Derek Grierson
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Derek Dunlop Grierson | ||
| Date of birth | 5 October 1931 | ||
| Place of birth | Prestonpans,[1] Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 7 September 2011 (aged 79) | ||
| Place of death | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Largs Thistle | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1948–1952 | Queen's Park | 83 | (51) |
| 1952–1956 | Rangers | 69 | (42) |
| 1956–1959 | Falkirk | 74 | (23) |
| 1959–1960 | Arbroath | 27 | (8) |
| 1960–1961 | Stirling Albion | 3 | (1) |
| 1960–1961 | Forfar Athletic | 16 | (4) |
| 1961–1962 | Coleraine | ||
| 1961–1962 | Cowdenbeath | 4 | (0) |
| Total | 276 | (129) | |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Derek Dunlop Grierson (5 October 1931 – 7 September 2011)[2] was a Scottish football player best known for his time with Rangers and Falkirk.
Career
Club
Grierson started out at Queen's Park before then manager Bill Struth brought him to Rangers in 1952. He made his competitive debut in a 5–0 defeat to Hearts on 9 August. He scored his first and second goals for the club a week later in a League Cup match against Aberdeen.
Those goals were to be some of many. In his four seasons at Ibrox he netted 59 times in total. He was Rangers top scorer in his first season after scoring 31 goals. He won the Scottish league championship and Scottish Cup that season. Grierson also won a Glasgow Cup in 1953. He is noted as scoring the first ever live goal on Scottish television.
He left Rangers in 1956 and joined Falkirk where he won the Scottish Cup in 1957. He scored 23 league goals for the Bairns but left them in 1960 to join Arbroath. He retired to Newton Mearns, in East Renfrewshire. Derek died on 7 September 2011, aged 79.[3]
At the Falkirk v Rangers Scottish League Cup third round match, played on 21 September 2011, Grierson was remembered during a minutes silence at the beginning of the match, in memory of his contribution to both clubs during the 1950s
International
He also played at Wembley for Scotland Amateurs and scored in a 2–1 win to clinch the British Championship. He won seven amateur caps. As an amateur, he was selected for trials for the Great Britain side that was to take part in the Helsinki Olympic Games of 1952. Manager Walter Winterbottom was duly impressed and Grierson made the squad - one of three Scots selected.
References
- ↑ "Death of double winner Grierson". Evening Times. Herald & Times Group. 13 September 2011.
- ↑ "Obituaries: Derek Dunlop Grierson". Herald. 13 September 2011.
- ↑ "Obituary: Derek Grierson, footballer". Scotsman. 13 September 2011.
External links
- Derek Grierson career at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
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