John Martin Bokas Wallace (6 September 1935 – 24 July 1996) was a Scottish professional

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 ...

and manager. Wallace played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

, and has the unique distinction of being the only player ever to play in the English, Welsh and Scottish Cups in the same season; this was set during the 1966–67 season where he played in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

and

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...

for

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

, and in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, just south of the border with Scotland. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite hailing fr ...

. As manager of Rangers over two spells in the 1970s and 1980s, Wallace became one of Scottish football's best-known and most successful coaches.

Playing career

Wallyford Wallyford is a village near Musselburgh and approximately east of Edinburgh in East Lothian, Scotland. History The village was initially populated by coal miners and later grew as an overspill/commuter town for workers in Musselburgh and Edi ...

-born Wallace's playing career began inauspiciously. A goalkeeper, he was freed by his first club,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

, but rekindled his career by signing for

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

in 1952, dovetailing football with work in the local pit.

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

with the

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's O ...

afforded Wallace the opportunity of signing for the local club,

Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, just south of the border with Scotland. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite hailing fr ...

. After character-defining military service in Northern Ireland and – famously – the jungles of Malaya, Wallace's playing career extended to Airdrieonians,

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

, non-league Bedford Town and

Managerial career

Berwick Rangers and Hearts

Wallace's managerial career began in 1966 as player-manager of Berwick Rangers. His rise to national prominence came in 1967, when he played for and managed the Berwick Rangers side which defeated Rangers in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,famous cup upsets in Scotland. That achievement in turn propelled Wallace into a coaching job at Hearts in 1968. In addition Wallace set a unique record of being the only player to play in the Scottish Cup,

and

in the same season – having played in the latter two competitions for Hereford United in the early part of the 1966–67 season.

Success at Rangers

It was in 1970 that Wallace arrived at his spiritual home,

Ibrox Stadium Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated capacity of . O ...

, as coach of Rangers under manager

Willie Waddell William Waddell (7 March 1921 – 14 October 1992) was a professional football player and manager. His only club in a 16-year career as a player in the outside right position (interrupted by World War II) was Rangers which yielded six major w ...

. The partnership with Waddell was one that helped Rangers win the

1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1971–72 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup football club tournament was won by Rangers, who defeated Dynamo Moscow in the final. Preliminary round First leg ---- Second leg ''4–4 on aggregate; Austria Wien won on away goals ...

. After the European triumph, Waddell left his post as manager to take a behind-the-scenes role and Wallace was appointed as manager. In his first season in charge – the club's centenary – he won the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1974–75, it was Wallace who presided over the Rangers team that finally ended

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

's nine-year period of dominance and won the League championship for the first time in eleven years. In the 1975–76 and 1977–78 seasons, Wallace was to capture the treble of all three Scottish trophies. Wallace's management of Rangers in the mid-1970s saw the club regain the ascendancy it had enjoyed throughout much its history. But just as the prospect of further sustained success beckoned, Wallace unexpectedly resigned as manager in 1978. The precise cause was never fully established, as Wallace maintained silence until his death in 1996. Most of the speculation centred on alleged disputes with the Rangers board (and with Waddell in particular) about transfer budgets or Wallace's own salary.Two Trebles in three years made Rangers' big Jock the king of Scottish football
David Leggat / adapted by Chris Jack, Evening Times, 15 October 2014

Leicester City

Wallace's subsequent career spanned an eclectic mix of clubs. His first post was as manager of

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

in England. Wallace steered the club to

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

title glory in 1980, and took them to the

semi-finals. In January 1981, Wallace made an audacious attempt to sign three-time

European Footballer of the Year The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine '' France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (f ...

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...

. Despite negotiations lasting three weeks, in which the player himself expressed his desire to play for City, a deal was never agreed.

Return to Scotland

Wallace returned to Scotland in 1982, taking charge of

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

. In November 1983 he returned to manage a Rangers side that, under

John Greig John Greig (born 11 September 1942) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a defender. He spent his entire career with Rangers, as a player, manager and director. Greig was voted "The Greatest Ever Ranger" in 1999 by the ...

, had consistently under-performed since Wallace's departure. The success of the New Firm of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

had seen Rangers turn to Alex Ferguson, the Aberdeen manager, who rejected the offer to take over at Ibrox. The club then approached Dundee United boss

Jim McLean James Yuille McLean (2 August 1937 – 26 December 2020) was a Scottish football player, manager and director. He managed Dundee United between 1971 and 1993, becoming the longest-serving and most successful manager in the club's history, winn ...

, who also declined, prompting Rangers to turn to Wallace again. In spite of capturing two League Cups, Wallace's second spell with Rangers was a frustrating one as the club failed to dent the dominance of the New Firm and offered only sporadic challenge to

. Arguably his primary achievement in that spell was supporting a young, unsure

Ally McCoist Alistair Murdoch McCoist, (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former footballer who has since worked as a manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Johnstone before moving to English side Sunderland in ...

who went on to lead the forward line in the club's successes some years later. He was sacked by Rangers in April 1986, and then had short spells with

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...

in Spain from 1986 to 1987, and in England with

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

from 1988 to 1990. Wallace died from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

in 1996, aged 60, and is still widely remembered by Rangers fans as one of their club's greatest ever managers.

Management style

Wallace was a classic Scottish manager of the type familiar to modern fans in the guise of Sir Alex Ferguson, renowned for their ability to lose their temper and terrify players who were not trying their best.

Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he has p ...

, who played under Wallace at

, is quoted as saying " epinned me against the dressing room wall at half-time and called me a lazy English this and that. We were 2–0 up and I'd scored both goals. I didn't score in the second half – I was still shaking!"

Mark Warburton Mark Warburton (born 6 September 1962) is an English professional football manager and former player who is a first-team coach at West Ham United. As a player, Warburton was a right back at non-League level with Enfield and Boreham Wood. He beg ...

, who later went on to also manage Rangers, said of his time as a youth player at Leicester City, that he took a dislike to the training methods of Wallace, later saying "he was a Marine. We had runs on sand-dunes, running until we threw up. I learned a lot from that, never treating a player that way". However, most of Wallace's players adored him.

Honours

Rangers

* Scottish Football League: 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1972–73, 1975–76, 1977–78 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

: 1975–76, 1977–78, 1983–84, 1984–85

Leicester City

: 1979–80

Managerial statistics

* Source from soccerbase.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Jock 1935 births 1996 deaths Association football goalkeepers Scottish footballers Blackpool F.C. players Workington A.F.C. players Ashton United F.C. players Berwick Rangers F.C. players Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Bedford Town F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Football League players Scottish football managers Berwick Rangers F.C. managers Heart of Midlothian F.C. non-playing staff Scottish Football League representative players Rangers F.C. non-playing staff Rangers F.C. managers Motherwell F.C. managers Leicester City F.C. managers Colchester United F.C. managers Sevilla FC managers Scottish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Spain La Liga managers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Spain Scottish Football League managers Neurological disease deaths in England Deaths from Parkinson's disease King's Own Scottish Borderers soldiers Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees People from Wallyford Association football player-managers Footballers from East Lothian