Derek Grierson

Derek Grierson

Personal information
Full name	Derek Dunlop Grierson
Date of birth	5 October 1931(1931-10-05)
Place of birth	Prestonpans[1], Scotland
Date of death	7 September 2011(2011-09-07) (aged 79)
Place of death	Glasgow, Scotland
Playing position	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1948–1952	Queen's Park	83	(51)
1952–1957	Rangers	69	(42)
1956–1959	Falkirk	74	(23)
1959–1960	Arbroath	27	(8)
1960–1961	Stirling Albion	3	(1)
1960–1961	Forfar Athletic	16	(4)
1961–1962	Cowdenbeath	4	(0)
Total		276	(129[2])
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Derek Dunlop Grierson (5 October 1931 – 7 September 2011)^[3] was a former Scottish football player best known for his time with Rangers and Falkirk.

Career

Club

Grierson started out at Queen's Park before then manager Bill Struth brought him to Rangers in 1952. He made his competitive debut in a 5–0 defeat to Hearts on 9 August. He scored his first and second goals for the club a week later in a League Cup match against Aberdeen.

Those goals were to be some of many. In his four seasons at Ibrox he netted 59 times in total. He was Rangers top scorer in his first season after scoring 31 goals. He won the League championship and Scottish Cup that season. Grierson also won a Glasgow Cup in 1953. He is noted as scoring the first ever live goal on Scottish television.

He left Rangers in 1956 and joined Falkirk where he won the Scottish Cup in 1957. He scored 23 league goals for the Bairns but left them in 1960 to join Arbroath. He retired to Newton Mearns, in East Renfrewshire. Derek died on 7 September 2011, aged 79.^[4]

At the Falkirk v Rangers Scottish League Cup third round match, played on 21 September 2011, Grierson was remembered during a minutes silence at the beginning of the match, in memory of his contribution to both clubs during the 1950s

International

He also played at Wembley for Scotland Amateurs and scored in a 2-1 win to clinch the British Championship. He won seven amateur caps. As an amateur, he was selected for trials for the Great Britain side that was to take part in the Helsinki Olympic Games of 1952. Manager Walter Winterbottom was duly impressed and Grierson made the squad - one of only three Scots selected.

Honours

References

1. ^ "Death of double winner Grierson". Evening Times. 13 September 2011. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/editor-s-picks/death-of-double-winner-grierson-1.1123399. 
2. ^ FALKIRK : 1946/47 – 2007/08, Newcastle Fans.
3. ^ "Obituaries: Derek Dunlop Grierson". Herald. 13 September 2011. http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/obituaries/derek-dunlop-grierson-1.1123212. 
4. ^ "Obituary: Derek Grierson, footballer". Scotsman. 13 September 2011. http://news.scotsman.com/obituaries/Obituary-Derek-Grierson-footballer.6835246.jp. 

External links

Persondata
Name	Grierson, Derek
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	5 October 1931
Place of birth	Prestonpans, Scotland
Date of death	7 September 2011
Place of death	Glasgow, Scotland