Bill Struth

Bill Struth

Bill Struth portrait (right) in the Ibrox Trophy Room
Personal information
Full name	William Angus Norman Kinnaird Struth
Date of birth	1876
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Date of death	21 September 1956(1956-09-21) (aged 81)
Place of death	Glasgow, Scotland
Managerial career
Years	Team
1920–1954	Rangers

Bill Struth (1876–1956) was the second manager of Rangers Football Club, leading the Club for 34 years between 1920 and 1954, as well as the holder of a number of other positions, including director, kit manager and masseur. Struth is one of the most successful managers in Scottish football history, winning a record 18 league championships, 10 Scottish Cup, 2 League Cups, 7 war-time championships, 19 Glasgow Cups, 17 Glasgow Merchant Charity Cups and a host of other war-time honours. Struth won 73 trophies during his career, making him the most decorated manager in British football history.

Career

Born in Edinburgh, Struth was a stonemason by trade, although he was also a freemason. He had been a trainer at Clyde and Hearts before coming to Rangers in 1914 to take up the position of assistant manager. At the age of 45, in 1920, he took over as manager after his predecessor William Wilton was killed in a boating accident off Gourock with Struth the only other person on the boat at the time. At the time it was rumoured that Struth may have had a hand in Wilton's demise but a police investigation cleared him of all responsibility.

He went on to win the league title 18 times as manager, winning 14 titles in 19 years before the Second World War. This included winning five titles in a row between 1927 and 1931. Struth's tenure as manager spanned the club's first league and cup double in 1928, when Rangers famously lifted the Scottish Cup and ended a 25 year 'hoodoo', and its first treble in 1949, Struth becoming the first Scottish manager to achieve this honour.

Struth was renowned as a disciplinarian, insisting that the team wore a collar and tie when turning up for training; bowler hats, white gloves and rolled umbrellas were obligatory for Rangers players.

Quentin Crisp was signed by Struth and this interview gives an insight into his methods.

In 1947, Struth became a Rangers director and was then appointed vice-chairman after retiring in 1954. In 1952 he had part of a leg amputated as a result of gonorrhea. He died on 21 September 1956, aged 81, at his home in Dumbreck and is buried in Craigton Cemetery, overlooking Ibrox Park. His wife Catherine Forbes and his beloved canary Bobby predeceased him.

In 2005, Rangers' chairman Sir David Murray unveiled a bronze bust of Bill Struth, located in the Main Stand at Ibrox, now known as the "Bill Struth Main Stand" in honour of his contribution to Rangers Football Club.

Famous quotes

When being presented with the portrait that now hangs in the Ibrox trophy room, Bill Struth said:

I have been lucky — lucky in those who were around me from the boardroom to the dressing-room. In time of stress, their unstinted support, unbroken devotion to our club and calmness in adversity eased the task of making Rangers FC the premier club in this country.

To be a Ranger is to sense the sacred trust of upholding all that such a name means in this shrine of football. They must be true in their conception of what the Ibrox tradition seeks from them. No true Ranger has ever failed in the tradition set him."

Our very success, gained you will agree by skill, will draw more people than ever to see it. And that will benefit many more clubs than Rangers. Let the others come after us. We welcome the chase. It is healthy for us. We will never hide from it. Never fear, inevitably we shall have our years of failure, and when they arrive, we must reveal tolerance and sanity. No matter the days of anxiety that come our way, we shall emerge stronger because of the trials to be overcome. That has been the philosophy of the Rangers since the days of the gallant pioneers.

Managerial Honours

Rangers

• Scottish League (18): 1920-21, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1946–47, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1952–53

• Scottish Cup (10): 1927-28, 1929–30, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1947–48, 1949–50, 1952–53

• Scottish League Cup (2): 1946-47, 1948–49

References

• Bob Crampsey (1990). The First 100 Years. Scottish Football League. ISBN 0-9516433-0-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)