Duncan Douglas Foulds Rae OBE 1931-2018

It is with profound sadness that we at Greenock Morton Football Club announce the passing of honorary club president and former chairman Douglas Rae OBE.

Born on 14 June 1931, Mr Rae attended his first Morton match aged eight alongside great friend Arthur Montford and held a season ticket each and every season thereafter until joining the board in 1988.

After over eight years as a director, he resigned from that role on 1 August 1997 prior to a regime change at Cappielow before returning to buy a controlling interest in the club and preserve its very existence.

Mr Rae stepped in to prevent administrators from putting the club into liquidation in August 2001 and went on to serve as chairman for 17 years.

As a supporter, he saw the club participate in national cup finals and watched as footballing icons such as Sir Stanley Matthews and Tommy Lawton turned out for the Ton as war-time guests.

However, it was more recent events that ranked as personal highlights, including victory over Peterhead to clinch the 2002-03 Third Division championship and a shock League Cup success at Celtic in September 2013.

Owner of successful local confectionery firm Golden Casket, Mr Rae was the recipient of an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s birthday honours list in 2016.

He stepped down as Morton chairman in April 2018, following the final game of the 2017/18 season, due to ill health and took up the role of honorary club president while passing the stewardship of the club to his son Crawford.

There will be no further comment and we would ask that everyone please respect the privacy of the Rae family at this difficult time.