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.

Ian McColl
Personal information
Full name John Miller McColl[1]
Date of birth (1927-06-07)7 June 1927[2]
Place of birth Alexandria, Scotland
Date of death 25 October 2008(2008-10-25) (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
1967Vancouver Royal Canadians (USA)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life

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Born 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

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Rangers 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

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After 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

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Player

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Rangers

Manager

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Scotland

Career statistics

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International appearances

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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

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As of 28 March 2015

Team Nat From To Record
G W D L Win %
Scotland   1960 1965 28 17 3 8 060.71
Sunderland   1965 1968 124 39 27 58 031.45

References

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  1. ^ Brown, Alan; Tossani, Gabriele (11 April 2019). "Scotland – International Matches 1951-1955". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  2. ^ a b "On This Day: Jun 7". Rangers Football Club. Rangers.co.uk. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b Phil Gordon (1 November 2008). "Ian McColl: Rangers stalwart and successful Scotland manager". The Independent. London.
  4. ^ Scottish trial match at Easter Road, Glasgow Herald, 4 February 1958
  5. ^ Herron, Lindsay. "Gers lose a legend". Rangers Club Site. Retrieved 26 October 2008.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ McColl, John (Ian) Miller, QPFC.com
  7. ^ Brian Glanville (30 October 2008). "Ian McColl: Member of Rangers' 'iron curtain' defence". The Guardian. London.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Former Scotland boss McColl dies". BBC Sport. 26 October 2008.
  9. ^ Rangers player McColl, Ian, FitbaStats
  10. ^ "SFL player John Miller (Ian) McColl". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  11. ^ a b c Ian McColl – Footballer and manager, The Scotsman, 27 October 2008.
  12. ^ Ian McColl at the Scottish Football Association
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