Over the years, the Scottish top flight has played host to a number of prolific goalscorers who have wowed fans with their ability to find the opponent’s net.
However, which players have scored the most goals in the history of the Scottish top-flight?
Jimmy McGrory (408 goals scored in 408 appearances for Celtic and Clydebank)
AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The former Celtic legend is almost a mythical figure in the history of Scottish football. He enjoyed a 16-year career at the highest level of the game in Scotland, scoring 408 goals in the same number of games.
McGrory also scored an impressive 550 goals in 547 appearances in all competitions, making him the most prolific goalscorer in British football history. In the 1927/28 season, he scored 62 goals in 46 appearances, another British goalscoring record.
The diminutive forward spent all but one of his 16 seasons in the Scottish top-flight with Celtic. The one season he spent away from the Glasgow club was on loan at Clydebank, as he scored 13 league goals in 30 appearances.
However, it is at Celtic that he is best remembered for his goals and his top-class performances, which turned him into a true legend of the Scottish game.
Bob McPhail (305 goals scored in 468 appearances for Airdrieonians and Rangers)
Match advert in 1928 featuring Bob McPhail – Detroit Free Press, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Someway behind McGrory in the goalscoring stakes is former Rangers star McPhail. However, his 308 goals in 468 appearances for Airdrieonians and Rangers is still an impressive scoring record.
The inside-left started his career at Pollok before moving to Airdrieonians in 1923 and stayed until 1927. While at the club, McPhail made 115 top-flight appearances and scored 75 goals.
However, a 13-year spell at Rangers was the most successful of his career, as he scored 230 goals in his 354 appearances for the Gers’.
McPhail’s goals helped Rangers win the Scottish title on nine occasions and the Cup six times.
Hughie Ferguson (286 goals scored in 305 appearances for Motherwell and Dundee)
Hughie Ferguson playing for Motherwell in 1916 – Sunday Post, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The forward made his name in the Scottish game at Motherwell, where he played from 1916 until 1925. He scored 284 goals in 301 appearances for the Steelmen. His goalscoring form earned him the league’s top goalscorer crown in seasons 1917/18, 1919/20 and 1920/21.
He moved to the Welsh club Cardiff City in 1925/26. He spent three and a half seasons with the Bluebirds, the highlight of which was winning the English FA Cup in 1927 and the Charity Shield in the same year.
Ferguson ended his playing career with a season back in his homeland with Dundee, scoring just two goals in his 17 appearances.
Ally McCoist (282 goals scored in 528 appearances for St. Johnstone, Rangers and Kilmarnock)
The former Scotland international is a bonafide modern-day Rangers legend. However, he started his playing career at St. Johnstone, scoring 22 goals in 57 appearances in the Scottish top flight.
His goals were enough to earn him a move south of the border to English First Division club Sunderland. However, he spent just two underwhelming seasons with the Black Cats before returning to his homeland to sign for Rangers in 1983.
McCoist spent the next 15 years with the Scottish giants being prolific in front of goal, scoring 251 goals in 418 appearances.
He was so prolific at Rangers that he won the European Golden Shoe on two occasions in seasons 1991/92 and 1992/93. The forward was also the top goalscorer in the European Cup in season 1987/88.
McCoist left Rangers for Kilmarnock in 1998. He spent three years with Killie, scoring just nine goals in his 53 appearances before retiring in 2001.
Willie Reid (270 goals scored in 367 appearances for Morton, Motherwell, Rangers and Albion Rovers)
Reid began his playing career at Morton, where he scored 11 goals in 26 appearances over a three-year period. He moved to Third Lanark in 1906 but never played in the league for the Warriors.
The forward moved on to Motherwell the same year and, in three seasons with the Steelmen, scored 35 goals in 59 league appearances. After a brief spell in England with Portsmouth, he returned to Scotland in 1909 to sign for Rangers.
Remembering Willie Reid, born #OTD in 1884. Joined #Rangers from Motherwell in 1909, he was our topscorer for 6 seasons before WWI where he served as a Gunner in the Royal Field Artillery. He left Ibrox in 1920 having scored 224 goals in 260 games and won 3 League Championships pic.twitter.com/TaTriH1Udg
— (@WATP72RFC) May 3, 2024
From 1909 until 1920, Reid was in his most prolific form, scoring 188 goals in 217 appearances for the Glasgow outfit. He ended his career with a two-year stint as player-manager of Albion Rovers, during which time he found the net 36 times in 65 appearances.
Gordon Wallace (264 goals scored in 487 appearances for Montrose, Raith Rovers, Dundee and Dundee United)
The Dundee-born forward made his footballing debut at Montrose, where he scored 75 goals in 132 appearances over four years.
He moved to Raith Rovers in 1966 and spent four years with the club, scoring 59 goals in 102 appearances in the Scottish top flight. He returned to his home town to play for Dundee and enjoyed a six-year spell in which he managed 89 goals in 197 appearances.
Wallace spent a spell in the NASL with the Seattle Sounders before joining the other Dundee club, Dundee United, where he spent two years scoring 16 goals. He ended his playing career in his homeland with a two-stint with former club Raith Rovers, scoring 25 goals in 65 appearances.
Jimmy McColl (263 goals scored in 455 appearances for Celtic and Hibernian)
The forward really made a name for himself at Celtic from 1913 until 1920. The Glasgow-born star scored 120 goals in 165 appearances in the Scottish top-flight. During his time with the Hoops, McColl helped his team win the title on five occasions and also the Scottish Cup in season 1913/14.
The first inductee into the Hall of Fame tonight is Jimmy McColl – over 50 years of service to Hibernian and the first to score 100 goals. pic.twitter.com/zf6lVLX7Pg
— Hibernian Football Club (@HibernianFC) February 24, 2017
He played one season in England at Stoke City before returning to the Scottish top flight with Hibernian in 1922. He stayed with the club from the country’s capital until 1931.
McColl continued to be relatively prolific for Hibs, scoring 130 goals in 290 appearances in the Scottish top flight. The forward finished as a Scottish Cup runner-up with Hibernian on two occasions in seasons 1922/23 and 1923/24.
