Moses McNeil
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Moses McNeil (b. October 29, 1855, Garelochside, Dunbartonshire, Scotland - d. April 9, 1938, Dumbarton, Scotland) was a Scottish professional footballer who was one of the founding members of Rangers Football Club. He played as a winger.
McNeil, along with fellow founding members Peter McNeil (a brother) and friends William McBeath, Peter Campbell and Tom Vallance, adopted the name Rangers, reportedly from an English rugby annual. Rangers played their first ever match against Callender F.C. at Glasgow Green's Flesher's Haugh in May 1872, which resulted in a 0-0 draw. Rangers played one more match in 1872, an 11-0 win against Clyde - not the present Clyde F.C..
In 1874 Rangers played their first ever Scottish Cup match, and McNeil scored in a 2-0 win over Oxford, but Rangers lost to Dumbarton in the second round. Rangers reached their first Scottish Cup final in 1877 but lost to Vale of Leven after two replays.
McNeil's Rangers reached the Scottish Cup final again in 1878 but, after Rangers refused to play in the replay following a 1-1 draw at Hampden, the trophy was awarded to Vale of Leven. Rangers won their first trophy in 1879, the "Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup" after beating Vale of Leven 2-1 in front of 11,000 spectators at Hampden.
McNeil won two caps for Scotland, the first on March 25, 1876 in a 4-0 win over Wales and the second on 13 March 1880 in a 5-4 win over England, in which he played alongside his brother, Henry. Henry McNeil won a total of 10 caps for his country and scored 5 goals.
Moses McNeil's last recorded appearance for Rangers was on September 30, 1882 in a Scottish Cup replay defeat to Queen's Park at Hampden. After playing football, McNeil focused on his occupation as a commercial traveller. He died of heart disease on April 9, 1938 in Dumbarton, aged 82.
