Scot Symon
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Scotland Symon | ||
| Date of birth | 9 May 1911 | ||
| Place of birth | Errol, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 30 April 1985 (aged 73) | ||
| Position(s) | Wing half | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1930–1935 | Dundee | 150 | (2) |
| 1935-1938 | Portsmouth | 66 | (6) |
| 1938-1947 | Rangers | 32 | (3) |
| International career | |||
| 1938 | Scotland | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1947–1953 | East Fife | ||
| 1953–1954 | Preston North End | ||
| 1954–1967 | Rangers | ||
| 1968–1970 | Partick Thistle | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
James Scotland Symon (9 May 1911 - 30 April 1985) was a Scottish football player and manager. He also played cricket for Scotland in an age when it was possible to play and excel in several sports.
Career
Symon started his professional career at Dundee in 1930. He then had a three year spell at English team Portsmouth before signing for boyhood heroes Rangers in 1938. He only played 37 Scottish League games for Rangers but helped the club win the league title in 1939. Symon played cricket for Scotland in 1938, taking five Australian wickets for just 33 runs.[1] He also won a Scotland cap in 1938 against Hungary.[1]
After retiring from Rangers in 1947, he landed his first managerial job at East Fife where he guided them to one of their best ever seasons in 1949 winning the Scottish League Cup and reaching the Scottish Cup Final. He took charge of Preston NE in 1953 where he took them to the FA Cup Final. He returned to Rangers just one year later where he would steer them to six League championships, five Scottish Cups, and four League Cups. He also took Rangers into European football for the first time, guiding them to two Cup Winners Cup finals in 1961 and 1967.
When Symon was sensationally sacked by Rangers in 1967, he was told of the decision by an accountant, 'the board having neither the courtesy nor the courage to sack him in person – even though Rangers were then leading the domestic league table'.[2]
The Scots poet Tom Leonard wrote a poem ‘Simple Symon’ about the matter, one of ‘Six Glasgow Poems’:
see if ah wiz Scot Symon
ahd tell thim wherrty stuff thir team . . .
Reportedly Symon rejected an offer to move to a general manager's position.[citation needed] After briefly serving on Dumbarton's board of directors he was appointed manager of Partick Thistle in September 1968. Two years later he assumed the role of Thistle's general manager.
Honours
Player
- Rangers
- Scottish League (1): 1938-39
Manager
- East Fife
- Scottish League Cup (1): 1946-47
- Rangers
- Scottish League (6): 1955-56, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64
- Scottish Cup (4): 1959-60, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1965–66
- Scottish League Cup (4): 1960-61, 1961–62, 1963–64, 1964-65
References
- ^ a b Mitchell, Andy (23 June 2012). "Cricket and football double internationals". Scottish Sport History. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
- ^ Independent (London), 17 August 2013
External links
- 1911 births
- 1985 deaths
- Dundee F.C. players
- East Fife F.C. managers
- Association football wing halves
- Partick Thistle F.C. managers
- Sportspeople from Perth and Kinross
- Portsmouth F.C. players
- Preston North End F.C. managers
- Rangers F.C. managers
- Rangers F.C. players
- Scottish footballers
- Scottish Football League players
- Scottish football managers
- Scotland international footballers
- The Football League players
- Scottish Football League managers
- Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees
- Scottish cricketers
- Scotland cricketers