Johnny Hubbard

John Gaulton Hubbard, MBE (16 December 1930 – 21 June 2018) was a South African footballer. Hubbard spent the majority of his career at Scottish club Rangers, and later played for English club Bury before ending his career back in Scotland with Ayr United. He was the first African player to compete in the European Cup, having played in October 1956 with Rangers versus Nice,[5] and also the first African player to score a goal in the competition.

Johnny Hubbard
Personal information
Full name John Gaulton Hubbard[1]
Date of birth (1930-12-16)16 December 1930
Place of birth Pretoria, South Africa
Date of death 21 June 2018(2018-06-21) (aged 87)
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Position(s) Left winger
Youth career
1943–1947 Berea Park
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1947– Berea Park
Arcadia Shepherds
1949 Pretoria Municipals
1949–1959 Rangers[2] 172 (77)
1959–1962 Bury 109 (29)
1962–1964 Ayr United 52 (5)
National team
1955 Scottish League XI[3] 4 (2)
1956[4] South Africa XI 1 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He became one of the few players to score a hat-trick in an Old Firm match, which he achieved on 1 January 1955,[6][7] the only foreign player in Rangers' history to do so. Hubbard was nicknamed the "Penalty King" by Rangers fans, due to his exceptional record of 65 goals scored from 68 penalty kicks, 22 consecutively.[8]

He left Rangers in 1959 with 238 appearances and 106 goals for the club, moving to Bury for £6,000. After three years at Bury he returned to Scotland, spending two years with Ayr United before retiring from football to work as a physical education teacher and a community sports development officer. In 2007, he was named an honorary member of the Rangers Supporters Trust, along with Mark Walters and Billy Simpson.[9]

Hubbard died in June 2018, aged 87.[10][11]

References
  1. "Johnny Hubbard". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  2. "Hall of Fame: Johnny Hubbard". Rangers Football Club. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  3. "Scottish Football League Internationals: Johnny Hubbard". Londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  4. "Ordeal for Scottish team at Ibrox". The Glasgow Herald. 13 March 1956. p. 4. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  5. "The best and worst African players to play in Scotland as Victor Wanyama lands player of the year nomination". Daily Record. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  6. "Old Firm hat-tricks". scottishleague.net.
  7. Andy Cameron on Johnny Hubbard's historic hat-trick against Celtic, The National, 30 August 2019
  8. McCarthy, David (29 May 2003). "Football: The Perfect Penalty; Model yourself on van Nistelrooy says Johnny Hubbard (who scored 65 out of 68 for Gers)". Daily Record. Retrieved 22 December 2016 – via Free Online Library.
  9. Wilson, Mike (30 September 2015). "Rangers penalty king Johnny Hubbard plays the game of his life with top memoirs in new book". Daily Record. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  10. https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-john-hubbard-south-african-scottish-footballer-rangers-penalty-king-pe-teacher-sports-official-and-coach-1-4758396
  11. "Johnny Hubbard 1930-2018". Rangers FC. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
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