Jim Forrest (footballer, born 1944)

James Forrest (born 22 September 1944) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a striker for Rangers, Preston, Aberdeen and Hong Kong Rangers.

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

Jim Forrest
Personal information
Full name James Forrest[1]
Date of birth (1944-09-22) 22 September 1944
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1962–1967 Rangers 105 (83)
1967–1968 Preston North End 26 (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)
National team
1965–1971 Scotland 5 (0)
1963–1965 Scotland under-23 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Club

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.

He 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

Forrest played five times for Scotland between 1965 and 1971, but did not score. He had also featured for the Under-23 side.[8]

Family

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]

References
  1. "Jim Forrest". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  2. "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.
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