This was a season of disappointment for Rangers on the field - and major milestones OFF the field.
The Light Blues lost the League Championship and Scottish Cup they had won the previous season – and also lost their most famous manager when Bill Struth was forced to resign through ill health in April 1953.
Struth won 18 League titles in his 34 years as boss and was succeeded by Scot Symon, a former Ibrox player, who was appointed manager on June 15, 1954 from his posi- tion as Preston North End boss.
Another appointment that would prove historic in years to come was when Glasgow builder John Lawrence joined the board of directors on March 3, 1954.
The League Championship proved a lost cause to Rangers mainly because of their poor away form. They only lost one match at Ibrox, to Hearts 1-0, but went down eight times away from home and they eventually finished nine points behind Celtic, who won the title for the first time since 1938.
In the two major domestic cup competitions, Rangers twice lost out at the semi-final stages.
Partick Thistle defeated them 2-0 in the League Cup and when Rangers returned to Hampden for the Scottish Cup semi, they suffered their worst defeat of the season as they lost 6-0 to Aberdeen.
There was small consolation in the Glasgow Cup, which the Light Blues won for the 32nd time. They crushed Celtic 4-0 at Parkhead on their way to the Hampden final, in which they defeated Third Lanark 3-0.
The reserves also brought some trophy cheer to Ibrox as they lifted the Reserve League Championship.
At the end of the season, Rangers embarked on a nine match tour of Canada which proved highly successful, with the Ibrox men winning seven, drawing one and losing only to Chelsea in a special challenge match in Toronto. The season ended with two of the greatest Rangers players ever hanging up their boots.
Willie Thornton retired after a career which saw him score 248 goals in 406 games for Rangers and also win seven caps for Scotland. Jock 'Tiger' Shaw also called it a day after 578 appearances for the Light Blues and four Scottish caps.
