HE’S THE recognisable voice behind some of the most memorable moments in Rangers’ 21st century history but Tom Miller’s career as the club’s official commentator began simply by chance.
Before his Ibrox broadcasting debut back in 1999, Tom was your typical Rangers diehard and followed the club from a young age in the early 60s.
He told the Rangers Review: “I first went to Ibrox in the days of Ritchie, Shearer, Caldow, Greig, McKinnon, Baxter, Henderson, McMillan, Millar, Brand and Wilson.
“My first cup final was against Dundee when they wore the blue and white vertical stripes so it’s been a journey which I embraced from a very early age.
“I was taken by an uncle who had members tickets which is the Waddell suite as we know it now. He would go along with a couple of cronies and if there was space in the car I was very fortunate to get taken along with them.
“It was an introduction at the top end of the fan experience, parking in the Albion as was the training ground at that time, walk across the road, my uncle’s Jaguar with the parking permit on the windscreen, up the stairs and into the members club.
“It’s always been a bit special from that first experience then having a season ticket myself and travelling from my home in Coatbridge. Yes, you’re right, there are not that many bluenoses originally from Coatbridge!
“You would take the blue train and then the subway out to Ibrox. So I’ve had various exposures to Rangers Football Club. The good, bad and indifferent all the way through to the trauma of 2012 and beyond in the lower leagues as well where you were basically pioneering in places like Elgin and Brechin.
“It’s been some experience over the years.”
Tom’s first experience behind the microphone would come in Ian Ferguson’s Testimonial against Sunderland at Ibrox in July 1999.
It’s a day he’ll never forget but admits it was one he had very little preparation for.
He recalled: “I had no ambition to be a football commentator whatsoever, it came about by default.
“I was doing some stuff for a radio station called Scot FM going back a number of years and an opportunity arose through a company called IC Scotland which was part of the Mirror Group. It was the early days of the internet and a previous presenter at Scot FM had moved on to IC Scotland and he’d been communicating with Rangers with a view to broadcasting a game live on the internet.
“It had never been done in Scotland up to this point. The trial game was Ian Ferguson’s Testimonial against Sunderland at Ibrox and it was audio-only. I had asked to be involved, someone else was to commentate and three days before it they couldn’t do it and had to pull out so I was thrown in at the deep end.
“I had the option at that time to embrace it and enjoy it or the opportunity might not come forward again.
“Did I fancy it? Yeah. Did I have reservations? Yeah. Did I have the notion to do it for the sustainability that I have in excess of 23 years? None, whatsoever.
“I recruited Colin Jackson who I’d been friendly with, by that time, probably 20 years so I knew him particularly well. I knew he’d be a real safe pair of hands and someone the fans could relate to.
“It was terrific to have that experience on hand to go to during the game. Very quickly I realised this was just like a couple of mates chatting down the pub but what a privilege to be able to talk about your club along the way.
“I miss Colin a lot. He was a great friend and we used to meet up regularly for lunch. We would go to the Stirling Castle. Not the iconic Scottish monument, it’s a boozer behind the Kelvin Hall.
“We would go there regularly and life was just talking about Rangers. He was a real icon of Rangers and is still greatly missed. He was a terrific Ranger and on that first-ever broadcast, I couldn’t have asked for someone to steer me through the choppy waters of unknown territory of football commentary than a Rangers great in the form of Colin Jackson.
“Every day I reflect on that opportunity back in 1999 and I appreciate it. I believe I’m really fortunate, honoured and privileged to be able to do it all these years later.
“One great broadcaster in Scotland, who’s just retired from being the stadium announcer at Hearts, Scott Wilson used to say, ‘Broadcasting in any shape or form is the most fun you can have with your clothes on,’ and I thought that’s not a bad line.
“It's been a privilege to do it for such an extended period and to do it for the greatest club in the world, well that’s a bonus.”
You can watch Tom’s interview in full in the player below as he discusses his life as the Rangers TV commentator as well as his latest book 'Barcelona: The Greatest Day in the History of Rangers FC'.
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