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Jim Forrest (footballer, born 1944)

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For other people with the same name, see James Forrest.

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.

Jim Forrest
Personal information
Full name James Forrest[1]
Date of birth (1944-09-22)22 September 1944
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death 27 September 2023(2023-09-27) (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

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James 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

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Forrest 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

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Forrest'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

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club season and competition[12][13][14]
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

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Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 1965 2 0
1966 —
1967 —
1968 —
1969 —
1970 —
1971 3 0
Total 5 0

References

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  1. ^ "Jim Forrest". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Stirling Albion 0 Rangers 8". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  4. ^ "The elite players who scored cup final hat-tricks". The Scotsman. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Hamilton Academical 1 Rangers 7". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  6. ^ "Tom Maxwell: After 44 years, it's high time we completed the Old Firm double". The Scotsman. 8 January 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Jim Forrest". AFC Heritage Trust. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Scotland u23 profile". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  9. ^ Lamming, Douglas (1987). A Scottish Soccer Internationalists Who's Who, 1872-1986 (Hardback). Hutton Press. ISBN 0-907033-47-4. ().
  10. ^ "Alex Willoughby". The Scotsman. 14 July 2004. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  11. ^ Wilson, Stewart (27 September 2023). "Rangers legend Jim Forrest dies aged 79". The Herald. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Rangers Player Jim Forrest Details". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  13. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Jim Forrest". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
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