Ronnie McKinnon

Ronnie McKinnon

McKinnon (left) duelling with Willy van der Kuijlen (1968)
Personal information
Full name	Ronald MacKinnon[1]
Date of birth	(1940-08-20)20 August 1940
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death	17 September 2023(2023-09-17) (aged 83)
Place of death	Stornoway, Scotland
Position(s)	Central defender
Youth career
	Benburb[2]
	Dunipace[3]
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1960–1972	Rangers	301	(2)
1973	Durban United
International career
1965–1971	Scotland	28	(1)
1966–1971	Scottish League XI	9	(0)
1968[4]	Scotland U23	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ronald MacKinnon (20 August 1940 – 17 September 2023), known as Ronnie McKinnon,^[2] was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Rangers and the Scotland national team.

McKinnon, a central defender who had been a winger in his youth during early spells at Junior level,^[2][5] made his Rangers debut against Hearts on 8 March 1961 in a 3–0 win at Ibrox. He went on to make 487 appearances for the club in all competitions between 1961 and 1971,^[3] winning two Scottish League championships, four Scottish Cups and three League Cups.^[6][2]

His final Rangers appearance was in the 1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup second round match against Sporting CP in Lisbon, where he suffered a broken leg.^[6] Rangers went on to win the Cup Winners' Cup that season but McKinnon, who had been a regular for a decade but was already in the latter stages of his career, was put out of action entirely for a year due to the complications of the injury and the poor manner in which it was treated.^[5][2]

McKinnon won a total of 28 caps for Scotland,^[7] making his debut in a 1–0 win over Italy at Hampden Park in 1965, in which Rangers teammate John Greig had scored a memorable late winner.^[2] He also played in the 3–2 win over England at Wembley in 1967.^[5][8] His only goal for Scotland came in a 3–2 win over Wales, also in 1967. He also represented the Scottish League XI.^[9]

After leaving Rangers in 1973, McKinnon moved to South Africa, where he played local football for a season.^[5] He later returned to Scotland and settled on the Isle of Lewis where his mother was born and where he had spent time as a child during World War II.^[5][2]

His connection to Rangers continued as he was an Honorary Member & Ambassador of The Lewis & Harris Rangers Supporters Club, and travelled to matches at Ibrox with the island fans at least once a season.

McKinnon's twin brother Donnie was also a professional footballer, spending 14 seasons with Partick Thistle as a centre-half.^[10][11] He was also one of the coaches for the Scotland national team for many years.

McKinnon died on 17 September 2023, at the age of 83.^[12]

Rangers^[3]

• Scottish League First Division: 1962–63, 1963–64
• Scottish Cup: 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1965–66
• Scottish League Cup: 1963–64, 1964–65, 1970–71
• European Cup Winners' Cuprunner-up: 1966–67

Scotland

• British Home Championship: 1966–67

• Ronnie McKinnon at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
• Ronnie McKinnon - Rangers Hall of Fame ^{[dead link‍]}