James Forrest (22 September 1944 – 27 September 2023) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a striker for Rangers, Preston, Aberdeen and Hong Kong Rangers.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Forrest[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 22 September 1944 | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 27 September 2023 (aged 79) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1962–1967 | Rangers | 105 | (83) |
| 1967–1968 | Preston North End | 24 | (3) |
| 1968–1973 | Aberdeen | 128 | (44) |
| 1973 | Cape Town City | ||
| 1974–1975 | Hong Kong Rangers | 16 | (9) |
| 1975–1976 | San Antonio Thunder | 5 | (0) |
| 1975 | → Hawick Royal Albert (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 280 | (139) | |
| International career | |||
| 1965–1971 | Scotland | 5 | (0) |
| 1963–1965 | Scotland under-23 | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
editJames Forrest was born in Glasgow, raised in the Townhead district of the city[2] and signed for Rangers (the club he supported) as a schoolboy; he was sent for a short period to Drumchapel Amateurs for development. In coming into the first-team, he displaced Jimmy Millar as the successful early 1960s Rangers side was breaking up.
Forrest was known as a prolific goalscorer – in total scoring 145 goals in his 163 games for Rangers, his 50th goal for the club coming in his 45th appearance. He scored 57 goals in the 1964–65 season,[2] just two short of Jimmy McGrory of Celtic who holds the record of most goals scored in a season in British football. Forrest holds the record for number of goals scored for Rangers in a League Cup match, scoring five in an 8–0 victory over Stirling Albion in August 1966.[3] Other highlights included two goals in his first Old Firm appearance in 1963 (when he was aged just 18),[2] four in the 1963 Scottish League Cup Final win over Morton,[4] both goals in the 1964 Scottish League Cup Final victory over Celtic, and another five-goal haul against Hamilton in a 1965 league game.[5]
His Rangers career came to an end shortly after the infamous Scottish Cup defeat to Berwick Rangers in January 1967. He and George McLean were deemed entirely to blame, and both were dropped by manager Scot Symon and transferred within weeks.[2][6]
After spending a year at Preston, he had a five-year stint at Aberdeen, where he received a Scottish Cup winner's medal in 1970,[7] before transferring to Hong Kong Rangers in 1973.
International career
editForrest played five times for Scotland between 1965 and 1971, but did not score. He had also featured for the Under-23 side.[8]
Personal life and death
editForrest's cousin, Alex Willoughby, was also a professional footballer. The two were team-mates at Drumchapel, Rangers, Aberdeen and Hong Kong Rangers.[9][10]
Jim Forrest died on 27 September 2023, at the age of 79.[11]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Seasons | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rangers | 1962–63 | Scottish Division One | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1963–64 | 24 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 39 | ||
| 1964–65 | 30 | 30 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 50 | 56 | ||
| 1965–66 | 30 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 35 | ||
| 1966–67 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 14 | ||
| Total | 105 | 83 | 10 | 6 | 37 | 49 | 11 | 6 | 163 | 144 | ||
| Preston North End | 1966–67 | Second Division | 8 | 3 | 8+ | 3+ | ||||||
| 1967–68 | 16 | 0 | 16+ | 0+ | ||||||||
| Total | 24 | 3 | 24+ | 3+ | ||||||||
| Aberdeen | 1968–69 | Scottish Division One | 31 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 47 | 23 |
| 1969–70 | 32 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 18 | ||
| 1970–71 | 32 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 12 | ||
| 1971–72 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 6 | ||
| 1972–73 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 3 | ||
| Total | 128 | 44 | 20 | 8 | 27 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 186 | 62 | ||
| Cape Town City | 1973 | NFL | ||||||||||
| Hong Kong Rangers | 1973–74 | Hong Kong First Division | 3 | 3+ | ||||||||
| 1974–75 | 6 | 6+ | ||||||||||
| Total | 16 | 9 | 16+ | 9+ | ||||||||
| San Antonio Thunder | 1975 | North American Soccer League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1976 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 278+ | 139+ | 30+ | 14+ | 64+ | 57+ | 22 | 8 | 394+ | 218+ | ||
International
edit| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1965 | 2 | 0 |
| 1966 | — | ||
| 1967 | — | ||
| 1968 | — | ||
| 1969 | — | ||
| 1970 | — | ||
| 1971 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 0 | |
References
edit- ^ "Jim Forrest". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Rangers record post-war goalscorer Jim Forrest: I played 163 games and scored 145 times but not once did boss Scot Symon say 'well done'". Daily Record. 16 January 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- ^ "Stirling Albion 0 Rangers 8". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ^ "The elite players who scored cup final hat-tricks". The Scotsman. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "Hamilton Academical 1 Rangers 7". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ^ "Tom Maxwell: After 44 years, it's high time we completed the Old Firm double". The Scotsman. 8 January 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- ^ "Jim Forrest". AFC Heritage Trust. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ^ "Scotland u23 profile". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ^ Lamming, Douglas (1987). A Scottish Soccer Internationalists Who's Who, 1872-1986 (Hardback). Hutton Press. ISBN 0-907033-47-4. ().
- ^ "Alex Willoughby". The Scotsman. 14 July 2004. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ^ Wilson, Stewart (27 September 2023). "Rangers legend Jim Forrest dies aged 79". The Herald. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Rangers Player Jim Forrest Details". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Jim Forrest". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
External links
edit- Jim Forrest at the Scottish Football Association
- Jim Forrest at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
