1960 and enjoyed a winning start, beating Northern Ireland 5–2 at Hampden Park. Under McColl's managership, Scotland won British Home Championships in 1962 and 1963.[8] The team beat England 2–0 at Hampden and 2–1 at Wembley in the process. Other notable results under his tenure include a 6–2 win against Spain in Madrid, a 6–1 win over Northern Ireland in Belfast and a 6–1 win over Norway in Glasgow. He was in charge of Scotland for a total of 27 matches, winning 16 of them.[8] This gave him a winning percentage of 59.3%, the second best of any Scotland manager.[11]
McColl was appointed manager of Sunderland in 1965. Despite signing Jim Baxter,[8] McColl was unable to make Sunderland into a successful side.[11] He was sacked by Sunderland in 1968 and spent the rest of his working life as a civil engineer.[11]
Honours
editPlayer
edit- Rangers
- Scottish league champions (7): 1946–47; 1948–49; 1949–50; 1952–53; 1955–56; 1956–57; 1958–59
- Scottish Cup winners (4): 1948–49, 1949–50, 1952–53, 1959–60
- Scottish League Cup winners: 1946–47, 1948–49
Manager
edit- Scotland
- British Home Championship winners: 1962; 1963
Career statistics
editInternational appearances
edit| Scotland national team[12] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1950 | 4 | 0 |
| 1951 | 1 | 0 |
| 1956 | 3 | 0 |
| 1957 | 5 | 0 |
| 1958 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 14 | 0 |
Managerial record
editAs of 28 March 2015[update]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Scotland | 
|
1960 | 1965 | 28 | 17 | 3 | 8 | 60.71 |
| Sunderland | 
|
1965 | 1968 | 124 | 39 | 27 | 58 | 31.45 |
References
edit- ^ Brown, Alan; Tossani, Gabriele (11 April 2019). "Scotland – International Matches 1951-1955". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ a b "On This Day: Jun 7". Rangers Football Club. Rangers.co.uk. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ^ a b Phil Gordon (1 November 2008). "Ian McColl: Rangers stalwart and successful Scotland manager". The Independent. London.
- ^ Scottish trial match at Easter Road, Glasgow Herald, 4 February 1958
- ^ Herron, Lindsay. "Gers lose a legend". Rangers Club Site. Retrieved 26 October 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ McColl, John (Ian) Miller, QPFC.com
- ^ Brian Glanville (30 October 2008). "Ian McColl: Member of Rangers' 'iron curtain' defence". The Guardian. London.
- ^ a b c d e f "Former Scotland boss McColl dies". BBC Sport. 26 October 2008.
- ^ Rangers player McColl, Ian, FitbaStats
- ^ "SFL player John Miller (Ian) McColl". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ a b c Ian McColl – Footballer and manager, The Scotsman, 27 October 2008.
- ^ Ian McColl at the Scottish Football Association
External links
edit- Ian McColl at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
- Rangers F.C. Hall of Fame[permanent dead link]
- Telegraph Obituary
- Times Obituary[dead link]