Alexander Venters (9 June 1913 – 30 April 1959) was a Scottish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, who played for

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 189 ...

, Rangers and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Career

Alex Venters, an

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, joined Rangers in November 1933 after his first club

. He spent a total of 13 years at Ibrox Park, winning three Scottish league titles (1935, 1937 and 1939), two

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

(1939) Venters was top scorer in the Scottish First Division (35 goals). Venters was also a prolific scorer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

; however, as these games were unofficial, his additional 53 wartime goals cannot be added to his official goalscoring record. After the war, Venters played for

Third Lanark Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

and ended his career with

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leagu ...

. Between 1933 and 1939 he won three

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for

, the first of which was against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1933 while with Cowdenbeath. He won a further two official caps (both in matches against England) while at Rangers, in 1936 and 1939. He also played in four wartime internationals. In 1959 he died prematurely from a heart attack at the age of 45. Due to his prolific goalscoring in the 1930s and his great record in

Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...

matches he became a member of the Rangers Hall of Fame in 2006.

Personal life

Venters' father Sandy and brothers Andrew and Jock were also footballers.

References

External links

* * 1913 births 1959 deaths Association football inside forwards Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Cowdenbeath F.C. players People from Cowdenbeath Raith Rovers F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Scotland international footballers Scotland wartime international footballers Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players Scottish footballers English Football League players Third Lanark A.C. players Scottish league football top scorers {{Scotland-footy-forward-1910s-stub