Johnny Hubbard
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jonathan Hubbard | ||
| Date of birth | December 16, 1930 | ||
| Place of birth | Pretoria, South Africa | ||
| Playing position | Left winger | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1949-1959 | Rangers | 172 | (77 [1]) |
| 1959-1962 | Bury | 109 | (29) |
| 1962-1964 | Ayr United | 52 | (5) |
| National team | |||
| South Africa | 1 | (0) | |
| 1955 | Scottish League XI[2] | 4 | (2) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Jonathan "Johnny" Hubbard, MBE (born 16 December 1930) is a retired South African footballer who spent the majority of his career at Rangers, and latterly played for Bury and Ayr United. He was the first African player to compete in the European Cup, having played in October 1956 with Rangers versus Nice, and also the first African player to score a goal in said competition one month later.
Hubbard arrived at Ibrox in 1949, signing for Rangers despite being offered a larger signing on fee by Clyde. He made his debut on 10 September 1949 in a league match against Partick Thistle. This was the first of only two appearances he would make for Rangers that season, the other came against Falkirk. His first goal was scored in a 5-0 home win versus East Fife during a league match on 23 December 1950.
He became one of the few players to score a hat-trick in an Old Firm match on 1 January 1955, the only foreign player in Rangers history to do so.[3] Hubbard was nicknamed the "Penalty King" by Rangers fans, due to his exceptional record of 65 goals scored from 68 penalty kicks, 22 consecutively.[4] He won three league titles and the 1953 Scottish Cup whilst at Rangers and finished top scorer in 1955 with 27 goals.
He left Rangers in 1959 with 238 appearances and 106 goals for the club, moving to Bury for £6000. After three years at Bury he returned to Scotland, spending two years with Ayr United before retiring from football to work as a PE teacher and a community sports development officer. In 2007 he was named an honorary member of the Rangers Supporters Trust, along with Mark Walters and Billy Simpson.[5]
References
- ↑ http://rangers.co.uk/club/history/hall-of-fame/item/593-johnny-hubbard
- ↑ "Johnny Hubbard". Londonhearts.com (London Hearts Supporters' Club). Retrieved 3 December 2011.
- ↑ "Old Firm hat-tricks". scottishleague.net.
- ↑ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Football%3A+THE+PERFECT+PENALTY%3B+Model+yourself+on+van+Nistelrooy+says...-a0102522683
- ↑ http://www.rangerspedia.org/index.php/Hubbard,_Johnny