Eddie Rutherford

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Eddie Rutherford

| image =

| fullname = Edward Rutherford

| birth_date = {{birth date|1921|2|8|df=y}}

| birth_place = Govan, Scotland

| death_date = {{death date and age|2007|6|29|1921|2|6|df=y}}

| death_place = Rutherglen, Scotland

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=9}}

| position = Winger

| youthyears1=

| youthclubs1= Mossvale YMCA

| years1 = 1941–1951

| years2 = 1951–1955

| years3 = 1955

| years4 = 1955–1956

| clubs1 = Rangers

| clubs2 = Heart of Midlothian

| clubs3 = Raith Rovers

| clubs4 = Hamilton Academical

| caps1 = 96

| caps2 = 38

| caps3 = 4

| caps4 = 21

| goals1 = 19

| goals2 = 11

| goals3 = 0

| goals4 = 6

| nationalyears1 = 1948

| nationalteam1 = Scotland

| nationalcaps1 = 1

| nationalgoals1 = 0

| nationalyears2 = 1950[http://www.londonhearts.com/SFL/players/eddierutherford.html (SFL player) Eddie Rutherford], London Hearts Supporters Club

| nationalteam2 = Scottish Football League XI

| nationalcaps2 = 1

| nationalgoals2 = 1

}}

Edward Rutherford (8 February 1921 – 29 August 2007) was a Scottish footballer who played for Rangers, Heart of Midlothian and Scotland as an outside forward.

Career

Born in Govan, Rutherford joined Rangers from Mossvale YMCA in 1941 but during the Second World War he was posted to England with the Royal Air Force so guested for Leeds United, Lincoln City and Bradford City; he played three games for Bradford in 1944–45 in the Football League War Cup North section.{{cite book| last = Frost| first = Terry| title = Bradford City A Complete Record 1903-1988| publisher = Breedon Books Sport| year = 1988| pages = 346–347| isbn = 0-907969-38-0}}

After he had completed his service, Rutherford returned to Rangers and made his first appearance for the club on 19 October 1946 against Queen's Park in the Scottish League Cup. However, he never became a first-team regular on the right wing and was used as back-up to William Waddell, so decided to swap position to the left flank to increase his chance of playing and spent most of his Rangers career there. Whilst at Ibrox he was part of the squad that won the first ever treble in 1949. Rutherford won two Scottish League championships, three Scottish Cups, two League Cups, two Glasgow Cups and a Charity Cup.

After ten years, 147 appearances and 31 goals,[http://www.fitbastats.com/rangers/player.php?playerid=1571 (Rangers player) Rutherford, Eddie], FitbaStats Rutherford left Rangers and joined Hearts in 1951, in a swap deal that saw Colin Liddell move to Rangers. In his four years at Tynecastle he made 50 appearances and netted 15 times in all competitions.[https://www.londonhearts.com/scores/newplayers/h01317.html (Hearts player) Eddie Rutherford], London Hearts Supporters Club He was sold to Raith Rovers in January 1955 but joined Hamilton five months later. After a season with Accies he retired.

Rutherford was capped once by Scotland, in 1948, a 3–0 friendly home defeat to France.[https://www.londonhearts.com/scotland/players/edwardrutherford.html (Scotland player) Edward Rutherford], London Hearts Supporters Club After retiring from football he ran a newsagents in Rutherglen. He died on 29 June 2007, aged 86.[http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12772390.Eddie_Rutherford/ Eddie Rutherford], The Herald, 18 July 2007