The Edinburgh Cup

By my reckoning this competition (still played for today in the guise of the East of Scotland Shield) is the third oldest Association football cup tournament in the World. This despite the apparent slowness of the east of Scotland in taking to the game (Rugby was the favoured code).

Hibernian 1880

11.03.76	Third Edinburgh Rifle Volunteers	6	0	Thistle
	3ERV became St Bernard’s in 1878.
1876–77	Thistle	Walk over		Third Edinburgh Rifle Volunteers
	Revenge after a fashion for Thistle as 3ERV did not turn up.
20.04.78	Heart of Midlothian	3	2	Hibernian
	This match required 4 replays to produce a winner, and is credited with cementing the popularity of both clubs. 1 09.02.78 Heart of Midlothian 0 0 Hibernian 2 16.02.78 Heart of Midlothian 1 1 Hibernian 3 23.02.78 Heart of Midlothian 1 1 Hibernian 4 06.04.78 Heart of Midlothian 1 1 Hibernian 5 20.04.78 Heart of Midlothian 3 2 Hibernian
29.03.79	Hibernian	2	0	Heart of Midlothian
	Another replay, following a 1-1 draw (01.03.79) . 4,000 watched the first match, whereas the average attendance for the 5 matches the previous season had been 1200.
20.03.80	Hibernian	5	0	Dunfermline
	Another replay, albeit in different circumstances. Hibernian won the original match (06.03.80) by 6 goals to 3. Dunfermline protested that crowd encroachment had affected the game so a rematch was ordered. Dunfermline were not connected with the present day Dunfermline Athletic
02.04.81	Hibernian	1	0	St Bernard’s
	Hibernian were awarded the trophy in perpetuity having won it 3 times in succession.

Jimmy Brogan

                                                                      Lloyd's Weekly London  Newspaper  (15.11.91)

Jimmy Brogan scored 6 goals on his debut in senior football in 1883 (Hibernian beating Edina 10-1 in the Scottish Cup). Brogan joined Heart of Midlothian the following season and then moved to Bolton Wanderers in 1884.  He joined Bolton after appearing  for  Heart of Midlothian in a Boxing Day friendly against  Blackburn Rovers.
I don't have access to statistics from thre pre Football League years, but from 1888-92 Brogan made 82 first team appearances for Bolton , scoring 30 goals. 

Goodison Park

'The first purpose built football stadium in England'- Goodison Park opened on 24 August 1892. FA dignitaries Lord Kinnaird and Frederick Wall were present, but strangely there was no football match- a 12,000 crowd saw athletics followed music and a fireworks display. Everton's first game at the new stadium was on 1st September 1892 when they beat Bolton Wanderers  4-2. 2,000 less people were present than had been for the fireworks!. The first Everton XI to take to the pitch at the new stadium was:
Jardine, Howarth, Dewar, Boyle, Holt, Robertson, Latta, Maxwell, Chadwick, Millward.
The same line up faced  Nottingham Forest in the opening League fixture on September 3rd (a 2-2 draw).
Out of Doors magazine commented in  October 1892:
No single picture could take in the entire scene the ground presents, it is so magnificently large, for it rivals the greater American baseball pitches. On three sides of the field of play there are tall covered stands, and on the fourth side the ground has been so well banked up with thousands of loads of cinders that a complete view of the game can be had from any portion.it appears to be one of the finest and most complete grounds in the kingdom...

The illustration above shows the friendly between Everton and Heart of Midlothian on November 12th 1892. The match ended in a 2-0 victory for the hosts. The drawing shows the Gwladys Street End and Goodison Road - the old St Luke's Church  is in the background. The corner flags look like they belong on a crazy golf course. 

Liverpool Mercury -  21.11.92

Edinburgh

Edinburgh occupies a significant place in the pre-history of football, The Foot-Ball Club being active from 1824-1841. In the Association era, however, it was the west of Scotland that set the pace- the oldest clubs being Queen's Park (1867) and Kilmarnock (1869). The 8 clubs who formed the Scottish Football Association and the further 8 who joined them in the inaugural Scottish Cup (1873–74) were all from the west.

In order to spread the popularity of the game The Scottish FA arranged an exhibition match at Edinburgh. The game was played at Edinburgh Royal High School FP football ground (a Rugby ground) on  December 27th 1873. 

Morning Post - 20.12.73

Among those who witnessed this exhibition, the first time Association (the Queen's Park variant) had been played in the capital, were members of the Heart of Midlothian club. Originally a dancing club, the members had been playing a form of football in 1873 but now decided to adopt the Association rules. In 1875 the club became members of the Scottish Football Association and were founder members of the Edinburgh Football Association.

Tom Purdie, founder member and first captain.

The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, 1873-1900

1874- Queen's Park 2 Clydesdale 0 
16 teams entered the inaugural Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup.
The first Scottish final was played at Queen's Park's Hampden (1) in front of 2,500 spectators.  


1875- Queen's Park 3 Renton 0
A crowd of 7,000 were at Hampden (1) to see The Spiders assert their position as the dominant force in Scottish football.


1876- Queen's Park 2 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers 1
The competition was growing in popularity, with 49 teams now entering and a crowd of 10.000 watching the final at Hamilton Crescent.
The cup was decided in a replay, the first match being drawn 1-1. The second match was played at Hampden (1) in front of 6,000 spectators. 

1877- Vale of Leven 3 Glasgow Rangers  2
The sensation of this season's cup was the defeat of Queen's Park by Vale of Leven. This was the first time that Queen's Park had been beaten by Scottish opposition and the first time they had lost in Scotland. 
300 minutes were needed to settle the final- 2 1-1 draws (including Scotland's first ever period of extra time) preceding the deciding match. Attendances were steadily growing as well. 


1878- Vale of Leven 1 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers 0
128 teams entered. Queen's Park suffered a 3rd round defeat to 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers
The attendance at the final at Hampden (1) was down to 5.000.

1879- Vale of Leven walkover victory over Glasgow Rangers.
 After the final ended 1-1 Rangers refused to replay in protest at having had a goal disallowed in the original match. The incedent and the aftermath were remarkable.  There were no goal nets in those days, and it appears that a shot from a Rangers player went through the goal, hit a spectator and flew back into play. Neither the referee or the umpires were in a position to award the goal. Rangers produced a witness- the man who the ball had hit, He was a knight and a professor of surgery at the Glasgow University. The SFA Committee dismissed their appeal and ordered a replay for the following Saturday, but Rangers showed their disdain by not turning up. 

1880- Queen's Park 3 Thornliebank 0
After 3 years absent from the final Queen's Park were back to claim their 4th victory.  Thornliebank is a village about 10km south of Glasgow. 

1881- Queen's Park 3 Dumbarton 1
Replayed after Dumbarton had protested against the 2-1 result of the first game. The protests were at the behaviour of the crowd at Glasgow Rangers' Kinning Park. The replay was held at the same ground. Dr John Smith scored a hattrick in the second match.  James McAulay  appeared for Dumbarton as a forward.

1882- Queen's Park  4 Dumbarton 1
Another replayed final, this time following a 2-2 draw in the first match.

1883- Dumbarton 2  Vale of Leven  1
Yet another replay following a 2-2 draw. Having appeared in the finals of the previous 2 years as a forward, James McAulay was now between the sticks for Dumbarton in the first match and at centre forward in the replay!

1884- Queen's Park walkover victory over Vale of Leven, who were unable to field an XI for the final tie. Vale appealed to have the final postponed as they had so many players ill or injured. The SFA would not entertain their appeal. So only Queen's Park turned up for the final. They kicked off unopposed and scored. The season also saw Queen's Park reach the final of the FA Cup.

1885 -Renton 3 Vale of Leven 1
A replay following a 0-0 draw. Both matches were played at Hampden (2) in poor weather before small crowds (2,000 and 3,500)

1886- Queen's Park 3 Renton  1

1887- Hibernian 2 Dumbarton 1
The first Edinburgh winners

1888- Renton 6 Cambuslang 1
Renton went on to become 'World Champions'.

1889- 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers 2  Celtic 1
This was a replay. Third won the first match 3-0 but the teams had signed an agreement before kick off that the game should be considered a friendly due to poor conditions.

1890- Queen's Park 2 Vale of Leven 1
Replay following a 1-1 draw

1891- Heart of Midlothian 1 Dumbarton 0

1892- Celtic 5 Queen's Park 1
A replay- Celtic won the first match 1-0 in front of a 40,000 crowd at Ibrox, but the match was declared a 'friendly' due to the pitch being covered in snow. The tide in Scottish football was turning. Rememeber that at this point the game was still, from the official point of view, amateur. 

1893- Queen's Park 2 Celtic 1
deja vu- a replay- Celtic won the first match 1-0. A huge crowd, almost 50,000, unaware that before the game the match had been agreed as a friendly due to frost. 

1894- Glasgow Rangers 3 Celtic 1
The first Old Firm final, played at Hampden (2) in front of 17,000. 0-0 at half time, then Rangers took a 3-0 lead.

1895- St Bernard's 2 Renton 1
Edinburgh football was enjoying something of a purple patch. St Bernards won the cup in front of a crowd of 13,500 at Ibrox. 9 of Renton's players were teenagers!


1896- Heart of Midlothian 3 Hibernian 1
The first all Edinburgh final and the first (and only) final to be played away from Glasgow, at St Bernard's Logie Green ground watched by a crowd of 16,000. An insight into the spirit in which the game was played in Scotland at the time - the teams agreed before the match not to dispute the outcome! James Catton referred to an earlier period of football in England as the 'win draw or protest ' era.

1897- Glasgow Rangers 5 Dumbarton 1
Dumbarton were no longer the great force they had been in the amateur era, and were now a second tier side. Rangers overwhelmed them in the second half of the final, which was watched by 14.000 at Hampden (2).

1898- Glasgow Rangers 2 Kilmarnock 0
Kilmarnock were a second tier side 

1899- Celtic 2 Glasgow Rangers 0
25.000 at Hampden (2) saw a Celtic team featuring 9 Scottish internationals defeat an all international Rangers XI.

1900- Celtic 4  Queen's Park 3
This match at Ibrox represents something of a turning point in Scottish football, with Queen's Park making their last cup final appearance (to date) having featured so prominently in the game during its first three decades.  They eschewed league football and had remained staunchly amateur.

Bobby Walker

Bobby Walker, the greatest natural footballer who ever played.
The Football Encyclopaedia (1934)

The picture above shows Bobby Walker with the caps he had been awarded up until 1909. In the picture Walker is wearing the Rosebery colours that Scotland wore for internationals in 1900-01 and from 1905 to 1909. Walker, at the time this card was produced, had won 24 full international caps. 
He went on to represent Scotland 29 times*, a record which stood from 1913-1931 when Alan Morton overtook the total.
Walker's creative play was a dominant feature- and his short, incisive passing to centre forward or wing was a style that became known as Walkerism.
The 1901 Scottish Cup Final, in which Heart of Midlothian beat Celtic 4-3, became known as the Walker Final. 

The above is a souvenir card commemorating Bobby Walker's record number of international caps. 

The signatures are as follows:

Harry Rennie
 (13  Scotland caps 1900- 08. Clubs:  Heart of Midlothian, Hibernian)

Matt Richardson 
(?)- I am unable to find any information on Richardson. 

Paddy Crossan 

(Heart of Midlothian)

Neil Gibson 
(14 Scotland caps 1895- 1905. Clubs: Glasgow  Rangers,  Partick Thistle)

Jack Bell 
 (10 Scotland appearances 1890-1900. Clubs:  Dumbarton, Celtic) 

Alec Raisbeck 
(8 Scotland appearances 1900-07. Liverpool)

Bobby Walker himself- the 38 caps referred to here include appearances for the Scottish League. Walker's only senior club was Heart of Midlothian. 

John Drummond 
(14 Scotland caps 1892-1903.  Clubs:  Falkirk, Glasgow Rangers)

Jacky Robertson 
(16 Scotland caps 1898-1905. Clubs: Everton, Glasgow Rangers)

Alex Smith  
(20 Scotland appearances 1898- 1911.Glasgow Rangers)

Robert McColl 
(13 Scotland appearances 1896- 1908. Clubs:  Queen´s Park  Newcastle United)

James Campbell  
(1 Scotland cap 1913. The Wednesday) 

*If you use IFFHS you will find discrepancies in the number of caps won by a number of Scottish plauers. For example, they credit Walker with 31. This is because the abandoned Ibrox game of 1902 and a subsequent fundraiser against Ireland played that summer are included, whereas the Scottish FA do not include these matches in their records.

The Founding Members of the Scottish League

As we have seen, the Football League had 12 founding Members, 11 of which still exist as full time professional clubs in the English Pyramid system.
But what of their counterparts, the founders of the Scottish League?
Let's take a look at the founder members who contested the season 1890–91:

Dumbarton
(Founded 1872) Joint champions in the first season, outright champions in the second, and then... nothing in the top tier. They made 6 Cup final appearances, the last being 1897.
Dumbarton currently play in the 2nd tier of the Scottish pyramid system.

Rangers
(Founded 1872) Having shared the first championship with Dumbarton, Glasgow Rangers went on to become  the most successful club in domestic football in the World, but went bankrupt in 2012. They were reformed and joined the 4th tier.

Celtic
(Founded 1887) Celtic established a dominance alongside their Glasgow rivals Rangers after the advent of professionalism. They remain in the 1st tier of the Scottish League pyramid.

Cambuslang
 (Founded 1874) Cambuslang were a Central Glasgow club. After 2 years in the League they moved into the Scottish Alliance. They lasted there for 2 seasons and were wound up in 1897.

3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers
 (Founded 1872) Thirds were based in Glasgow. They rebranded as Third Lanark AC in 1903.  They won the Scottish League Championship in 1903-04 and the Scottish Cup in 1889 and 1905. There were no more major honours for the Cathkin Park side and they went out of business in 1967.

Heart of Midlothian
 (Founded 1874) The Edinburgh giants are still in the 1st tier of Scottish football.

Abercorn
 (Founded 1877) From the east end of Paisley, Abercorn suffered the indignity of having to apply for re-election in each of the first three seasons of the Scottish League. In 1893-94 they joined the new Second Division. Having rejoined the top flight in 1897 they went back down again the following season , joined the Western league in 1915 and ceased to exist in 1922.

St Mirren
(Founded 1877) St Mirren are another of the original member clubs who are now in the 1st tier. There's a history of the club's early years here.

Vale of Leven
 (Founded 1872) One of the giants of the early Scottish game, Vale of Leven were already on the wane by the time the league was introduced.  In their second season they failed to win a single game and finished last. Rather than face re-election for the second time, the club withdrew and joined the rival Scottish Alliance where they played for a single season.
Between 1893 and 1902 the Vale played only friendly matches and in cup competitions before joining the Scottish Football Combination. In 1905 they applied successfully for readmission to the Scottish League when the Second Division was extended with two additional places. They finished as runners-up in 1907 and in 1909 but did not receive the votes they needed to be elected to the First Division
In 1915 they joined the Western league.  dissolved in 1929 the club was re formed 1939, competing in junior football.

Cowlairs
 (Founded 1876) Cowlairs was formed by Glasgow railway workers. 1890–91 was a bad year- bottom of the League, points deducted for fielding ineligible players, accusations of professionalism, capped off by an unsuccessful bid for reelection.In 1892–93, Cowlairs joined the Scottish Alliance, which they won. They played in Division Two in the 1893–94 season, finishing as runners-up. A combination of bad form (voted out of the League for a second time in 1895) and financial difficulties brought about the club's demise in 1896.

Renton 

(Founded 1872) Renton were a major force in the 1880s. They won the Scottish Cup in 1885 and 1888. In 1888 they were World Champions.  They were however expelled from the Scottish League after just 5 games having played a friendly fixture against Edinburgh Saints.The Saints were actually  St Bernard's, under  suspension by the SFA for professionalism. Following a legal appeal Renton were reinstated the following season. After 2 mediocre seasons they were relegated in 1894 having won only a single game.

They resigned from the League early in the 1897-98 season and ceased to be in 1922.