Suicide is painless, or so they warbled in the song that started off M.A.S.H, which will go down in history as the second greatest American comedy series ever made. Homer Simpson and family romping out in front place of course. M.A.S.H was set during the Korean War and became an all time American classic and the last ever episode created all sorts of new audience records in the States.
So what do Hawkeye, Trapper John, Hotlips Hoolahan, Corporal Klinger and Radar have to do with Rangers FC? Well the thing is, at Ibrox we had our own Korean War hero in Harold Davis, a man who the tag 'a footballer's footballer' was made for. Hard but always scrupulously fair is how Harold Davis will always lovingly be remembered by those who saw him.
For those of my era and vintage, Tam Forsyth was THE hard man personified. THAT tackle on Channon which prompted the cries of 'Docherty, Docherty shut yer mooth' from the Rangers end at Hampden in 1976, yup I was in that choir. 'It's a funny thing this Rangers psyche that we lust have to be born with, it has to be there in the genes and in our DNA. We love tricky, ball dazzingly. skillful wingers, we love 'rummel em up' strikers more than goal poachers, we love ultra class in the midfield, but up there with the best of them we love our good, honest, hard man.
I well remember a Saturday way back in February 1983. Rangers were at Greenock on league business; I wasn't there as I had been waylaid, ambushed even, and ended up having a pleasant lunchtime cocktail with my old man and his youngest brother in The Keystane. After another couple of cocktails my old man had a brainwave. Let's get a taxi and go back to my place as there are gallons of that Russian stuff with your names on them. My big uncle and me could be similar in nature at times. I mean, who were we to argue with my old man and his big bruvva?
Now 1983 was not the best time to be a Rangers fan in terms of our performances on the park so the chat invariably turned to the good old days. This was an excuse for my old man to tell us once again about the majesty of Bill Struth and his last great team of the late 40s/early fifties. Then my old man and my uncle both had shared memories regards the early 60s, of Baxter and the rest.
Harold Davis' name came up (always with affection I may add) and as the callow youth in the company I asked how Tam Forsyth compared to Harold Davis in terms of 'hardness'? They just shook their heads wryly and said 'He didn't!' Now before we go any further I am talking about two guys who absolutely adored Tam Forsyth and loved his committment to our club, and it had nothing to do with six inch piledrivers against the yahoos. But there they were shaking one of my firm convictions about one of my favourite Rangers players to the very foundations. If Tam Forsyth couldn't match Harold Davis in terms of mettle, then what sort of player was Harry Davis then?
Well, Harold Davis made his name at East Fife in their exceptional team of the late 40s and early 50s. East Fife, who the hell are they our younger readers will ask? But in truth that Fife club had a quite wonderful history either side of WW2. They remain the only second division side to have won the Scottish Cup, which was way back in 1938. They won the League Cup in 1947/48 also as a second (B) division side. They also in that same season attracted a 90,000 attendance at Ibrox for a Scottish Cup quarter final tie. They were also at this point managed by one James Scotland Symon.
By the time they won the Scottish League Cup for a second time in 1949/50 (Rangers and East Fife shared the League Cup between then for the first four seasons of its existence) they were back in the first (A) division and had finished in fourth place for the second consecutive season. In the next two seasons (51/52 and 52/53) they would finish in third place behind the two giants of post WW2 Scottish football; Rangers and Hibs.The top two see-sawing for positions in both years.
Season 1953/54 saw East Fife move slightly down the table into sixth place and from then on it was back to relative obscurity but they still had enough in the tank to lift the League Cup once again. In fact in the first fourteen seasons of that trophy's existence East Fife were record winners with three wins, and Rangers, were in joint second place with two wins. That's the calibre of team Harold Davis made his name wiith.
However war of the Korean variety beckoned, and although he had the chance, as a footballer, to get himself a cosy billet, that just wasn't for Harold Davis and neither was dodging bullets. He came a cropper one time and the damage was limited just to a sliced instep and a torn to shreds abdomen. You know the drill, a mere metatarsial injury by any other name.
That's were Rangers luck came into play. Ex Rangers player and soon to be Rangers trainer, Davie Kinnear was working at the Bridge of Earn Hospital to help some of the patients regain fitness and came across the convalescing Harold Davis. When Davie Kinnear was back at Ibrox as an employee he wasted no time in telling Scot Symon about the well being of Harold Davis.
The result was Rangers brought Harold Davis to Ibrox from East Fife on the last day of October 1956. He had to wait a few weeks to make his debut, filling in at centre half (Harry played in all three half back roles) for a certain George Young against Aberdeen on the 24th Nov 56. But by the end of that initial season Harold Davis had made the left back berth his own.
The next season (57/58) saw HD flirt around on the periphery of the first team but by 1958/59 the right half berth was basically his as Ian McColl came into the twilight of his career. Season 59/60 saw HD as an integral part of an automatic half back line that tripped off the tongue thus; 'Davis, Paterson and Stevenson.' Although that Rangers team would scratch a seven year itch in the 1960 Scottish Cup final, Harold Davis would miss out due to an injury sustained in the semi final replay against the yahoos.
Over the next couple of years a new half back line would emerge at Ibrox, this time utilising another Fifer by the name of James Curran Baxter. One half back line, two Fifers and one as chalky as the other one was cheesy. We've all heard the stories, we've all heard the rumours, of Baxter being grabbed by the throat up against the dressing room wall by Harold Davis etc, etc. My take on it is simply this. Harold Davis had fought a war, been torn to shreds and had battled back because of an inner strength and resolve, and there he was witnessing a guy, a colleague and team mate, piss away a God given talent that the rest of the country could only dream of. I might be wrong.
Harold Davis won 4 League badges for Rangers and also a couple of League Cup medals but his solitary Scottish Cup badge earned against St Mirren in 1962 would prove to be something of a swan song. Although he would feature in 16 league fixtures the following season, there was a new kid on the block just itching to get in that Rangers side. His name was John Greig; and the rest, as they say, is history.
But what a history. I've went back to a drab, dreich February day twenty four years ago and my old man and uncle's love and admiration for Harold Davis as a Ranger. But then there was THE man himself. HD only scored 13 goals for Rangers in 261 appearances but there was a wee touch of 'iconery' in a few of the goals he did score. One on the 10th September 1960 as Rangers recorded their highest ever league win at the cesspit. Another at Ibrox on Ne'erday 1963 (the opener) when we gave the yahoos their biggest Ibrox Ne'erday 'howdoyoudo' since 1949 when Jimmy Duncanson had his shooting boots on. And it has to be remembered that it was Harold Davis who scored the first goals by a Scotsman under the new Hampden floodlights versus Eintracht on Oct 18th 1961 in front of over 104,000 people. A British attendance record for a friendly which has stood for almost fifty years and most probably will for ever more.
HAROLD SOLDIERS ON WITH A NEW ARMY
So why this look back at Harold Davis' career? Well, a good few months ago a FF poster by the name of Russell Nash thought it would be a good idea to try and raise funds for our old War heroes in Erskine Hospital with a view to getting some of those brave old men a day out at Ibrox amongst other things. He ran it by MFDM at the Blue Order and before you could say 'I'm away to look out my walking boots' dozens of volunteers were legging it along the West Highland Way and they raised a good couple of bob in the process. You can say what you want about TBO I personally endorse it because the hearts of the people running the organisation are pure.
But it gets better, because someone came up with the idea of asking Iron Man Harold Davis, who as we know is a real certified last action Rangers hero to be patron of the whole concept that is Rangers Remembrance. Genius sometimes can be found in the simplicity of an idea as opposed to the complexity.
Not only was Harold Davis happy to take on the role, he actually handed a special Rangers blazer that was given to only the select few who made up the Rangers party that went on an undefeated tour of Russia in the early summer of 1962 to MFDM and that will also go up for auction to raise even more funds for Erskine Hospital. Now I could go into a wee digress regards Rangers tour of Russia way back then but I won't. It is suffice to say that TEN THOUSAND Rangers fans cheered the team off the plane when it arrived back at Abbotsinch airport. There's not a team.....
So, if the lucky winner of that Blazer is reading this, think about the luck you have had, think about the history involved with the Blazer and most of all think about the calibre of man who once wore it. But most of all for those reading this, who haven't won the auction please raise the roof on Saturday for a man who embodies what Rangers Football Club is all about. You have to wonder what Walter would give for a Harold Davis in the side today?
The Govanhill Gub
The next season (57/58) saw HD flirt around on the periphery of the first team but by 1958/59 the right half berth was basically his as Ian McColl came into the twilight of his career. Season 59/60 saw HD as an integral part of an automatic half back line that tripped off the tongue thus; 'Davis, Paterson and Stevenson.' Although that Rangers team would scratch a seven year itch in the 1960 Scottish Cup final, Harold Davis would miss out due to an injury sustained in the semi final replay against the yahoos.
Over the next couple of years a new half back line would emerge at Ibrox, this time utilising another Fifer by the name of James Curran Baxter. One half back line, two Fifers and one as chalky as the other one was cheesy. We've all heard the stories, we've all heard the rumours, of Baxter being grabbed by the throat up against the dressing room wall by Harold Davis etc, etc. My take on it is simply this. Harold Davis had fought a war, been torn to shreds and had battled back because of an inner strength and resolve, and there he was witnessing a guy, a colleague and team mate, piss away a God given talent that the rest of the country could only dream of. I might be wrong.
Harold Davis won 4 League badges for Rangers and also a couple of League Cup medals but his solitary Scottish Cup badge earned against St Mirren in 1962 would prove to be something of a swan song. Although he would feature in 16 league fixtures the following season, there was a new kid on the block just itching to get in that Rangers side. His name was John Greig; and the rest, as they say, is history.
But what a history. I've went back to a drab, dreich February day twenty four years ago and my old man and uncle's love and admiration for Harold Davis as a Ranger. But then there was THE man himself. HD only scored 13 goals for Rangers in 261 appearances but there was a wee touch of 'iconery' in a few of the goals he did score. One on the 10th September 1960 as Rangers recorded their highest ever league win at the cesspit. Another at Ibrox on Ne'erday 1963 (the opener) when we gave the yahoos their biggest Ibrox Ne'erday 'howdoyoudo' since 1949 when Jimmy Duncanson had his shooting boots on. And it has to be remembered that it was Harold Davis who scored the first goals by a Scotsman under the new Hampden floodlights versus Eintracht on Oct 18th 1961 in front of over 104,000 people. A British attendance record for a friendly which has stood for almost fifty years and most probably will for ever more.
HAROLD SOLDIERS ON WITH A NEW ARMY
So why this look back at Harold Davis' career? Well, a good few months ago a FF poster by the name of Russell Nash thought it would be a good idea to try and raise funds for our old War heroes in Erskine Hospital with a view to getting some of those brave old men a day out at Ibrox amongst other things. He ran it by MFDM at the Blue Order and before you could say 'I'm away to look out my walking boots' dozens of volunteers were legging it along the West Highland Way and they raised a good couple of bob in the process. You can say what you want about TBO I personally endorse it because the hearts of the people running the organisation are pure.
But it gets better, because someone came up with the idea of asking Iron Man Harold Davis, who as we know is a real certified last action Rangers hero to be patron of the whole concept that is Rangers Remembrance. Genius sometimes can be found in the simplicity of an idea as opposed to the complexity.
Not only was Harold Davis happy to take on the role, he actually handed a special Rangers blazer that was given to only the select few who made up the Rangers party that went on an undefeated tour of Russia in the early summer of 1962 to MFDM and that will also go up for auction to raise even more funds for Erskine Hospital. Now I could go into a wee digress regards Rangers tour of Russia way back then but I won't. It is suffice to say that TEN THOUSAND Rangers fans cheered the team off the plane when it arrived back at Abbotsinch airport. There's not a team.....
So, if the lucky winner of that Blazer is reading this, think about the luck you have had, think about the history involved with the Blazer and most of all think about the calibre of man who once wore it. But most of all for those reading this, who haven't won the auction please raise the roof on Saturday for a man who embodies what Rangers Football Club is all about. You have to wonder what Walter would give for a Harold Davis in the side today?
The Govanhill Gub
PS - Harold will be in the Wee Rangers Club before the game on Saturday from about noon until 1.45 if anyone wants to meet the man.