A disappointing season in every way for Rangers, despite the fact they produced some football which was acclaimed by the critics as their best for many a year. The League Championship was a case of the Light Blues never recovering from a shaky start while Hearts romped to an astonishing title success, losing only one match and scoring a record 132 goals in their 34 fixtures.
Rangers finished in second spot, 13 points behind the Tynecastle men and three points ahead of third-placed Celtic. Despite going 20 matches unbeaten from November 16 to April 16, the gap was just too much for the Ibrox men to pull back.
Scot Symon led his men into the European arena for the second time and there was some success on this occasion. In the first round of the European Cup, Rangers defeated St Etienne 4-3 on aggregate with 85,000 fans watching the Light Blues beat the French side 3-1 at Ibrox in the first leg.
Sadly, there was to be no further progress. Italian giants AC Milan simply proved too powerful for Rangers in the second round, winning 4-1 at Ibrox and 2-0 in the San Siro for a 6-1 aggregate triumph.
Milan moved onto the final in Brussels, where they narrowly lost to the 'invincibles' of Real Madrid, who took the trophy for the third consecutive season.
Back on the domestic scene, there was agony for Rangers in the two major cup competitions. In the Scottish Cup, they met Hibs in what proved to be a controversial semi-final.
The Easter Road men snatched a 2-2 draw at Hampden with a hotly disputed equaliser and equally arguable was the winner Hibs grabbed in the 2-1 replay win. In the final, they lost 1-0 to Clyde.
The League Cup, though, provided even bigger disappointment. After battling past St Mirren, Partick Thistle, Raith Rovers, Kilmarnock and Brechin, Rangers were crushed 7-1 in a Hampden final which is, to say the least, best forgotten.
Small consolation came as Rangers brought the Glasgow Cup back to Ibrox for the 34th time. They defeated Celtic 2-0 in the first round before going on to win the trophy with a 4-2 replay win the final against Third Lanark.
Eric Caldow and Sammy Baird were Rangers' representatives in the Scotland side which played in the World Cup Finals in Sweden. Caldow played in all three games against Yugoslavia, Paraguay and France with Baird being capped against the French only.
One other major international honour to come Rangers' way was lan McColl skippering the Scottish League side that season.
