Struth

Book excerpt: Bill Struth is the most iconic and successful manager in the history of Scottish football. He was manager of Rangers for 34 years, winning 18 titles, 10 Scottish Cups and 2 League Cups. Yet outside of Ibrox, where the Main Stand is named for him, Struth is largely ignored. Indeed, despite the fact Bill Struth was the man who built Rangers into the world's most successful football club, this is the first book to tell the story of his life. Veteran sports journalist David Leggat, who previously wrote Great Scot: The James Scotland Symon Story, now turns his attention to the glory of Struth in a new biography, Struth. The story of how Bill Struth, a professional runner who never played football, became Rangers trainer in 1914 and manager in 1920, is one of romance and glory and features some of Scottish football's most legendary stars, including Davie Meiklejohn, Bob McPhail, Willie Waddell, George Young and the Wee Blue Devil himself, Alan Morton. And there are fascinating insights into Struth's private life too, especially how he coped with the suicide of his wife. Struth will be a milestone in the history of not just Rangers, but Scottish football.