Moses McNeil

Moses McNeil (29 October 1855 – 9 April 1938) was a Scottish footballer who was one of the founding members of Rangers Football Club. He played as an outside forward.

Moses McNeil
Personal information
Full name Moses McNeil
Date of birth (1855-10-29)29 October 1855
Place of birth Rhu, Scotland
Date of death 9 April 1938(1938-04-09) (aged 82)
Place of death Dumbarton, Scotland
Position(s) Outside forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1872–1882 Rangers
International career
1876–1880 Scotland 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

McNeil, along with fellow founding members Peter McNeil (his brother) and friends William McBeath and Peter Campbell, adopted the name Rangers, reportedly from an English rugby annual. Rangers played their first ever match against Callander 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 a team called Clyde (not the surviving 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 1879 but, after Rangers refused to play in the replay following a 1–1 draw at the first Hampden, the trophy was awarded to Vale of Leven. Rangers won their first trophy later in 1879: the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup, after beating Vale of Leven 2–1 in front of 11,000 spectators at Hampden.

McNeil's last recorded appearance for Rangers was on 30 September 1882 in a Scottish Cup replay defeat to Queen's Park at Hampden Park. He made 34 Scottish Cup appearances and scored ten goals during his Rangers career.

International career

McNeil won two caps for Scotland, the first on 25 March 1876 in a 4–0 win over Wales (the first international between the two countries) and the second on 13 March 1880 in a 5–4 win over England, in which he played alongside his brother, Henry. McNeil was the first Rangers player to play for Scotland and the club's first international footballer.

Later life

After playing football, McNeil focused on his occupation as a commercial traveller. He died of heart disease on 9 April 1938 in Dumbarton, aged 82.

A plaque was laid at McNeil's grave, which is in St Modan's Parish Churchyard, Rosneath (near Helensburgh)[1] on 30 June 2015, which reads "Moses McNeil 29th October 1855, 9th April 1938. A local man and founder of Rangers Football Club".[2]

References
  1. Archive Hour: Rangers FC founder's grave discovered in Rosneath in 2004, Helensburgh Advertiser, 10 January 2019
  2. Stewart, Stephen (1 July 2015). "Rangers founding father honoured in hometown with memorial plaque at final resting place". Lennox Herald. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
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