In this, the final episode of BBC Scotland's second series devoted to the "Icons of (Scottish) Football", there was no question at all about the status of the chosen subject. Rangers legend John Greig was a one-team-man who was made captain of the team at a young age and came to become identified as Mr Rangers throughout his long and distinguished career. Never a highly skilled player, he nevertheless made the most of his ability and in particular, set a true captain's example to his teammates with his determination, leadership qualities and will-to-win.
Ironically for the man voted as the best Rangers player of all time, young Greig was born on the east coast of Scotland and as a boy was a keen Hearts fan. However, his diminutive appearance as a youngster (which he certainly outgrew in adulthood) put off his hometown team and he ended up signing for Rangers instead.
He was quickly promoted to the first team in the great Rangers side of the early 60's and blossomed into a tough, hard-tackling midfielder although later in his career he would often play at full back. It wasn't long either before he was chosen for his country, for whom he scored probably scored the best and most famous goal of his career against Italy at Hampden in 1965, smashing home a last-minute winner after playing a brilliant 1-2 with Jim Baxter.
The years 1965-1974 saw the emergence of Jock Stein's "Lisbon Lions" who won 9 Scottish League titles in a row, putting Rangers very much in the shade. Even when Celtic won the European Cup in 1967, Rangers had the chance the very next week to win the Cup Winners Cup but came unstuck against the German giants Bayern Munich.
In the years ahead, Greig was to experience the depths of despair as he was the Rangers club captain at the time of the terrible Ibrox Disaster of 1971 which claimed 66 lives at Ibrox Stadium and then the joy of leading the team to victory in the Cup Winners Cup final of 1972 in Barcelona although the night was tarnished to some extent by a pitch invasion of the celebrating Rangers fans and the overzealous reaction of the Spanish police.
Fittingly, he retired from his long career out on the pitch, a winner of the 1976 Scottish Cup before immediately afterwards taking on the Rangers management job which he carried out over the next four years with mixed success.
With contributions from fellow "Barcelona Bears" team-mates Peter McCloy, Colin Stein and Willie Johnston as well as journalists Chick Young, Archie MacPherson and comedian Andy Cameron, this was one programme you felt could have been extended to take in even more of Greigy's full career.
The man himself comes over as loyal and proud but self-effacing and it seemed only fitting that the statue erected outside Ibrox to commemorate the 66 deaths on January 2nd 1971 should be of him, bearing as it does the names of every fan crushed to death that day.
