Scottish footballer (1944–2023)
James Forrest (22 September 1944 – 27 September 2023) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a striker for Rangers, Preston, Aberdeen and Hong Kong Rangers.
Club career.
James Forrest was born in Glasgow, raised in the Townhead district of the city and signed for Rangers (the club he supported) as a schoolboy; he was sent for a short period to Drumchapel Amateurs for development. In coming into the first-team, he displaced Jimmy Millar as the successful early 1960s Rangers side was breaking up.
Forrest was known as a prolific goalscorer – in total scoring 145 goals in his 163 games for Rangers, his 50th goal for the club coming in his 45th appearance. He scored 57 goals in the 1964–65 season, just two short of Jimmy McGrory of Celtic who holds the record of most goals scored in a season in British football. Forrest holds the record for number of goals scored for Rangers in a League Cup match, scoring five in an 8–0 victory over Stirling Albion in August 1966. Other highlights included two goals in his first Old Firm appearance in 1963 (when he was aged just 18), four in the 1963 Scottish League Cup Final win over Morton, both goals in the 1964 Scottish League Cup Final victory over Celtic, and another five-goal haul against Hamilton in a 1965 league game.
His Rangers career came to an end shortly after the infamous Scottish Cup defeat to Berwick Rangers in January 1967. He and George McLean were deemed entirely to blame, and both were dropped by manager Scot Symon and transferred within weeks.
After spending a year at Preston, he had a five-year stint at Aberdeen, where he received a Scottish Cup winner's medal in 1970, before transferring to Hong Kong Rangers in 1973.
International career.
Forrest played five times for Scotland between 1965 and 1971, but did not score. He had also featured for the Under-23 side.
Personal life and death.
Forrest's cousin, Alex Willoughby, was also a professional footballer. The two were team-mates at Drumchapel, Rangers, Aberdeen and Hong Kong Rangers.
Jim Forrest died on 27 September 2023, at the age of 79.
References.
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