IAN BAKER MUIR
FEBRUARY 16TH 1929 – FEBRUARY 22ND 2009
…John’s son, Ian Baker Muir, was born in Motherwell on February 16th, 1929 and his career began with Thorniewood Celtic before appearing for Bishop Auckland whilst undertaking his National Service.
In 1950 Ian signed for Motherwell and he made just seven league appearances in three years before he joined Rovers, on a free transfer, in May 1953.
He was to spend four years at Eastville and yet made only five more first team appearances than his father did in just under 18 months with the club.
He was a reliable and dependable centre half but was competing for a place in a side that only changed through injury or illness. Remember, there were no substitutes in the 1950’s and whilst he was often selected as twelfth man by manager Bert Tann, that meant travelling with the team with no hope whatsoever of getting a game.
Although he deputised for him at times, it was always unlikely that he would replace skipper Ray Warren as a first team regular and when he wasn’t on first team duty as twelfth man, he often skippered the reserves.
The first reserve teamsheet I can find listing Ian is from August 22nd 1953 when he was in the side that drew 1-1 against Bournemouth Reserves at Eastville, watched by a crowd of 6,419.
He made his first team debut on April 12th, 1954, almost a year after he joined the club and towards the end of Rovers’ first season in Division Two.
His first appearance was recorded in the day’s local newspaper and under the headline ‘Muir may play at Hull tonight’ the report read; ‘Bristol Rovers are playing Hull City in the rearranged Division II match at Hull tonight (kick off 6.30).
(Teamsheet from the reserve team game against Bournemouth, played on August 22nd 1953. As you can see, the first team also drew 1-1 that day while the Colts won 3-1.
‘The players, the eleven who defeated Plymouth Argyle on Saturday, plus Ian Muir (centre half) and Peter Hooper (outside left) left Bristol yesterday and stayed the night at York.
‘Manager Bert Tann, who is in charge of the party, will not decide on the composition of the side until an hour before kick off. I understand, however, that it is likely that Muir will play at centre half so that Ray Warren can have a well deserved rest.
‘If Muir plays it will be his first match in the Second Division. He deputised for Warren when the Rovers played Manchester United in the friendly at Eastville last January.’
It wasn’t really a debut to remember as Rovers were beaten 4-1 by Hull City at Boothferry Park that day, and it turned out to be Ian’s only first team appearance of the season. He was the 320th player to make his Rovers league debut.
The report of the game said this about him; ‘Young Ian Muir had a pretty tough debut in league football against the fast and robust South African Ackerman, restored to his former centre forward position, but he stood up well to him although ending one duel lying flat on his face on the cinder track round the ground. His use of the ball was quite impressive.
‘The crowd of 11,543 was Hull’s lowest league attendance of the season.’
This was the Rovers side on the occasion of his debut: Radford, Bamford, Fox, Pitt, Muir, Sampson, McIlvenny, Biggs, Hale, Meyer, Petherbridge.
Rovers finished the season in ninth position in the Second Division.
There were nine league games in 1954/55, a run that included a run of five consecutive games in September/October 1954 and which took in a 7-0 win against Swansea and a 6-2 defeat at the hands of Rotherham United.
For the second season running, Rovers finished in ninth place in the Second Division table and the next campaign saw them achieve a sixth placed finish in what was Ian’s best season with the club as he made a total of 14 league appearances.
This rather battered photo was taken at the club’s training camp at Weston in the summer of 1954. Ian is on the far right of the front row
Keith Brookman