A CATHOLIC at Ibrox? So what's new? According to a reliable source, Mo

Johnston is, in fact, the sixteenth Tim to play for Rangers.

The source is Robert McElroy, editor and publisher of an erudite, even

arcane, publication called The Rangers Historian.

Mr McElroy's list of the 16 who crossed the sectarian divide begins in

1885 with one Pat Lafferty. He played nine games for the Gers, was a

prolific goal-scorer, and ''was a big favourite with the Kinning Park

crowds''.

He was followed by:

Tom Dunbar, a full back, signed in 1891 from Celtic. He played 31

games before rejoining Celtic.

John Tutty, an inside forward, signed in 1900. He played eight times,

scoring four goals.

Archie Kyle, a ''free-scoring'' forward who signed in August 1904 from

Parkhead Juniors. He scored 64 times in 158 games. ''The best Catholic

of all to play for Rangers,'' says Mr McElroy. ''The fans adored him yet

somehow he is ignored in every official Rangers history . . .''

William Kivlichan, a forward who made his debut in November 1905.

Played 29 first-team games before moving to Celtic.

Constantine McGhie, a full back who played two games in 1906.

Colin Mainds, a right half who made his debut in August 1906. On New

Year's Day 1907, Rangers fielded three Catholics (Mainds, Kivlichan, and

Kyle) against Celtic at Ibrox. They won 2-1, Kivlichan scoring the

winner.

Tom Murray, an Englishman signed from Aberdeen in May 1908, played 22

games at centre forward.

Rangers signed three more RCs before 1920 -- William Brown, Johnny

Jackson, and Joe Donnachie. There then followed a spell of almost 70

years when Catholics at Ibrox were as rare as a tax bill dropping

through Mo Johnston's letter-box. The exceptions were Laurie Blyth in

1951; Don Kitchenbrand in the mid-1950s (who kept his religion a

secret); Hugh O'Neill, a young American who played for the reserves in

1976; John Spencer, signed in 1984 and currently on loan in Hong Kong;

and Mo Johnston.

This information will be invaluable for the great new pub game

''What's your favourite, all-time, all-Catholic Rangers team?''

* The Rangers Historian, now into its 15th edition, is available

directly from Mr McElroy at 21 Cornaig Road, Glasgow G53 5AW for 70p

plus postage per copy.

Blackboard jungle

STILL on that subject. Various Celtic fans are suggesting that Mo

Johnston has decided on which school his children should go to -- Judas

Iscariot Primary.

Celtic's Billy boy

STILL on the subject of football, Paul Cooney, commentating on the

Celtic game in Mostar, Yugoslavia on Tuesday decided to insert a bit of

colour.

In the crowd below his commentary position, he spotted a Celtic fan

who, he knew, was living and working in Istanbul for an oil company.

''The Celtic fans have travelled from all over for this game,'' he

intoned. ''In fact, there's Billy from Istanbul.''

This was all very well until the said Billy phoned Glasgow to speak to

his wife. She wasn't very pleased to hear her husband receive a

name-check (as I believe it is called) on the radio. Especially since he

had told her he couldn't join her on holiday in Glasgow because of an

urgent appointment in Anchorage, Alaska.

Secret's out

THE Geography Game: Latest in a long line of bottled waters for sale

is Strathglen. ''Discover the secret held within the heart of Strathglen

. . . this clear water comes directly from the Campsie Fells deep within

the Scottish Highlands . . .'' And not too far from Kilsyth either.

Wrong-footed

THE visit by New York City Ballet to Glasgow, the City of Culture, was

a great success with the American visitors enjoying the city almost as

much as the locals did the performances.

To enhance the visitors' enjoyment of Glasgow, the city's festivals

unit prepared a four-page dossier on where to eat, shop, and go

sightseeing. Depressingly, for the hosts, one of the first questions on

many an American lip was: ''And just how do we get to Edinburgh?''

A switch off

THE Leaderene has been remaindered. A video of a TV interview with Mrs

Thatcher (yes, the one where she wiped away a tear for her dear, old

dad) has been reduced to #3.99 in the rather ominously titled

''Clearout'' section at Woolworth's store in Byres Road, Glasgow.

Feminist bollocking

WHAT'S in a name? That's the question that has been on the minds of

some female members of the ethics council of the journalists' very own

union, the NUJ.

The object of their ire is an award which the industrial

correspondents of the national press present every year to the member

who has committed the biggest or silliest faux pas.

The reason for the feminists' fury is the name of said award, which

has a particularly male ring to it, especially at a time when more women

are moving into the industrial sphere of journalism such as the lovely

Joy Copley, labour correspondent of The Scotsman.

But the industrial correspondents are standing firm. They argue that

The Golden Bollock award could be equally won by a male or a female

scribbler.