Bobby Shearer - lets do what we do best!

[Frankie 8,552]

Bears/ Bearettes,

 

As you all know, on 6th November last year we lost Bobby Shearer, a man who epitomised what it means to be a Rangers. At the end of this thread is an article by ABB which says so much more about the man.

 

Some of you may also recall the various threads on here regarding the minutes applause debacle and the fact that a Club employee was 'economical with the truth' (some may have noticed I've joined the Diplomatic Corps). You may also remember that his family, who had booked hospitality for a European game to celebrate Bobby's birthday, were firstly asked if they still wanted the booking and when they went along, were charged in excess of �£400.

 

In an attempt to somehow make up for this, the RST invited his family along as guests to our annual dinner and presented Mrs Shearer with a bouquet of flowers. We received a lovely thank you note from the family. However, some posters on other forums wanted to take it a bit further. After several PMs and e-mails we came up with the idea of commissioning a portrait of the great man to present to the family. This will cost about �£600 and I have set up a tiny url address where people can donate to this. So it's over to you guys and guys. Please contribute to this worthy cause. When you go onto the site simply delete the e-mail address and put in your own details.

 

 

http://tinyurl.com/2ptatj

 

Thanks in anticipation, let's show we truly are the people who look after our own.

[Frankie 8,552]

ââ?¬Å?ââ?¬Â¦We will fight until the day is done. Thereââ?¬â?¢s not a team like the Glasgow Rangers; no, not one; no, not one.ââ?¬Â So goes the Rangers anthem and our sons who epitomised the first part of that particular section have always been favourites of the crowds in whatever generation. One player who was a favourite in his time and who more than epitomised what those lyrics meant was Captain Cutlass aka Bobby Shearer, a man who, it is fair to say, was born a Ranger and remained as staunch a one as it is possible to be right up until his final breath. It is a mark of the affection the Rangers fans from the 1950s and 60s felt for Bobby Shearer that his name is almost guaranteed to crop up when discussions of great Rangers are in full flow. What follows, though, is not a statistical review of Mr Shearerââ?¬â?¢s time at Ibrox but rather a tribute by a modern day Rangers fan who will go to his grave happy in the knowledge he was once in the presence of a genuine Rangers legend.

 

Bobby Shearer fulfilled his footballing ambition and signed for Rangers from his home-town club, Hamilton Academical in December 1955 for Ã?£2,000. Rather than walk straight into the first team, he played in the reserves for his early weeks at Ibrox. His first team, debut, however, was only delayed by a matter of weeks and took place at Ibrox on January 23rd 1956 against the touring Agentinians, San Lorenzo as he replaced the injured Eric Caldow in the Rangers team. Press reports of Bobbyââ?¬â?¢s debut were generally complimentary, one of them describing him as a ââ?¬Ë?venturesomeââ?¬â?¢ player, given how close he at one point came to scoring in the opening game of his Rangers career. Rangers won that Monday night encounter against their skilful opponents by a 4-3 margin, meaning Bobby began his Rangers career a winner, a title heââ?¬â?¢d be associated with in every footballing sense.

 

His competitive career for his beloved Rangers began the following Saturday at Airdrie, a game Rangers romped to a 4-0 win in, with the young Shearer, according to contemporary reports in the Evening Times, having a sound debut, making a goal-line clearance just before half time. That game was also notable in another sense in that Johnny Hubbard, after 23 successes in a row, missed a penalty kick. From then on, as Rangers progressed to ending the season as Champions, Bobby Shearer became a fixture in the team, playing in every one of Rangers� remaining fixtures except the very last one, a 4-1 defeat to Valencia on a tour of Spain.

 

The next season, 56/57, witnessed Shearer firmly establish himself in the team, playing in all 34 of Rangersââ?¬â?¢ league games as Scot Symonââ?¬â?¢s team secured another Championship. Such consistency would be one of the reasons he was so fondly remembered in later years; he was a truly dependable player, trusted by fan and team-mate alike to never shirk his duty, to always be relied upon to do his duty. The next two seasons saw one aberration that will be swiftly moved on from followed by another League title in 58/59 in which Shearer again played in all of Rangersââ?¬â?¢ league games, developing a quite superb full back partnership with Eric Caldow, himself a beacon of consistency. Shearer was earning a fully deserved reputation as a fearsome tackler, likened in one history of the Club to the legendary Jock ââ?¬Ë?Tigerââ?¬â?¢ Shaw in his determination never to be beaten, in his strength, in his sense of duty. Itââ?¬â?¢s probably fair to say that he was never the most flamboyant of players; but every team needs its battlers and Bobby Shearer fulfilled that part of the teamââ?¬â?¢s requirements to the highest of standards.

 

Season 59/60, from both a personal point of view and that of the team was not a successful one. Rangers finished 3rd in the league behind the remarkable Hearts team of the period who finished as Champions, and the talented Kilmarnock side of the time. Injury forced Shearer out of a number of Rangers� league fixtures and he was also absent as Rangers won the Scottish Cup with a 2-0 win over Kilmarnock in the final. However, season 1960/61 saw to it that Bobby Shearer would be immortalised forever in song due to one of Rangers� greatest ever triumphs.

 

Domestically, Rangers finished as Champions ââ?¬â?? including one game in which Bobby Shearer took over in goals, a 3-1 win at Tynecastle - and added the League Cup to the clubââ?¬â?¢s record of honour as well as defeating Celtic 5-1 at Parkhead earlier on in the season but in the spring of 1961, Rangers and Bobby Shearer took part in two games that will be revered as long as there is a Rangers Football Club. Rangers had secured a semi-final place in the Cup-Winnersââ?¬â?¢ Cup and found themselves paired with Wolves of England in a tie that promised a colossal tussle.

 

Rangers were listed as favourites for the tie prior to the first leg at Ibrox, although several different journalists stated Rangers would need at least a two-goal advantage to take south with them on the return leg. On March 29th 1961 a crowd touching 80,000 created a phenomenal atmosphere that would help inspire the team to do exactly that.

 

An outstanding Alex Scott goal from 20 yards on 33 minutes gave Rangers an advantage, an advantage Shearer helped maintain with a goal-line clearance just before half-time, ensuring Rangers would be ahead at the commencement of the second half. Indeed, such was his determination that night the Evening Times referred to his performance as being in ââ?¬Å?They shalt not passââ?¬Â mode, given his success in blunting the attacks of the Englishmen. The pattern continued in the second half with the Rangers defence performing heroics in keeping the visitors out; and 6 minutes from time Ralph Brand capitalised on defensive slackness at the other end to give Rangers the two goal lead many pundits asserted they needed.

 

The return leg at Molineux on April 19th came 4 days after Scotland�s calamitous 9-3 reversal at Wembley; but has since become an event every Rangers supporter is familiar with thanks to the reintroduction of a classic song detailing the day Rangers went to Wolverhampton town. Upwards of 10,000 Rangers fans made the long journey, taking 7 or 8 hours on buses from Glasgow and elsewhere in those historic days. Those that made the trip created their own bit of history by leaving an impression in Wolverhampton that had the locals stunned at the passion and ferocity with which the Scots supported their team, two elements displayed by the eleven men on the park and none more so than the right back.

 

Bobby Shearer was part of the Rangers defence that showed ââ?¬Ë?magnificent courageââ?¬â?¢ in the snow in the English West Midlands as they withstood wave after wave of attack from their Saxon hosts, to use an archaic term. Indeed, Bobby Shearer was described as being one of Rangersââ?¬â?¢ outstanding performers on a truly legendary night. It was also a night in which Billy Ritchie pulled off what may have been the save of his career, tipping a 30 yard piledriver round the post. Alex Scott wrote his name into history with the goal just before the interval that gave Rangers a three goal advantage and although Wolves got one back midway through the second period, it was a night every Ranger on the park became a hero and rightly paid tribute to in modern times by a grateful generation too young to have seen the event but able to appreciate its magnitude. Sadly Rangers were unable to take the trophy outright, falling over two legs to Fiorentina; but the two games against Wolves are part of Ibrox folklore and Bobby Shearer played more than his part to make them so.

 

Shearer, in 61/62, played in every single game Rangers took part in, a remarkable statistic. At the season�s end he had a League Cup and Scottish Cup medal to show for it; however, in August of 1962 he was appointed Rangers Captain, a position he would do complete honour to. 1962/63 and 63/64 were something of a golden era for the contemporary Rangers support with many claiming the teams to have been the best Rangers have ever had. While such debates are for another day, there is no doubting outstanding quality that was on offer at Ibrox. With a natural Captain leading them, they swept all before them in a domestic sense taking 5 out of a possible 6 domestic trophies and inflicting severe damage upon Celtic on their way. The Scottish Cup of 63/64, however, would be the last medal of Bobby Shearer�s Rangers career and he was given a free transfer at the end of the following season having performed for almost 9 years for his beloved Rangers.

 

The preceding text is intended as a tribute to a true Rangers great and is not meant to be a statistical reflection on his career. Rather it was intended to be a look at what Bobby Shearer meant to Rangers and what Rangers meant to Bobby Shearer. Perhaps it is fitting to leave a final tribute to a Rangers fan who saw him play, Willie Allison: ââ?¬Å?It did not need any blazing fireworks or swagger to make it clear that within the rusty-haired Hamilton man burned the unconquerable spirit of a Ranger.ââ?¬Â There are few who would disagree with that assertion. Rangers have had more skilful players than Bobby Shearer; indeed they have had more skilful right backs. What is also beyond dispute, though, is that few wore their heart on their sleeve as much as Bobby Shearer and with that in mind it is appropriate to leave the final words to a man who deeply loved his Club and was a supporter literally up until his dying day in November 2006: ââ?¬Å?ââ?¬Â¦I have had the luck to wear the colours respected throughout the world and for which any man, if he be a true Ranger, would give his all.ââ?¬Â

 

AYRSHIRE BILLY BOY

[fraser54 0]

read the first post and i think it was shocking charging the family after his seath .

 

It is a great idea though to get this potrait made, once i get my job and get a paypal etc started up i will happily donate to this.

 

Second post a will read in the afternoon when i have got some time

[Frankie 8,552]

What I will say is that I hope no-one feels pressured to donate anything to the project. Not everyone can afford to take part and that's perfectly fine - your backing and appreciation of the player and his family is more than enough!

 

But if you can spare a couple of quid we'll reach the £600 total all the quicker.

 

Thanks again for your support. I know first hand just how appreciative Bobby's family are.

[craig 5,199]

Donation sent.

 

Frankie, in the "Item" line what do we put ? I just put "Bobby shearer portrait" - hope that is ok

[calscot 0]

Argh, I didn't put anything in the item line...

[Frankie 8,552]

Don't worry, Christine will know what it's for...