28.2.13

The Budapest Cup 1914

The Budapest Cup was won by Celtic at Burnley's Turf Moor on September 1st 1914. 
Burnley is 1600 km from Budapest, so some explanation is required.

Central Europe was a popular tour destination for English and Scottish clubs, and in the summer of 1914 both Celtic (Scottish Double winners) and Burnley ( then in the First Division of the Football league and 1914 FA Cup winners) undertook tours of Hungary, Austria and Germany. 

The Hungarian authorities arranged a match between the two. A silver trophy shaped like a lighthouse would be the prize, and the profits made from the fixture would be donated to charity. 
Apparently Celtic were unaware of the fixture until they arrived in Budapest.
However, 4 days after Celtic had begun their tour with a 2-2 draw against Ferencváros they faced Burnley (at Ferencváros' stadium). 











Celtic

May 21st was a hot day in Budapest and the two sides met on a dry and bumpy pitch before a crowd of around 10,000. The match was a hard and ill tempered contest. Jimmy McMennemy put Celtic in front through a  20th minute penalty. Burnley equalised from the penalty mark in the second half when Sunny Jim Young handled. Contemporary reports suggest that Celtic declined to play extra time. They agreed to travel to Burnley at a later date for a replay. The Hungarians would forward the trophy.

Burnley

Celtic continued on their tour with healthy wins over Wiener (6-2) and Hertha Berlin (6-0). VfB Leipzig beat the Scots 1-0 but BFC Preussen were dispatched 5-0.
The dates of Burnley's tour matches are not recorded clearly. However following the match with Celtic they lost 3-1 to Ferencváros before beating a Hungary Select XI. During the course of their travels thy also beat Viktoria Berlin and Rapid Vienna. The result of the match with DFC Prag is unknown.


The replay was held at Burnley's Turf Moor on September 1st 1914.
At half time with the score at 0-0 Celtic were reduced to 10 men by injury. However they took a 2-0 lead by the 70th minute through Jimmy McColl and Patsy Gallagher. Burnley got a late consolation from the penalty spot. 

 Of course, in between the 2 games, war had broken out. The intriguing trophy never reached Britain, but in 1988 Ferencváros presented Celtic with a vase to commemorate their victory.
Interestingly the clubs donated a share of the gate money from the repaly (the attendance was 10,000)  to the Budapest charities that the original match had been arranged to support (even though Britain and Hungary were now at war).