Hall of Fame honour for English

Sam English – whose 44 goals in a single season in 1931/32 remains unbeaten almost eight decades later – was posthumously inducted into the Glasgow Rangers’ Hall of Fame on Sunday evening.

He quit football at age 28, perhaps partly because of an on-pitch collision with a Celtic goalkeeper who then died. English was exonerated of blame, but friends say his career never recovered.

The new award for the man, who passed away in 1967, was jointly collected on his behalf by two of his grandchildren in front of other proud family members and around 700 guests.

Among those in attendance at the glitzy event at Glasgow’s Hilton Hotel were former Ibrox greats, club officials, the current squad and club manager, Walter Smith.

English – who was born in 1908 – joins 80 other players whose names are displayed prominently on a wall in the Marble Hall, inside the famous Ibrox Stadium.

Ulster-born Billy Simpson is already registered as one of the greatest players who played for the Scottish club.

English’s inclusion follows a long campaign by his family for his achievements to be publicly recognised.

Speaking ahead of the biennial dinner, Glasgow-based Douglas Cree hailed his “remarkable” grandfather.

The 49-year-old collected a statuette of a Rangers jersey on a plinth alongside his cousin, Elaine Gailey, on their relative’s behalf.

“We are all very proud of him. The fact his goalscoring record is still held to this day is a remarkable achievement,” he said.

“Hopefully when we go up to collect the award, I’ll have an opportunity to say that.”

Another grandchild, Dawn McKellar, who helped unveil a commemorative plaque at her grandfather’s former Crevolea home last year, revealed the family were “absolutely delighted” that the former striker is now in the Rangers Hall of Fame.

“We are all delighted that he has been recognised for what he achieved as a footballer on the pitch,” she said.

Despite scoring a remarkable 54 goals in only 60 appearances for the club, English’s footballing career was somewhat overshadowed by an accidental collision with Celtic goalkeeper John Thomson in 1931.

Thomson suffered serious injuries to his skull and died within hours.

Although being cleared of any blame by an official inquiry and scoring goals for other clubs including Liverpool and Hartlepool, English retired at only 28 after bearing the brunt of taunts by opposing fans around the country.

Head of the Hall of Fame committee at Rangers, Sandy Jardine, believes English “suffered” following the Thomson incident.

“Sam is the record goalscorer for the club even though he only played for Rangers for a relatively short period. When you think of all the great strikers the club has had – his record is fantastic,” he said.

“Everybody remembers Sam English because he was involved in the accident with Thomson, the Celtic goalie. He suffered because of that.

“Having spoken to some of the older players, his career was never really the same after that.”

He added: “If it had never happened I think he would have had a far longer and a far more successful Rangers career than what he actually did.”

To mark the 100th anniversary of the footballer’s birth, the ‘Sam English bowl’ was commissioned which would be presented to Rangers’ leading goalscorer at the end of every season.

The bowl – a piece of solid silver containing 44 balls marking every goal English scored in that historic season – was presented for the first time to current Rangers striker Kris Boyd last year.