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John Greig MBE epitomized the spirit of the club; he would fight till the day was done. He was a leader of men who carried the club during the periods of Celtic domination. Many people consider him Rangers' finest player as was shown with his vote as 'The Greatest Ranger'. It was hoped he would be as successful a manager as player but it was not to be.
Greig was born in Edinburgh on the 11th September 1942 and spent his whole career with Rangers. He made his debut against Airdrie on the 2nd September 1961 and in the next 18 years made 857 appearances. He won 5 league championships, 6 Scottish cups, 4 league cups, a European cup winners' cup and 44 Scotland caps. He is the only player to have played in 3 treble winning sides. He twice won Scotland's Player of the Year and in 1977 was awarded the MBE for services to sport.
On his appointment as manager on the 24 May 1978 it was felt he had an ideal character for management. He was an inspirational leader who had learned his trade beside some of Scotland's greatest players and under some of their best managers. Despite this, Greig could only manage minor success, 2 Scottish cups and two league cups, he never won the main prize; the league championship.
The closet he got was in his first season when the Championship was lost to Celtic by 3 points. In a decisive match at Parkhead Celtic won 4-2. At 2-2 Colin Jackson headed an own goal, before Murdo MacLeod added a fourth in the very last minute.
Greig resigned on 28 October 1983 to be replaced by Jock Wallace who returned to Ibrox for the second time. In early 1990 he came back to the club as manager of the public relation department, a position he still holds.
John Greig proved that great players do not always make great managers. He was a legendary player but he could not transfer his skills to that of management. He is still fondly remembered by the fans as was shown In March 1999 when he was voted 'Greatest Ever Ranger'.
