Gilchrist Tom Image 1 Glasgow Rangers 1908

Description

Larkhall, Lanarkshire born inside right Tom Gilchrist began his football career with Shettleston from where he was signed by Third Lanark in January 1906, with whom he had two and a half seasons scoring 8 goals in 40 appearances. His time with The Warriors ended with a spell on loan at Heart of Midlothian in February 1908, where he scored twice in 9 appearances through to the end of April before signing with Glasgow Rangers in May 1908, making his debut for The Gers in a Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup tie with Third Lanark in May 1908, a match Rangers won 3-1, and also playing three days later as they were knocked out by Queen’s Park. He made his League debut against Kilmarnock in December 1908 and played in the infamous 1909 Scottish Cup Final against Glasgow Celtic, when the trophy was withheld due to crowd trouble at the replay, Gilchrist scoring in the first match which ended a 2-2 draw at Hampden Park in front of 70,000 spectators.

During Rangers’ 1909-10 campaign he played in most of Rangers’ matches before losing his place in January 1910, and played as they lost The Glasgow Cup Fiual to Celtic and the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup Final to Clyde. Having scored 8 goals in 27 League and Scottish Cup matches for Rangers he moved to Kilmarnock in July 1910, and in a single season at Rugby Park he scored 5 goals in 27 appearances for Killie. He then moved to Motherwell in June 1911, where he enjoyed the most active period of his career, scoring 24 goals in 86 League matches for The Steelmen, before returning to Rangers in May 1914.

A qualified doctor, he made no further appearances in his second spell at Ibrox having signed up for military service in the First World War, joining Dumbarton in August 1915, where he scored twice in 19 appearances for The Sons during 1915-16. But he didn’t play again until after the War was over, first joining Celtic in July 1919 where he failed to make a first team appearance before moving to East Stirlingshire in March 1920. He joined King’s Park (now Stirling Albion) in July 1920 where he had a single season, moving to Bo’ness in July 1921 where he scored once in 3 appearances. He then finished his career at Clackmannan, joining them in February 1922 and making a single appearance before his eventual retirement.