The Ibrox Disaster

This page is dedicated to the 66 people who lost their lives in Scotlands worst footballing tragedy. The Ibrox disaster occurred on January 2, 1971 at Ibrox Stadium (then known as Ibrox Park) at the end of a Rangers-Celtic game. After 89 minutes of scoreless football, Celtic took a 1-0 lead, and many Rangers supporters left the stadium. However, in the last seconds of stoppage time, Rangers equalized.

Shortly after the equalizer, barriers on Stairway 13 gave way, causing a massive chain-reaction pileup of spectators. Initial reports indicated that fans who were leaving the ground turned back once they heard about the equalizer and collided with fans leaving the ground. However, the official inquiry into the disaster indicated that all the spectators were going in the same direction at the time of the collapse.

The tragedy resulted in the loss of 66 lives; bodies were stacked as deep as six feet in the area. Over 200 other fans were injured.

DAVID ANDERSON [45] EASTERHOUSE

JOHN BUCHANAN [37] CASTLEMILK

RICHARD BARKE [15] SHETTLESON

DAVID DUFF [23] POSSIL

PETER FARRIES [26] SANDYHILLS

JOHN GARDINER [32] CLYDEBANK, DALMUIR

THOMAS GRANT [16] YOKER

CHARLES GRIFFITHS LIVINGSTON [30] TOLLCROSS

BRIAN HUTCHINSON [16] BARLANARK

JOHN JEFFREY [16] YOKER

ANDREW LINDSAY [18] EASTERHOUSE

THOMAS MELVILLE [17] POSSIL

FRANCIS DOVER [16] POSSILPARK

ROBERT MULHOLLAND [16] DRUMCHAPEL

DUNCAN McBREARTY [17] SHETTLESTON

DONALD McPHERSON [30] CRAIGTON

THOMAS McROBBIE [17] BRIDGETON

ROBERT RAE [25] PARTICK

WILLIAM SHAW [38] RUCHAZIE

WALTER SHIELDS [ ] PARTICK

GEORGE SMITH [40] CARDONALD

WILLIAM SOMERHILL [17] GALLOWGATE

JAMES TRAINER [20] BRIDGETON

JOHN CRAWFORD [23] SPRINGBURN

GEORGE FINDLAY [21] TOWNHEAD

JOHN NEIL [ ] SHETTLESTON

NIGEL PICKUP [9] LIVERPOOL

WALTER RAEBURN [36] BROUGHTON

JAMES SIBBALD [28] RESTALRIG

ROBERT C CAIRNS [17] EDINBURGH

THOMAS DICKSON [32] AIRDRIE

IAN FREW [21] AIRDRIE

JAMES GREY [37] LARKHALL

IAN HUNTER [14] NEWMAINS

JAMES MAIR [19] LARKHALL

ROBERT MAXWELL [15] BLANTYRE

ALEXANDER ORR [16] AIRDRIE

MATTHEW RIED [49] CALDERCRUIX

CHARLES STIRLING [20] CHAPELHALL

PETER WRIGHT [31] UDDINGSTON

GEORGE IRWIN [22] DUNOON

PETER EASTON [13] MARKINCH

MARTIN PATON [14] MARKINCH

MASON PHILLIPS [14] MARKINCH

BRIAN TODD [14] MARKINCH

DOUGLAS MORRISON [15] MARKINCH

HUGH ADDIE [33] BARRHEAD

ROBERT GRANT [21] BISHOPTON

ALEX McINTYRE [29] BARRHEAD

GEORGE WILSON [15] GREENOCK

MARGARET FERGUSON [18] FALKIRK

ROBERT McADAM [36] DENNY

RICHARD McLEAY [28] SLAMMANAN

JOHN McLEAY [23] SLAMMANAN

RUSSEL MALCOLM [16] BROXBURN

GEORGE ADAMS [43] CLYDEBANK

ROBERT CARRIGAN [13] KIRKINTILLOCH

CHARLES DOUGAN [31] CLYDEBANK

ADAM HENDERSON [ ] CUMBERNAULD

DAVID McGHEE [14] BEARSDEN

THOMAS MORGAN [14] BEARSDEN

JAMES RAE [19] KIRKINTILLOCH

JOHN SEMPLE [18] KIRKINTILLOCH

THOMAS STIRLING [16] KIRKINTILLOCH

DONALD SUTHERLAND [14] BEARSDEN

JAMES McGOVERN [24] TRANENT

Two tragic events in Rangers history will remain defining moments for every Rangers supporter.  They stand as a guage of football's real importance while reminding every football fan of just how safety and organisation are a huge necessity at our stadia.

• The First Disaster - 1902

On April 5, 1902, during a Scotland vs England match in the 1902 British Home Championship, a section of terracing at the back of the newly built West Tribune Stand collapsed due to heavy rainfall the previous night. Hundreds of supporters fell up to 40 feet (12 m) to the ground below. 25 people died and 517 were injured.

  

The stand at the time consisted of wooden terracing supported by a steel girder frame. Following the accident such frameworks were discredited, and replaced throughout the United Kingdom by terracing supported by earthworks or reinforced concrete.

The tragedy occurred after 51 minutes of the match, which was declared void by the two Football Associations. All proceeds of the replayed match at Villa Park, Birmingham on 3 May 1902 went to the disaster fund.

• Ongoing Problems
  

During the 1960s there were concerns about the safety of the stairway adjacent to passageway 13 (colloquially known as Stairway 13) the exit closest to Copland Road Underground Station. On 16 September 1961 two people were killed in a crush on the stairway, and there were two other incidents where several people were injured. However Rangers had spent £150,000 on improvements, a very significant sum for the time.

• The Second Disaster - 1971

The second major incident occurred on January 2, 1971 at the end of a Rangers vs Celtic game. After 89 minutes of scoreless football Celtic took a 1-0 lead and many Rangers supporters left the stadium. However, in the last seconds of stoppage time, Colin Stein scored an equaliser for Rangers.

As the crowd were leaving the ground, barriers on the stairway adjacent to passageway 13 gave way causing a massive chain-reaction pile-up of spectators. The tragedy resulted in the loss of 66 lives, including many children - five of them schoolmates from the town of Markinch in Fife. Bodies were stacked as deep as six feet in the area. Over 200 other fans were injured.

  

Alex Ferguson, former player of Rangers and legendary manager of Manchester United, had attended the game as a spectator with his brother Martin, and left the ground before the tragedy occurred. His brother Martin had left minutes later, but went to a nearby pub on his way home and returned to the family home in Govan just before his brother and a family friend were about to report his absence to the police.

Initially it was speculated that fans leaving the ground turned back when they heard roars from the crowd. The speculation was that those who turned back collided with fans leaving the ground when the match ended. The official inquiry into the disaster indicated that there was no truth in this hypothesis. All the spectators were going in the same direction at the time of the collapse. However the "myth of the Stein goal" became widely believed and repeated for many years after the disaster.

• Consequences

The 1971 disaster led to a huge redevelopment of Ibrox, spearheaded by the general manager at the time Willie Waddell, who visited Borussia Dortmund's Westfalenstadion for inspiration. Ibrox was converted to an all seater stadium, and was subsequently awarded UEFA five star status.

Both sides of the Old Firm put aside their rivalries and came together to play a game to raise funds for the victims' families. A combined Rangers and Celtic team took on a Scotland XI at Hampden watched by 81,405 fans.

For some years after 1971 disaster there was only a small plaque at the corner of the ground where it took place. However around 30 years later a larger monument was erected at the corner of the Bill Struth Main Stand and the Copland Road Stand, including the names of everyone killed in all three incidents, and a statue of John Greig, Rangers captain at the time of the 1971 disaster.   The official Rangers singing section - The Blue Order - also commisioned a huge banner to remember the 'Absent Friends' - dedicated to the disasters and every Ranger who has passed on.