Tully Craig

Thomas "Tully" Craig (1897 – 30 January 1963)[2] was a Scottish footballer who is best known for his time with Rangers, and also played for Celtic earlier in his career. He was a versatile player who could play up front, in midfield or defence.[3]

Tully Craig
Personal information
Full name Thomas Craig
Date of birth 1897
Place of birth Laurieston, Scotland
Date of death 30 January 1963 (aged 65–66)
Place of death Halifax, England[1]
Position(s) Left half
Utility player
Youth career
Tullibody
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
– Grange Rovers
1919–1922 Celtic 8 (3)
1922–1923 Alloa Athletic 29 (7)
1923–1935 Rangers 234 (32)
National team
1925–1929 Scottish League XI 5 (1)
1927–1930 Scotland 8 (1)
Teams managed
1935–1950 Falkirk
1952–1953 Linfield
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Born in Laurieston and with links to the small town of Tullibody from which his nickname derived,[3] Craig was signed by Celtic from Junior side Grange Rovers in June 1919 and made his first team debut for the club in a 3–2 league win at Kilmarnock on 17 January 1920. The left-half impressed on his debut, scoring two goals, but he was deemed to be too lightweight by manager Willie Maley and consequently spent most of his time at Celtic Park in the reserves.[4]

Maley was only too pleased to offload the player to Alloa Athletic in an exchange deal which saw Craig and two other Celts swapped for Willie Crilley. While Crilley would disappoint in the Hoops, Craig was a huge success at Alloa, so much so that after only one season Rangers bought him for a fee of seven hundred and fifty pounds.[3]

In eleven years at Ibrox Craig played a significant role in seven Scottish League title-winning campaigns and was involved in three more to a smaller degree, won two Scottish Cups in 1928 and 1930 (also playing in the 1929 final, in which he became the first player to fail from the penalty spot in the event's history),[5] two Glasgow Cups and four Charity Cups. He retired from playing in 1935.[6]

Craig won eight Scotland caps between 1927 and 1930.[7] He also represented the Scottish Football League XI.[8]

Managerial career

After his retirement he went on to manage both Falkirk from 1935 to 1950[9] and Linfield for a season.

See also

References
  1. [A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players], John Litster / Scottish Football Historian magazine, October 2012
  2. Tully Craig Dead, Evening Times, 31 January 1963
  3. Struth: The Story of an Ibrox Legend, David Leggat; Black & White Publishing, 2013; ISBN 9781845027292
  4. "Craig, Thomas". The Celtic Wiki. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  5. Aye Ready | Rangers War Heroes, Paul Smith; Black & White Publishing, 2011; ISBN 9781845023713
  6. Rangers player Craig, Thomas, FitbaStats
  7. "Thomas Craig". www.londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  8. SFL player Thomas Craig, London Hearts Supporters Club
  9. Falkirk FC Managers, Falkirk Football Historian
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