George Young (Scottish footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | George Lewis Young | ||
| Date of birth | 27 October 1922 | ||
| Place of birth | Grangemouth, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 10 January 1997 (aged 74) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1941–1957 | Rangers | 293 | (22) |
| National team | |||
| 1946–1957 | Scotland | 54 | (0) |
| 1947–1956 | Scottish League XI | 22 | (2) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1959–1962 | Third Lanark | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
George Lewis Young (27 October 1922 – 10 January 1997) was a Scottish footballer, best remembered for his association with Rangers and for being the first player to receive more than 50 caps for the Scotland national team.
Career
Club
Born in Grangemouth, Young started his career with junior side Kirkintilloch Rob Roy before moving to Rangers in 1941. Although primarily considered a centre half, he was often played at right back during his 16 years in Govan, to accommodate Willie Woodburn in Rangers' renowned Iron Curtain defence.
The Rangers side of the immediate post-War era was one of the dominant forces in Scottish football and Young was a key component in its success. Having won the League and League Cup in 1946–47 and the Scottish Cup the following season, Rangers became the first side to win all three trophies in the same season in 1948–49. Young himself scored twice (from the penalty spot) in the 4–1 Scottish Cup Final victory over Clyde which wrapped up the Treble.
Young won further League titles in 1950, 1953, 1956 and 1957, also collecting Scottish Cup winners medals in 1950 and 1953, to take his senior medal haul to 12. The "lucky" Champagne cork he always carried with him – which earned him the nickname Corky – would appear to have worked! In total he played 428 times (scoring 31 goals) for the Rangers first team when he left in 1957.
International
Young also enjoyed a long and distinguished career for the Scottish national side. He was selected for a string of 34 consecutive matches between 1948 and 1953 and his total of 54 caps made him the first member of the Scotland Football Hall of Fame. Remarkably, Young was selected as captain on 48 of those appearances. He was also the first player to appear for Scotland as a substitute, when he replaced Bill Campbell of Morton in an unofficial international against Switzerland in May 1946. The SFA have since classified the match as an international, but it is not recognised by FIFA.
His international career was not without disappointment. Young captained Scotland throughout the 1949–50 Home International tournament, which FIFA had decreed to be a British qualifying group for the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The top two teams in the Home Internationals would qualify for Brazil, but the SFA decided Scotland would only travel as British Champions. England's 1–0 win at Hampden relegated the Scots to second place and they did not travel. Four years later, Scotland again qualified as second-placed country in the Home Internationals, and this time the SFA decided they would travel to Switzerland. Rangers, however, had arranged a tour of North America at the same time and refused to release their players, including Young.
In the qualifying tournament for the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, Scotland were placed in a group with Spain and Switzerland. The group began in May 1957, by which time Young had announced he would retire from playing at the end of that season. He led Scotland to a 4–2 victory over Spain in the opening game at Hampden on 8 May, and was again captain for their 2–1 victory over Switzerland, in Basle on 19 May. However, he sustained a thigh strain in that match and did not play in a 3–1 friendly win over then world champions West Germany in Stuttgart three days later. Young had announced the next match, the return game with Spain in Madrid on 26 May 1957, would be his final game. The SFA selectors decided, however, to make the minimum number of changes to the victorious team in Stuttgart. Young wasn't selected to face Spain, while his Rangers' team mates Ian McColl and Alex Scott were dropped. Spain won 4–1.
Young also won 22 caps for the Scottish League XI, between 1947 and 1956.[1]
Later life
After leaving Ibrox, Young had a three-year spell as manager of Third Lanark between 1959 and 1962. He then left football, becoming a successful hotelier. He died, aged 74, in 1997.
Honours
Individual
References
- ↑ "Scotland FL Players by Appearances". Londonhearts.com (London Hearts Supporters' Club). Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- Cairney, John (2004). A Scottish Football Hall of Fame. Mainstream Sport. ISBN 1-84018-920-7.
External links
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