In the intervening week between league fixtures the Scottish Cup draw was made for the first round. Rangers were given a short trip to Hampden to face Queen's Park. It was predicted as soon as the draw was complete that a crowd in excess of 100,000 was to be expected. As it turned out, and as will be covered, the eventual figure did not quite reach the six figure mark but still returned an attendance quite unbelievable going by today's standards.
There were still plenty of League fixtures to fulfil, though, and Rangers' next appointment was at home to Airdrie on December 14th. Goals from Bob McPhail and George Brown in front of 11,000 settled the issue; and, importantly, Aberdeen had been held 2-2 at Hampden. Several Aberdeen players after the game were heard to remark that they fancied the amateurs to give Rangers a hard time when the Royal Blues went to Hampden on Cup business. At the close of business that day, Aberdeen were on 30 points from 20 games while Rangers were waiting, ready to pounce on any slip-up with their 29 points from 18 games. The respective Alliance XIs carried on their own tussle with Rangers winning 2-0 at Airdrie and Aberdeen hammering Hamilton Academical 7-1 in Aberdeen.
A vital fixture awaited Rangers on December 21st in their third home League fixture in succession. Motherwell had been a constant presence at the upper end of the table and were considered worthy candidates for the title. A win for Rangers would mean daylight between themselves and at least one of their rivals.
A surprisingly small crowd of 22,000 witnessed an early Motherwell lead countered by a Bob McPhail effort on 26 minutes. After the interval McPhail again, followed by goals from George Brown and Jimmy Fleming gave Rangers an unassailable 4-1 lead. A late goal by the visitors was of little consequence. Bob McPhail was singled out for special mention in contemporary reports for his performance in this game. There is no doubt he was an exceptionally strong footballer; but equally he had a natural footballing brain that gave him an unteachable instinct for where the ball would land and what a team-mate would do with it. It's obvious he was a vital cog in the Rangers team of this era and it's no surprise he accommodates such an important place in Rangers' development and history. Aberdeen, however, remained at the top due to their 1-0 win at home to Falkirk. In the Alliance League, Rangers began to pull away with their 2-1 win at Perth and their closest challengers' 4-0 loss at Motherwell. Rangers in the second string league were now three points clear with a game in hand.
A trip to the Capital beckoned on Saturday 28th December for a game with Hibs at Easter Road. It was a Saturday during which everything that could possibly go right for Rangers did so and must be considered as being a springboard from which Rangers mounted an unstoppable surge for the title.
18,000 watched George Brown and the ubiquitous Jimmy Fleming give Rangers an easy 2-0 win. Having done their own job, the Rangers players and fans then learned that two of their closest challengers had slipped up and Rangers found themselves at the top of the division. Aberdeen slumped to a major 4-1 defeat at Motherwell while Celtic were shocked 1-0 at home by Morton. The Alliance XI completed a satisfactory day by going 5 points clear of their own table by playing and winning their game in hand 4-0 at home to Beith and going five points clear, them and Aberdeen both having played 19 games.
The Ne-erday fixture at Parkhead was a massive one for Rangers. They hadn't won such a fixture for a staggering 28 years; both points, though, were essential in such a frantic league race.
A crowd of 40,000, which included Rangers Legend Neilly Gibson, watched as Celtic took an early lead, a lead they held until the 44th minute of the first half when Alan Morton netted a penalty following a foul on Bob McPhail on the penalty box. With the recently introduced rule that goalkeepers had to remain static on their line during the taker's run-up, The Wee Blue Devil therefore decided to forego power for placement and dispensed with a run-up, calmly placing the ball out of John Thompson's reach by merely stepping up to the ball. In the days when the balls used were a lot heavier than today's it speaks volumes for the ability of the legendary Rangers winger that he had the guile to score in such a method. An image of the happy end result is inserted below.
A magnificent performance by Davie Meiklejohn ensured there was no way through for Celtic in the second half. However, for all of Rangers' superiority they had to wait until the 89th minute for the winner, McPhail sending over a perfect cross - not too close to the goalkeeper but far enough away he could not claim it, neither too far away from goal that it would be of no use to the forwards - for George Brown to claim a heroic winner. It is said the jubilation of the Rangers players was still in evidence as they watched a show at the Alhambra Theatre that night; little wonder, given the gap between Ne'erday wins at Parkhead was longer than the infamous hoodoo of the Scottish Cup! Aberdeen's 3-0 win at Dundee, though, even given that Rangers were a point clear with a game in hand, ensured there was much work to be done before the celebrating could begin for real.
The hectic Ne'erday fixture list of yesteryear gave little room for rest. A mere 24 hours after beating Celtic, Rangers lined up at Ibrox to welcome their own first-footers, Partick Thistle. A Glasgow Derby crowd of 35,000 watched a very one-sided affair. Sandy Archibald and Bob McPhail gave Rangers what was assumed to be an unassailable lead. A 56th minute penalty award was supposed to be the clincher; however, in a rather strange incident, in the course of conceding the penalty, Thistle's goalkeeper had to go off for treatment and was replaced in goal by an outfield player who then proceeded to save Davie Meiklejohn's penalty! To compound matters, the goalkeeper,once the ball had went dead, rejoined his side on the park in his customary position between the goals. An unusual affair then became even more so as the visitors, hitherto played off the park, grabbed a goal on 65 minutes then missed an easy chance right at the death. Therefore, a 90 minutes made so much more uncomfortable than it should have been ended thankfully for Rangers. One wonders what the legendary Herbert Chapman of Arsenal made of it all as he watched from the Stand.
This was another weekend where Rangers got the points they wanted in other games. Motherwell lost 4-1 at Brockville, Aberdeen drew 2-2 at home to Hearts and Celtic, all but out of things now, lost 2-1 at Hampden to Queen's Park.
The top six as the League was more or less at the two-thirds mark sat as follows:
P Pts
Rangers 22 37
Aberdeen 24 35
Motherwell 23 31
Partick T 24 28
Kilmarnock 23 28
Celtic 22 27
Rangers' last game of the Holiday period was a home tie against St Johnstone. Having worked themselves into a terrific position, Rangers showed little signs of relinquishing it as they blitzed the visitors with a 6-1 hammering. An early Doc Marshall goal was surprisingly equalised before Fleming and Marshall settled things before half time. A Morton penalty on 75 minutes followed by a late Jimmy Fleming double - to give himself a hat-trick - meant Rangers were in a strong situation that they showed no sign of surrendering. Celtic, meanwhile, were out of contention altogether, going down 3-1 at second-placed Aberdeen who remained hopeful of capitalising on any Rangers slip. The game between the pair at Ibrox scheduled for 25th January was shaping up to be a massive one. Keeping in touch with the 2nd XI, their involvement in their own Cup was in focus, them being drawn away to Third Lanark.
Following the mauling of St Johnstone, Rangers' next scheduled game was away to Falkirk but was cancelled due to the heavy snow that engulfed a lot of Scotland during that winter. Aberdeen, surprisingly, beat the weather and drew level on points with Rangers by beating Airdrie 3-1 at Pittodrie. There was no change at the top of the Alliance table, ironically as the top two both lost, Rangers 1-0 at home to Motherwell and Aberdeen 3-2 at Airdrie.
The much anticipated Scottish Cup tie with Queen's Park duly arrived on 18th January. Despite hopes of an 100,000+ attendance, the eventual total fell 5,000 short but still registering an awesome 95,722. The game, however, did not live up to its billing with Rangers wary of being the victims of a shock, having in mind the fact that Aberdeen and Celtic had lost to their hosts in recent weeks. Queen's Park, in turn, lacked the guile to break down a Rangers defence that was letting nothing past. The game's only goal arrived a minute before half-time, a wayward Alan Morton shot being headed into the goal by Bob McPhail.
The second half brought little change with only Rangers' Davie Meiklejohn gaining any praise for his performance in the newspaper reports following the game. However, progress was assured and Rangers would have been confident of continued success when the draw paired them with Cowdenbeath at Ibrox.
In the Alliance League, a Rangers XI inflicted yet more misery on an Ayr United one. Following the 9-0 defeat dished out by the first team, this time the second XI hit them for eight without reply at Ibrox. Their rivals for the title, Aberdeen, won 1-0 at home to Kilmarnock.
Saturday 25th January 1930 can be recorded as the day Rangers and Aberdeen met in two top-of-the-table clashes in games that would have a major bearing on both the first and second XI titles. In the main event, Aberdeen travelled to Ibrox in the knowledge that a defeat would hand a massive advantage to Rangers. The Rangers Alliance XI travelled north in the knowledge a win would put them almost out of sight at the top of their league.
45,000 were at Ibrox and watched as Rangers took a massive stride to the title after 17 minutes through a Sandy Archibald goal. Bob McPhail doubled the lead with a clever header after 32 minutes and gave Rangers some breathing space at the interval. McPhail's goal is pictured below although the goalscorer is mostly obscured by an Aberdeen defender trying in vain to prevent it.
An Aberdeen penalty in the second half gave the visitors hope. Sandy Archibald, though, settled any Ibrox nerves with another goal seven minutes before the end. The end result put Rangers in a position whereby their own destiny lay firmly within their own hands: they were two points clear of second place with three games in hand, a potential lead of eight points. A notable double was completed with the Alliance team winning 4-2 in their encounter and pushing themselves even further away from the chasing pack, ending the day 7 points clear of Aberdeen and having played an equal number of games.
The Scottish Cup campaign began again the following week with Rangers expected to progress without incident against their visitors from Cowdenbeath. Alan Morton netted Rangers' first, knocking the rebound in after a Bob McPhail shot had been pushed onto the post by the goalkeeper. Morton added as econd on 36 minutes, hitting home a penalty after Doc Marshall had been upended in the box by the goalkeeper. The vast majority of the 30,000 crowd saw that as the game being done and dusted. The Fifers, though, rallied and pulled one back on 39 minutes and then stunned everybody within Ibrox by equalising just after half-time. The result was in no way a travesty or unjustified; Cowdenbeath battled bravely against a Rangers team who appear to have made a glaring error of underestimating their opponents. On the Alliance front, Rangers won a remarkable game at Love Street by 8-3 while their challengers from Aberdeen won 3-2 at Love Street. At the beginning of the week the draw for the Charity Cup was made. Rangers were drawn away to Partick Thistle.
With the replay at Cowdenbeath set for Wednesday 5th February, the local pits were shut early to allow the miners to see the game. They helped swell the attendance to 18,347 and saw a much improved Rangers performance with Bob Hamilton and Davie Meiklejohn apparently outstanding in the Rangers defence. Jimmy Fleming eased Rangers into a sixth minute lead, shooting low past the goalkeeper following work by George Brown. Fleming doubled the lead on 29 minutes, pouncing on a goalkeeping mistake. There was little chance of Rangers losing a two goal lead in successive games and Bob McPhail ended the scoring on 70 minutes, finishing off a one-touch move that involved Davie Meiklejohn, Tully Craig and Sandy Archibald. McPhail was in pictured below putting the final touch to the move.
Rangers would then travel to Motherwell in the next round. The Second XI, meanwhile, were getting their own cup campaign underway. Two names who would go on to establish themselves as legends in their own right were named in the team that would travel to Crosshill the following Saturday to face Third Lanark: Jerry Dawson and Jimmy Smith.
The first XI were back on League business at Ibrox on Saturday 8th February against Kilmarnock. 25,000 watched on as a Morton penalty and an effort from Jimmy Fleming gave Rangers a 2-0 lead after 12 minutes. Bob McPhail netted a third a minute from half time and George Brown rounded off a comfortable afternoon after 85 minutes leaving a final score of 4-0. Aberdeen, though, refused to give up the chased and remained two points behind - albeit having played three games more - by winning 2-1 at Morton. The Second XI had a stunning success in their game at Third Lanark in the Cup, winning 12-1 with Jimmy Smith scoring five of them. Following the game at Ibrox, Roberts Hamilton and McDonald were chosen to play for Ireland against Scotland at Parkhead on February 22nd.
Rangers began to catch up on games played with Aberdeen by visiting St Mirren on February 11th. 10,000 watched a game played on a frozen pitch settled by a 16th minute goal from Jimmy Fleming. This meant Rangers stretched their lead to four points. With regard to the forthcoming international, Dougie Gray, Davie Meiklejohn (Captain), Tully Craig and Alan Morton were selected. Jock Buchanan and Bob McPhail were listed as reserves. The Ibrox Second XI were given a bye in the second round of their cup and were then handed a trip to St Johnstone in round three.
The next round of the Cup proper on February 15th sent Rangers to Fir Park, a ground that was equipped to hold 45,000. Little more than half that number saw Rangers turn on their best performance of the season with a quite blistering display. Sandy Archibald started the scoring on nine minutes, squeezing the ball in at the post. Bob McPhail then doubled the lead on 17 minutes, hitting home a return pass from Archibald then Jimmy Fleming headed in a 24th minute third. McPhail made it 4-0 on 40 minutes, tapping in after an Archibald free kick rebounded off the bar. Jimmy Fleming then made it an astonishing 5-0 on 41 minutes just before Motherwell netted to make things 5-1 to Rangers at half-time. After such a stunning 45 minutes, Rangers were content to play out the second period safe in the knowledge progress had been assured. A late second for Motherwell meant little and did not change the game's final outcome, meaning a 5-2 win for Rangers. Both Rangers and Aberdeen's Alliance XIs won 5-0 at home against Hibs and Ayr united respectively.