Sandy Jardine

Club career

Rangers

Jardine signed for Rangers in 1964. Signed as a midfielder, he spent a couple of years in the reserves before making his debut aged 18 in a 5–1 league win at home to Hearts on 4 February 1967, playing at right-half. This match took place a week after Rangers had been knocked out of the Scottish Cup by Berwick Rangers. He scored his first Rangers goal a few weeks later on 18 March 1967 in a league match against Ayr United. That same season Jardine played in the 1967 European Cup Winners' Cup Final against Bayern Munich, losing 1–0 after extra time. Jardine played in various defensive positions as he became a regular under manager Davie White, even as a centre-forward, before finally settling as a right full-back at the start of the 1970–71 season under new manager Willie Waddell. He proved a revelation at right-back; a strong player who enjoyed marauding forward, he had an excellent turn of pace which ensured he was rarely caught out of position. The position was where he went on to make the bulk of his 674 appearances for the club. He won his first major trophy in 1970, Rangers beating Celtic 1–0 in the Scottish League Cup Final. The following season he was an ever-present in the Rangers side which reached the 1972 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, playing in all eight matches en route to the final and scoring the first goal of a 2–0 win over Bayern Munich in the semi-final. Jardine went on to help Rangers win the final, defeating…

Jardine joined Heart of Midlothian in July 1982 as a player, but also took on the role of assistant manager under ex-Rangers teammate Alex MacDonald. The club achieved promotion to the Scottish Premier Division in 1983 and three years later came close to winning the title, eventually finishing in second place on goal difference behind Celtic. In November 1986 he was promoted to joint-manager alongside MacDonald. Hearts could only finish fifth in the league the following season but regained form in 1987–88 and again finished a credible second, ahead of Aberdeen and high-spending Rangers. Poor form at the start of season 1988–89, however, saw Hearts owner Wallace Mercer sack Jardine in November 1988, stating that the experiment of having joint-managers had not delivered the expected results.

Jardine later worked for Rangers in a public relations capacity and then in the retail department as the club's sales and marketing manager. After Rangers entered administration in February 2012, Jardine was placed in joint control of a fans' "fighting fund" to aid the club. Jardine was upset by the imposition of sanctions on Rangers by a Scottish Football Association (SFA) judicial panel in April 2012. He then led a march of Rangers fans to the SFA offices at Hampden Park to deliver a letter protesting against the sanctions. Jardine also said that the Rangers fans would consider taking action against other clubs or governing bodies that they felt had acted against Rangers' interests.

Jardine grew up in Edinburgh in close proximity to Tynecastle Park, the home ground of Hearts who he supported as a youngster. His ability at football shone through at an early age as he earned local and national schoolboy honours with Balgreen Primary and Tynecastle Secondary. As a youth he played for North Merchiston Boys Club, United Crossroads Boys Club and Edinburgh Athletic. He also trained at Hearts' ground. Although his full name was William Pullar Jardine, he became known as 'Sandy' due to his hair colour.