Craig Thomas “Tully” Image 2 Alloa Athletic 1922

Description

Laurieston, near Falkirk, Stirlingshire born left half Thomas “Tully” Craig began his career with junior club Grange Rovers before joining Glasgow Celtic in June 1919, making his Scottish League debut in a 3-2 win at Kilmarnock on January 17th 1920, Craig scoring twice.  However he remained on the fringes at Parkhead and after 3 goals in 9 appearances he was sold to Alloa in an exchange deal which saw Craig and two other Celts swapped for Alloa goalscoring sensation “Wee” Willie Crilly. While Crilly would disappoint in the green and white hoops, Craig was a huge success at Alloa, so much so that after a season Glasgow Rangers snapped him up for a hefty £750 fee, Craig scoring on his Rangers debut in a 2-1 win over Clyde in September 1923.

He was first capped for Scotland in February 1927, when he played in a 2-0 win over Ireland at Windsor Park, Belfast, winning 8 Scotland caps over the next three years and scoring his only international goal in a 7-3 summer tour win over Norway in Brann in May 1929. He also played five times for The Scottish League between November 1925, when he scored on his representative debut in a 7-3 win over The Irish League at The Solitude, Belfast, and November 1929, when he was part of the Scottish League team that beat The Football League 2-1 at Ibrox.

Whilst with Rangers he won five Scottish League Championships, two Scottish Cups, two Glasgow Cups and four Charity Cups, scoring 38 goals in 275 League and Cup appearances for The Gers during a dozen seasons at Ibrox, although he was mainly a fringe player from 1930 onwards. Craig retired from football in 1935 and immediately became Falkirk’s manager, remaining their manager until 1950, and he later managed Linfield. Reputedly, he pioneered the first all-ticket match in Scotland, when Falkirk played Rangers on 19th March 1938.