The Moonlighter
-
Posts
1,192 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
3
Posts posted by The Moonlighter
-
-
0
-
Mr Struth tipped his hat to our Founders when he spoke about the '' philosophy of the Gallant Pioneers'' .
Here's an example.
Back in the early years of football both competing teams would put forward an individual to act as umpire, this was before referee's were established in the game.
On one such occasion before a tie at Dumbarton Tom Vallance’s Rangers team-mates asked him to step down from the role as they felt he’d be too honest.
Tom stepped down alright, he immediately resigned from the Club.
At a Club meeting a few weeks later he was given a full apology and returned .
This was not only his, but more importantly the Club’s integrity, being put to the test.
.
0 -
On the 27th May 1856 the Rangers great that was Tom Vallance was born.
His Rangers team-mates from the 1870’s said “The whole of Rangers loved him like a brother”
Over the years of our research into the formation of our Club one name kept popping up time and again and that’s the name of Tom Vallance who has on reflection been sadly overlooked.
Tom was born at a small farmhouse known as Succoth near Renton in the Parish of Cardross in 1856.
When young he moved with his family to the Old Toll House at Shandon on the Gareloch.
He came to Glasgow in the early 1870’s following the path taken by his friends from the Gareloch ,the brothers McNeil and Campbell .
Tom Vallance had an astonishing 60 year association with the Club, and his is an incredible CV.
He was a master oarsman, a champion athlete (he set a Scottish long jump record of over 21 feet), he studied at the Glasgow School of Art, had paintings accepted by the Royal Scottish Academy and was Rangers Club Captain and President for many years.
We have recorded details of Tom Vallance being present at the ceremony held on 1st January 1929 which saw the opening of the Main Stand at Ibrox and also at a dinner which was held in the St.Enoch’s Hotel after a Rangers match in 1933 when we faced Sporting Club of Vienna.
So, the lad who was present at Fleshers Haugh in 1872 was still attending Ibrox some 60 years later where the Club that he’d helped form and nurture were now playing in front of crowds in excess of 100,000.
Tom was a very successful business man. He had The Club restaurant at 22 Paisley Road West which today is the Viceroy Bar, The Metropolitan which stood on Hutchison Street in the Merchant City area of Glasgow and the Lansdowne which was at 183 Hope Street.
Tom would actually have the Rangers results wired to his restaurants for the benefit of his patrons as early as 1890.
When Rangers moved to First Ibrox in 1887 it was said that it was common for Club President Vallance to be working the turnstiles on matchday.
At the opening of the Main Stand in 1929 Tom Vallance recalled the facilities being so cramped at the Rangers ground at Kinning Park that the players would have to wash in basins of cold water in the open air.
It was the teenage Tom Vallance who helped lay the very foundations upon which our Club was built, hard-work, discipline, honesty, integrity and fair play.
Mr. Struth said during that famous speech “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”
Tom was paid the ultimate accolade by the Club in May 1898 when he was made a life member.
As a lasting tribute to the incredible contribution he made to our Club we had Tom put on to canvas by way of a painting by artist Helen Runciman.
Tom Vallance has now taken his rightful place at the top of the Marble Staircase alongside his friends and fellow Founders.
Tom died on 16th February 1935 aged 78 at 189 Pitt Street Glasgow.
He is buried in Hillfoot Cemetery in Bearsden and his funeral was attended by Mr. Struth, Chairman James Bowie and his old team-mate James McIntyre who both took a cord. Incredibly, players from the Vale of Leven team whom Tom had faced 60 years earlier in 1877 were also in attendance.
That will give you an indication as to how highly regarded Tom Vallance was.
Today we celebrate the life of Tom Vallance.
0 -
Thanks to those who've contacted us.
If you'd like to join us on the day even just for the Tour of the cemetery and get together then please send an email to thegallantpioneers@googlemail.com or call 0790 2855536
0 -
During our work on the Rangers Graves Restoration Project we managed to locate the final resting place of Rangers player Sam Ricketts.
Sam was a much respected individual who became an administrator and then Honorary Secretary of the Club in January 1887. He was a huge influence during the growth of the Club and a steadying hand during the turbulent 1880’s.
He's pictured here with his Rangers team-mates in 1877.
The gravestone on Sam's plot is lying inscription side down with the head and base of the another stone on top of it.
We have to establish if the stone on Sam's grave is in fact his and then take advice on whether it can be re-erected and cleaned if not then a new stone will be purchased.
We've been given permission by GCC to carry out the foundation work on Sam's and another three plots at Craigton.
Today we're putting out an appeal for volunteers to help clear and turn Sam's stone.
Details are as follows.
Saturday 4th June at 12pm at the Paisley Road West entrance to Craigton Cemetery.
After the work is complete we'll conduct a Tour of the Rangers Graves in the cemetery ,this will give everyone an insight into the work already carried out and what lies in front of us.
We'll then ,as tradition dictates, retire to The District Bar for a refreshment.
If you'd like to join us then please send an email to thegallantpioneers@googlemail.com or call 0790 2855536
0 -
“Thus ended their first match played at the latter end of May 1872 some two months after the inauguration of the club”.
The words of Rangers player William Dunlop from his article The Rangers FC which he wrote so eloquently for the SFA Annual in 1881 using the pen name ‘True Blue’.
http://www.thegallantpioneers.co.uk/The-Rangers-F.C.-by-True-Blue.html
Rangers Football Club played our first ever match 144 years ago this week.
Our Club was formed on a spare bit of ground at Fleshers Haugh by a few kids who’d come to Glasgow seeking employment.
Their Club ,which was formed for no other reason than the love of football and the pursuit of sporting excellence, would go on to become the world’s most successful.
That first ever match was against Callander and ended 0-0, Willie continued,
“Their first game was a terrible spectacle with the ball suffering an incredible amount of abuse” William McBeath was given man of the match and then spent a week in bed recovering due to his exertions’’
Founder William McBeath was from Callander and we believe it would have been Willie who approached ex-pats from the town who had settled in Glasgow and that probably helped organize the opposition for our first match.
Willie’s Rangers team-mate Sam Ricketts wrote in 1884 about the boys playing in their civvies during their first few games and journalist John Allan wrote about them having to change behind a bush as there were no facilities.
William Dunlop described how genial Peter McNeil would travel on a Saturday morning to a desirable part of the Glasgow Green, set up the noted standards and stand guard until the classic hour came when he would be joined by his friends. We felt this was a very dramatic and moving image and commissioned a painting to be done depicting this scene.
We presented the painting by artist Helen Runciman to David Weir in 2009 and it now hangs on the marble staircase at Ibrox.
The Rangers would remain at Fleshers Haugh for three years .
They then began their journey around Glasgow to Burnbank and Kinning Park before finally settling in the Ibrox area in 1887.
0 -
We're delighted to announce this morning that all Founders Trail and Ibrox Stadium Tours are now completely Sold Out !
We do have a waiting list which you can add your name to for the Tours on :
Saturday 11th June
Saturday 25th June
Sunday 10th July
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported the project over the last 7 years and for providing the stage that allows us to tell our unique story.
The Rangers are like no other.
We will be running tours from August to November and these dates will be confirmed once the fixtures for next season are released.
Please keep an eye on our website http://www.the gallantpioneers.co.uk for notification of our future tours.
We recommend that you book early as they sell out very quickly.
To reserve your seat please send an email to thegallantpioneers@googlemail.com
0 -
The Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup.
Rangers are the most successful football club in the world.
We’ve *won the league title 54 times, the Scottish Cup 33 times and the Scottish League Cup 27 times, and have achieved the incredible feat of winning the treble of all three in the same season seven times.
*
We were the first British club to reach a UEFA tournament final and won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1972 after being runner-up twice in 1961 and 1967. A third runners-up finish in Europe came in the UEFA Cup in 2008.
As we approach another Cup Final appearance *let’s pause and reflect on a remarkable bit of history.
it was 137 years ago today on the 20th May 1879 that the Rangers won their first Trophy, the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup after defeating old foes Vale of Leven 2-1 at First Hampden Park.
Many Rangers supporters on their way to Hampden for tomorrow’s Scottish Cup Final will unknowingly walk the touchline of the scene of that landmark victory as First Hampden was situated where today’s Hampden Bowling *Club is *at the junction of Queen's Drive and Cathcart Road directly across from Cathkin Park .
We have here on our website a report on the 1879 Cup Final and a profile on each of the victorious Rangers players.
http://www.thegallantpioneers.co.uk/The-Rangers-First-Trophy.html
0 -
-
Still time to win a brick at Ibrox and support our youth players.
For your chance to win all you need to do is ‘LIKE’ our Facebook page and ‘SHARE’ this post.
A winner will be chosen at random at 8pm tonight (Tuesday).
0 -
Just a reminder that the last posting day for Cup Final scarves will be tomorrow Wednesday 18th May.
To order just send us an email to thegallantpioneers@googlemail.com
0 -
Our Club was formed by four young boys.
As the song goes, they had no money, no kit, not even a ball.
Today our youth players are lucky enough to get to hone their skills in the world class surroundings of Auchenhowie. But they still need our help.
The best way to support our future star players is to purchase Rangers Lotto Tickets, Stadium Bricks, Rising Stars Tickets and Scratchcards. Details of which can be found here http://www.rangerslotto.co.uk/
We at the Founders Trail are proud to support the Rangers Youth Development Company and we’re giving you the chance to win your very own personalised Ibrox Stadium Brick.
For your chance to win all you need to do is ‘LIKE’ our Facebook page and ‘SHARE’ this post.
A winner will be chosen at random at 8pm tonight (Tuesday).
0 -
Thanks again to those who have purchased scarves today.
Still time to get yours for the big day.
0 -
If you would like your scarf delivered in time for the Cup Final then please note that the last posting day will be this Wednesday 18th May.
To order just send us an email to thegallantpioneers@googlemail.com
0 -
We'd once again like to thank everyone who took the Founders Trail with us yesterday , it was another cracking day out.
We have 4 seats left for our Tour on Saturday 25th June and 2 seats on Sunday 10th July.
Just send an email to thegallantpioneers@googlemail.com
Team photo at Fleshers Haugh.
0 -
It's a beautiful morning in Glasgow for today's Founders Trail.
0 -
Would all who are booked on tomorrow's Tour please note that there will be a Founders Trail welcome desk available within Bar 72 East at Ibrox Stadium from 11.15am prior to our 12pm departure from outside of the Ibrox Megastore
Access to Bar 72 is via the main entrance to Argyle House .A staff member will be in the area to give directions .
This will give us an opportunity to greet you and check you from our loading chart and to distribute our travel packs.
Parking is available throughout the day around Ibrox Stadium.
If you have any questions before the tour please don't hesitate in contacting us on 0790 2855536.
0 -
I already have the t shirt,badge and book. will purchase a couple of scarves on Sunday on the tour.
Keep up the good work guys:rfc:
It'll be good to meet you and thanks.
0 -
If you'd like to purchase any items please send an email to thegallantpioneers@googlemail.com and we'll post it out.
Items can also be purchased on the Founders Trail or at our Presentation events.
0 -
Thanks to all who purchased scarves today, they'll be posted out tomorrow.
We still have plenty left in stock, just send an email to thegallantpioneers@googlemail.com and we'll post your scarf out.
0 -
Can you pay by PayPal?
Yes indeed,it's paypal that we use.
0 -
Two seats have just become available for this Sunday's Founders Trail and Ibrox Stadium Tour.
Just send an email to thegallantpioneers@googlemail.com and we'll get you booked on.
0 -
We're pleased to announce that we now have a new supply of scarves in stock.
They are £12.00 (+ £2.86 P&P) and can be purchased by emailing us at thegallantpioneers@googlemail.com or on the Founders Trail.
0 -
We'll be delighted this Sunday to welcome on board to the Founders Trail the guys from Rangers TV ..........that should now ensure a stampede to the barbers and hairdressers !
They'll be filming at all of our locations.
This is part of a much wider project that we'll be working with the Rangers media team on over the coming weeks and months.
0
160 Years Ago Today.
in Rangers Chat
Posted
This was penned today by a fellow Bear and sent to us.
Tom Vallance
A star shone over Succoth , in the Parish of Cardross
The moon lit up the Glasgow Green just down from Bridgeton Cross
In a farmhouse a child was born whose destiny was fame
A Messiah of the Rangers, Tom Vallance was his name
From the Old Toll house in Shandon to Glasgow town he came
To a city that will never ever see his likes again
For 60 years he served the club he helped to form
The club he named The Rangers whose shirt he proudly did adorn
A life member of the Club he loved since 1898
So steeped in blue Tom Vallance was a legend and a great
Loved by all who knew him, respected by his peers
That love has never faded over all those years
Tom I just want to thank you for all that you have done
You gave so much , you gave your all , I view you as a son
A son , a friend, a father, a man unlike no other
Tom the Family of the Rangers all love you like a brother
Your atop the Marble stairway, it’s just where you belong
Your in our hearts your in our souls, the love is oh so strong
The love for our first Captain , the love for one so true
Tom Vallance of The Rangers we owe so much to you
I wished that I had met you, to have warmly shook your hand
To have applauded as you opened up our dear main stand
But I rejoice that one great day my wish will come to pass
When we will meet upon the Master’s hallowed grass
So rest in peace my Brother , we are back where we belong
The club is free from tyrants, the club is now so strong
We will honour your tradition, the morals you embraced
The Integrity and Valour which defined the life you graced
ItsInTheNet