Derek Grierson combined training to become a teacher with playing football as an amateur with Queen’s Park in the Scottish League. A short but powerful forward, his fifty goals over four seasons attracted first the selectors of the Scottish amateur team and then their British counterparts for the Helsinki Games. Grierson was not chosen for Britain’s first round defeat in Helsinki and soon afterwards elected to relinquish his amateur status by signing a professional contract for Glasgow Rangers. His first season with Rangers was a resounding success and he topped the goal scoring charts as the team won both the Scottish League and the Scottish Cup. Although he stayed at the club for another 3½ seasons he did not match the exploits of that first year and during the 1956-57 season he was sold to Falkirk. Although his new club struggled in the league they excelled in the Scottish Cup and with Grierson leading the attack won the trophy for only the second time in their history and the first time in 44 years. After spells with another four clubs he retired from professional football in 1962 and returned to teaching.
Great Britain