The Restoration of Rangers Graves Project and Alex Vallance.
Alex Vallance gave Rangers many years of great service.
He was born on the 18th February 1860 at Shandon on the Gareloch,he died on the 31st August 1898 at Terregles Avenue Glasgow.
Alex,who was also the younger brother of Rangers legend Tom, joined Rangers in 1873 when he moved to Glasgow to start his engineering apprenticeship. We have records of Alex keeping goal for the Rangers second eleven when only 14 years of age!
Alex would go on to be captain of Rangers and was a player in that first Rangers team to win a Trophy, the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup in 1879.
It was 16 year old Alex Vallance who proposed in 1876 that the club move from Burnbank and take the lease for ground at Kinning Park, Alex was well placed to see the advantages of the move south of the river as he like his brother Tom were apprentices in the Clutha Iron Works with P&W McLellan.
Rangers would remain at Kinning Park for 11 years before moving along Paisley Road to the the Copland Road area of Ibrox . We closed the Kinning Park ground on 26th February 1887, this photograph of the Modern and Ancients Rangers team and club officials was taken the very day that Kinning Park closed. Alex Vallance is the large guy sat on the ground in front of his brother Tom who has his foot on the ball.
As a young man Alex would give diving lessons into the Gareloch from the Shandon Hydropathic Hotel, today it’s the Faslane Naval Base.
During the 1890’s Alex was mine host at the Red Lion Pub at 84 West Nile Street Glasgow, today it’s The Courtyard Bar.
A few years ago we discovered the final resting place of Alex Vallance in the town of Helensburgh, last weekend a memorial plaque placed at the plot highlighting his contribution during the formative years of our Club.
Unfortunately Alex’s stone didn’t respond well to the blast cleaning as it’s made of sandstone and well over a century old.
Today as we celebrate our 55th title we remember Alex Vallance.