Ralph Brand
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ralph Laidlaw Brand | ||
| Date of birth | 8 December 1936 | ||
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1954–1965 | Rangers | 206 | (127) |
| 1965–1967 | Manchester City | 20 | (2) |
| 1967–1968 | Sunderland | 31 | (7) |
| 1969–1970 | Raith Rovers | 23 | (5) |
| 1971–1972 | Hamilton Academical | 7 | (2) |
| Total | 287 | (143) | |
| National team | |||
| 1960–1962 | Scotland | 8 | (8) |
| 1961–1963 | Scottish League XI | 5 | (8) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1972–1973 | Darlington | ||
| 1973–1974 | Albion Rovers | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Ralph Laidlaw Brand (born 8 December 1936) is a retired Scottish footballer, who played as a striker for Rangers, and latterly, Manchester City, Sunderland, Raith Rovers and Hamilton Academical.
Brand signed for Rangers after impressing manager Bill Struth whilst playing in a schoolboy international against England at Wembley in 1952. Struth signed him on a provisional contract in the summer of that year. In 1954 he turned professional and made his debut for Rangers on 6 November against Kilmarnock, scoring two goals in a 6–0 win. He missed the next two seasons doing his national service. After his return in December 1957, he formed an effective strike partnership with Jimmy Millar, and scored 14 goals in 28 games over the course of the second half of the season.
His best season came in 1960–61, where he played in all of Rangers' 34 league games, scoring 24 goals, and 44 in all competitions. These included 5 goals in Rangers' run to the final of the Cup Winners Cup, 3 of which were scored in an 8–0 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Brand played in four Scottish championship winning sides, 1958–59, 1960–61, 1962–63 and The Treble winning side of 1963–64. He won four League Cup and four Scottish Cup winner's medals, and is the only player to have scored in four consecutive Scottish Cup finals. He played in a total of seven finals for Rangers, scoring six goals and never finishing on the losing side. He played for Scotland eight times, scoring eight goals, although his international opportunities were limited because Denis Law was an established striker in the side.
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