| Club: | Rangers |
| Season: | 1896–97 |
| Mgrtitle: | Match Secretary |
| Manager: | William Wilton |
| Chrtitle: | President |
| Chairman: | John Robertson Gow |
| Stdtitle: | Ground |
| Stadium: | Ibrox Park |
| League: | Scottish League Division One |
| League Result: | 3rd P18 W11 D3 L4 F64 A30 |
| Cup1: | Scottish Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Winners |
| Season Topscorer: | John McPherson (15) |
| League Topscorer: | John McPherson, Tommy Hyslop (11) |
| Prevseason: | 1895–96 |
| Nextseason: | 1897–98 |
The 1896–97 season is the 23rd season of competitive football by Rangers.
Rangers played a total of 22 competitive matches during the 1896–97 season. They finished third in the Scottish League Division One with a record of 11 wins from 18 matches.
The club won the Scottish Cup that season. A 5–1 victory of Dumbarton on 20 March 1897 saw them win the trophy for only the second time in the club's history.
All results are written with Rangers' score first.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 August 1896 | St. Mirren | H | 5–1 | 8,000 | Turnbull (2), Hyslop, R.Crawford, J.Miller | |
| 22 August 1896 | Third Lanark | A | 1–1 | 15,000 | Gibson | |
| 29 August 1896 | Dundee | H | 3–1 | 13,000 | Hyslop, D.Crawford, Burgess (og) | |
| 5 September 1896 | Hibernian | A | 3–4 | J.Miller (2), Turnbull | ||
| 12 September 1896 | Heart of Midlothian | H | 5–0 | 14,000 | R.Crawford, A.Smith, Oswald, Hyslop, J.Miller | |
| 21 September 1896 | Heart of Midlothian | A | 1–2 | 7,000 | Gibson | |
| 26 September 1896 | Abercorn | A | 9–2 | J McPherson (5), Turnbull (2), J.Miller, R.Crawford | ||
| 3 October 1896 | Hibernian | H | 4–3 | 20,000 | Turnbull (3), A.McCreadie | |
| 10 October 1896 | Celtic | A | 1–1 | 24,000 | J .McPherson | |
| 17 October 1896 | Clyde | H | 2–1 | 4,000 | J.McPherson (2) | |
| 24 October 1896 | Third Lanark | H | 6–1 | 5,000 | Low (3), J.McPherson (2), Oswald | |
| 7 November 1896 | St. Mirren | A | 2–2 | A.Smith, Mitchell | ||
| 28 November 1896 | Dundee | A | 2–3 | 10,000 | J.Miller, A.Smith | |
| 5 December 1896 | Clyde | A | 7–2 | 4,000 | Hyslop (4), Unknown (3) | |
| 12 December 1896 | Abercorn | H | 6–1 | 2,000 | Turnbull (2), Hyslop (2), A.Smith, Unknown | |
| 19 December 1896 | Celtic | H | 2–0 | 15,000 | Low, J.Miller | |
| 26 December 1896 | St. Bernards | A | 2–3 | 2,000 | J.Miller, Hyslop | |
| 20 February 1897 | St. Bernards | H | 3–2 | A.Smith, J.McPherson, Russell (og) |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 January 1896 | R1 | Partick Thistle | A | 4–2 | 6,000 | Hyslop (2), N.Smith, N.Gibson | |
| 23 January 1896 | R2 | Hibernian | H | 3–0 | 22,000 | Low (2), J.McPherson | |
| 13 February 1896 | QF | Dundee | A | 4–0 | 16,000 | N.Gibson, Hyslop, A.McCreadie, J.Miller | |
| 13 March 1896 | SF | Greenock Morton | A | 7–2 | 12,000 | J.McPherson (2), Low, N.Gibson, J.Miller, Hyslop, A.Smith | |
| 20 March 1896 | F | Dumbarton | N | 5–1 | 15,000 | J.Miller (2), Hyslop, J.McPherson, A.Smith |
| Player | Position | Appearances | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Dickie | GK | 23 | 0 | |
| Alex Miller | DF | 2 | 0 | |
| Jock Drummond | DF | 21 | 0 | |
| Neilly Gibson | MF | 22 | 5 | |
| Andrew McCreadie | DF | 23 | 2 | |
| David Mitchell | MF | 22 | 1 | |
| R.Crawford | MF | 7 | 3 | |
| James Millar | FW | 20 | 12 | |
| Peter Turnbull | FW | 11 | 10 | |
| Tommy Hyslop | FW | 22 | 15 | |
| Alex Smith | MF | 22 | 7 | |
| David Crawford | DF | 7 | 1 | |
| Nicol Smith | DF | 14 | 1 | |
| Jimmy Oswald | FW | 6 | 2 | |
| John McPherson | MF | 14 | 15 | |
| Jimmy Jackson | DF | 1 | 0 | |
| Tommy Low | MF | 14 | 7 | |
| Hay | DF | 1 | 0 | |
| Robert Glen | DF | 1 | 0 |