Bill Struth

Bill Struth (1873-1954) was the second manager of Rangers Football Club, controlling the team for 34 years between 1920 and 1954, as well as the holder of a number of other positions at the club.

He had been a trainer at Clyde and Hearts before coming to Rangers in 1914 to take up the position of assistant manager .

At the age of 45, in 1920, he took the reins as manager when William Wilton died in a boating accident.

He went on to win the league title 18 times as manager, including the incredible feat of winning 14 titles in 19 years before the Second World War. This included winning five titles in a row between 1927 and 1931. The five-in-a-row feat was to remain unsurpassed until Rangers equalled Celtic's record of nine-in-a-row in the 1990s.

Struth's long time as manager is shown by the fact that he won the club's first league and cup double in 1928 and was still the manager when the team won it's first treble in 1949.

Struth was a disciplinarian. He held several views that would probably now be cosidered old-fashioned. He insisted the team wore a collar and tie for training, among other things!

According to legend, Struth used to watch out the window as the players arrived at Ibrox. If he saw anyone walking with their hands in their pockets, Struth would make them walk down the street a second time, with their hands by their sides!

In 1947, Struth became a Rangers director and was then appointed vice-chariman after retiring in 1954.

Two years later, Struth died, aged 81. He is buried in Craigton Cemetery .