Get a team effort to defend health, says ex-footballer

Retired player tells the current crop to seek several opinions

A RETIRED north-east footballer is urging modern players to ensure they obtain multiple diagnoses if there are questions over their health.

William Moles’ career was cut short after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis following a head knock while playing for Rangers in the 1950s.

The 84-year-old shared his experience amid the spotlight being shone on football over issues like dementia affecting legends such as Aberdeen-born Denis Law.

He said after the blow to his head, his Ibrox employers arranged for him to see a consultant “who diagnosed me with MS, which was the fashionable thing to do at the time. My own doctor and the Rangers doctor didn’t agree with that”.

Ultimately he was let go by the Glasgow club, only to learn after tests years later that he did not have MS.

Mr Moles said players should guard their health but question doctors, saying: “Get second, third or fourth diagnoses.”

Aretired north-east footballer who had his on-field dreams crushed by a bogus medical diagnosis has urged former players to get “second, third or fourth” opinions to ensure they are fit.

William Moles, 84, had the world at his feet when he was playing for Rangers as a 20-year-old in 1957.

One of his first games for the Glasgow giants was against a star-studded British Army team featuring Manchester United greats Bobby Charlton and Duncan Edwards.

However, his dreams of a future at Ibrox were cut short after just 10 firstteam games following a severe head knock.

Mr Moles said doctors misdiagnosed him at the time and he is concerned about footballers from his era who are now suffering severe health consequences, including Aberdeen’s Denis Law who recently revealed he has dementia.

Mr Moles, who has lived in the north-east since the 1970s, was a no-nonsense defender in the 1950s.

The era required players head heavy balls to safety through 90-minute matches and training.

However, after one tough aerial battle, he needed medical attention.

Mr Moles, who also worked as an engineer during his football career, said: “It was a heavy ball and I thought I had a mild concussion but Rangers wanted to find out if there was more to it.

“So they arranged for me to see a consultant who diagnosed me with MS, which was the fashionable thing to do at the time.

“My own doctor and the Rangers doctor didn’t agree with that to the extent Rangers were prepared to send me to Mexico for treatment – but it didn’t come to that. In the end, Rangers couldn’t take any chances with me so they let me go.

“I played a few games for Montrose and Third Lanark but my heart was set on Rangers.

“The only good thing was the Army didn’t take me for my national service because of the MS.

“Years later I went in the hospital for a few days for tests and got told I didn’t have MS. We celebrated. It took a while to sink in. I’m 84 now and have absolutely no problems.

“It’s serious – footballers should get second, third or fourth diagnoses.”

The health of footballers from the 1950s and earlier has come into sharp focus following Law’s diagnosis.

The Aberdeen-born Scotland great has blamed heading the heavy balls of his era for his condition.

His diagnosis followed the same news for Bobby Charlton and Celtic legend and former Aberdeen manager Billy McNeill.

Mr Moles believes the early end to his own football dreams may have spared him a similar fate as those players.

He took up a career in insurance and pensions, predominantly in the fishing industry, which brought him to the northeast in the 1970s. He said: “I had a sore head and it lasted for a while – I never even thought of MS until the doctors brought it up.

“I never stopped heading the ball back then. I was quite happy up in the air heading the ball.

“I thought it was a concussion and didn’t think anything more of it at the time, but knowing what we know now, probably yes, the heavy ball was doing some damage.

“The balls then used to absorb the water and everything. Sometimes they weren’t even round.

“Looking at it now, perhaps I am one of the lucky ones.”

PLEA TO EX-PROS: William Moles, 84, also pictured below during his time with Rangers. Picture by Chris Sumner.