r
CONGRATULATIONS!
FROM THE LORD PROVOST
k
from Europe boss
a lifelong
Rangers fan
Rangers have received messages of congratulations on their Centenary from all over the world. Some
of them are reprinted herebut none of them is more remarkable than the tribute to Rangers by Mr Sandor
Bares, the Hungarian Member of Parliament who is acting President of the European Union of Football
Associations (U.E.F.A.).
For in his message, the European chief reveals that he has been a life-long Rangers admirer and proves
it by reciting the team that beat Celtic in the 1928 Scottish Cup Final 4-0 at Hampden, thus ending the
25 year 'hoodoo'. Here is Mr Bares' letter:
I AM A RANGERS FAN.
Children in this country generally collect
stamps. Some have taken up match-box labels
for a change. And, to their parents' dismay, some
children have even set up 'to collect' stray dogs
for their 'private kennels'.
I, for one, have been a collector of soccer clubs
all my life. A popular Hungarian motto of
encouragement for would-be collectors says:
'Choose a star, and thence forward call it your
own.'
Well, I have chosen oneand, in the mid-
twenties when I did so, it presented no dilemma
which 'star' to choose. Soccer, although no
longer in its infancy, did not represent in those
days very high standards in East Europe. I then
found three soccer strongholds in the world
South America, Britain and Central Europe. Here
I had my own club. The M.T.K. Then I chose
Chelsea as my English, Rangers as my Scottish
club.
I do believe that Rangers would have been hard
put to it to find a more enthusiastic fan in
foreign parts than myself. Here is a proof I can
offerthe team which was my first 'love affair'
had this line-up: T. Hamilton; Gray, Bobby
Hamilton; Buchanan, Meiklejohn, Craig; Archi
bald, Cunningham, Fleming, McPhail, Morton. I
never seen them playing either.
That eleven, I still remember, beat Celtic in the
Scottish Cup final 4-0and beat a 'hoodoo', too,
by winning the Cup beside the divisional
championship.
In later years, I was privileged to root for
Rangers in person. I have known their players
personally, too. They may take offence at hearing
this, but I can't stop myself from saying out loud
that Jim Baxter, 'the terrible boy', has been my
favourite among them. I enjoyed thoroughly
seeing him play.
Good GodThe team is celebrating its
Centenary! And I myself have been a Rangers
fan for almost 50 years at a stretch. Whatever
can I wish for Rangers on this great occasion?
I wish for them the best that I can wish for myself.
I do feel that it's the most anyone can wish.
Sandor Bares
Acting President of U.E.F.A.
Budapest.
I send my congratulations and best wishes to The Rangers Football Club on attaining its centenary. During
these 100 years the Club has built a reputation as one of the premier football clubs in the world and has brought
honour and distinction not only to itself but to the city in which it was nurtured.
These are challenging times in the football world and I am confident that the Rangers Football Club will
always be, in the words of its motto, 'Aye Ready' to meet the challenges.
The Club has demonstrated in a practical way its concern in providing a higher standard of accommodation
for spectators and I would like to congratulate the management on the foresight they have shown in the recent
opening of the new Centenary Stand.
The Rangers Football Club has a proud history. I look forward to it having an even prouder future.
Rt. Hon. The Lord Provost
(William S. Gray, Esq., J.P., B.L.)
22
