1873–74 Scottish Cup

The 1873–74 Scottish Cup – officially the Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup – was the first season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. A total of 16 teams from the west of Scotland entered the competition, however only 14 would play a match after two withdrawals. The competition began on 18 October 1873 and concluded with the final on 21 March 1874. The inaugural cup was won by Queen's Park who defeated fellow Glasgow club Clydesdale 2–0 in the final.[1]

1873–74 Scottish Cup
The Scottish Cup trophy
CountryScotland
Teams16
ChampionsQueen's Park
(first title)
Runners-upClydesdale
Matches played15
Goals scored37 (2.47 per match)

The 16 teams that entered the competition consisted of the eight founder members of the Scottish FA – namely Clydesdale, Dumbreck, Eastern, Granville, Kilmarnock, Queen's Park, Vale of Leven and 3rd Lanark RV – as well as Alexandra Athletic, Blythswood, Callander, Dumbarton, Renton, Rovers, Southern and Western.[2] Subscription fees from 15 of these clubs were used to pay for the Scottish Cup trophy which the teams would compete for. Unlike the FA Cup, the original trophy is still awarded to the winners of the competition. It is the oldest in association football and the oldest national trophy in the world.[3]

Format
See also: Scottish Cup format

As 16 teams entered the competition, the first edition of the Scottish Cup took on the format of a straightforward knockout tournament. In future years, the number of entrants would expand to regularly include over 100 teams which resulted in the need for byes before the introduction of the Scottish Football League in 1890 and the Scottish Qualifying Cup in 1895.[2][4]

For the first round, the names of the 16 teams were placed into lots according to their districts and drawn into pairs. The home team for each tie was determined by the toss of a coin unless it was mutually agreed or only one of the two clubs drawn against one another had a private ground. In the event of a draw, the team who lost the toss would have the choice of ground for the replay. A similar procedure was used for subsequent rounds with the winners of the previous round placed into one lot. The choice of venue for the final matches was reserved to the Scottish Football Association.[5]

Calendar

The exact dates of some matches are unknown as newspaper coverage of football in the late 19th century was not as comprehensive as it would become.[2][3]

Round First match date Fixtures Clubs
Original Replays
First round 18 October 1873 8 0 16 → 8
Quarter-finals 8 November 1873 4 3 8 → 4
Semi-finals 13 December 1873 2 0 4 → 2
Final 21 March 1874 1 0 2 → 1

Teams

All 16 teams entered the competition in the first round.

Ayrshire Dunbartonshire Glasgow

First round

The first Scottish Cup match took place on 18 October 1873 when Renton defeated Kilmarnock - who played the entire match with 10 players[6] - 2–0 in the first round.[7][8] The match was played in Crosshill, Glasgow at the neutral Hampden Park.[9] Newspaper reports from the time suggest Kilmarnock may have been at a disadvantage as they were more used to playing rugby.[2] Later on the same day, Alexandra Athletic and Eastern recorded wins over Callander and Rovers[10] and the following week Queen's Park began the competition with a 7–0 win over Dumbreck in the highest scoring game in the inaugural competition.[2][11] Clydesdale defeated Granville 6–0 in what would be the latter's only Scottish Cup match and Blythswood won 1–0 away to Western.[2][3][10]

Southern and Vale of Leven scratched their first round matches against Dumbarton and 3rd Lanark RV respectively.[3]

Of the 16 teams to enter the first round; Southern were the only team who would not play a single match and – as of 2020 – Dumbarton, Kilmarnock and Queen's Park still regularly compete in the competition.

Matches
18 October 1873 Renton 2–0KilmarnockGlasgow
14:50 [2][8] Stadium: Hampden Park
18 October 1873 Alexandra Athletic 2–0CallanderGlasgow
Stadium: Kennyhill Park
18 October 1873 Eastern 4–0RoversGlasgow
[2] Stadium: Flesher's Haugh
25 October 1873 Clydesdale 6–0GranvilleGlasgow
Stadium: Kinning Park
25 October 1873 Queen's Park 7–0DumbreckGlasgow
[11] Stadium: Hampden Park
Unknown[A] Western0–1 Blythswood Glasgow
Stadium: Regent's Park
Dumbarton w/oVale of Leven
3rd Lanark RV w/oSouthern
Notes
  1. ^
    A-The exact date of the Western vs. Blythswood match is unknown, however it was played sometime between 18 and 25 October 1873.[3][10]

Sources:[3][10][12][13]

Quarter-finals

The quarter-final stage began on 8 November 1873 when Clydesdale and 3rd Lanark RV drew 1–1 at Kinning Park to set up the first Scottish Cup replay eight days later.[14][15] This match also finished in a draw meaning a second replay to be played on 6 December 1873.[2][15][16] In the meantime, Dumbarton lost 1–0 to Renton in a replay on 29 November 1873 after the first match had finished goalless a week earlier. According to reports in The Herald, both matches were played on a public park in Renton.[17][18] Queen's Park and Blythswood reached the semi-finals without the need for a replay as they defeated Eastern and Alexandra Athletic respectively.[3][10] In the last match of the quarter-final stage, Clydesdale defeated 3rd Lanark RV 2–0 at a neutral venue in their second replay.[3][10][16]

Matches
8 November 1873 Clydesdale1–13rd Lanark RVGlasgow
[14] Stadium: Kinning Park
22 November 1873 Renton0–0DumbartonRenton
[17][19][20] Stadium: Public Park
22 November 1873 Queen's Park 1–0EasternGlasgow
[21] Stadium: Hampden Park
Unknown[B] Alexandra Athletic0–2 Blythswood Glasgow
Stadium: Kennyhill Park

Replays
16 November 1873 3rd Lanark RV0–0ClydesdaleGlasgow
[15] Stadium: Cathkin Park
29 November 1873 Renton 1–0DumbartonRenton
[18][22][23] Stadium: Public Park

Second replay
6 December 1873 Clydesdale 2–03rd Lanark RVNeutral Venue
[16]
Notes
  1. ^
    B-The exact date of the Alexandra Athletic vs. Blythswood match is unknown, however it was played sometime between 8 November and 6 December 1873.[3][10]

Sources:[3][10][12][13]

Semi-finals

The two semi-final matches were played a week apart in December 1873. Queen's Park were the first team to reach the final as they defeated Renton 2–0 at the original Hampden Park on 13 December.[2][3][24] Clydesdale then booked their place in the inaugural final as they recorded a 4–0 win over Blythswood at Kinning Park.[2][3]

Matches
13 December 1873 Queen's Park 2–0RentonGlasgow
[24] Stadium: Hampden Park
20 December 1873 Clydesdale 4–0BlythswoodGlasgow
Stadium: Kinning Park

Sources:[3][10][12][13]

Final
Main article: 1874 Scottish Cup Final

After 14 matches played and 35 goals scored, the tournament culminated in the 1874 Scottish Cup Final on 21 March 1874.[1] The match, played at the original Hampden Park in Crosshill, Glasgow, was watched by 2,500 spectators and refereed by James McIntyre of Eastern.[2][3] As Hampden Park was the home of finalists Queen's Park, the match was one of a select few cup finals in Scotland that were not played on neutral territory.[2][25]

Both goals came in the second half courtesy of Scotland internationals Billy MacKinnon and Robert Leckie. Queen's Park won 2–0 to claim the trophy for the first of their 10 triumphs.[2][3]

Queen's Park2–0Clydesdale
 [1][2][26]
Hampden Park, Glasgow
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: James McIntyre (Eastern)

See also

References
  1. "Scottish Cup Matches". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  2. Potter, David; Jones, Phil H. (2016). The History of the Scottish Cup: The Story of Every Season 1873–2016. Worthing: Pitch Publishing. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-1-78531-214-4.
  3. Scottish F.A. Cup 1873–2017: The Complete Results. Cleethorpes: Soccer Books. 2017. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-1-86223-366-9.
  4. Davidson, Stewart (1995). The Scottish Qualifying Cup 1895–1995. Renfrew: Stewart Davidson.
  5. Rules of the Scottish Football Association (PDF). Scottish Football Association. 14 October 1875. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  6. Livingston, John (19 March 2020). "Kilmarnock in History: The very first steps". Kilmarnock FC. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  7. "The Scottish Cup - Then and Now". Scottish Football Association. Archived from the original on 27 June 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  8. "Renton 2 - 0 Kilmarnock, Scottish Cup (18/10/1873)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  9. Ross, David (2001). Every game: The new official history of Kilmarnock Football Club. Irvine: Kilmarnock Football Club. p. 153. ISBN 0-9541653-0-6.
  10. "Scottish Cup Results for 1873-74". London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  11. "Queen's Park 7 - 0 Dumbreck, Scottish Cup (25/10/1873)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  12. "Scotland - Cup Results 1873/74-1877/78 and 1889/90-1995/96". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  13. "Scottish Cup - 1873-74". Scottish Football Archive. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  14. "Clydesdale Glasgow 1 - 1 Third Lanark, Scottish Cup (08/11/1873)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  15. "Third Lanark 0 - 0 Clydesdale Glasgow, Scottish Cup (16/11/1873)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  16. "Third Lanark 0 - 2 Clydesdale Glasgow, Scottish Cup (06/12/1873)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  17. "Football reports for Saturday 22 Nov 1873". The Herald. November 1873. Retrieved 6 October 2019 – via London Hearts Supporters Club.
  18. "Football reports for Saturday 29 Nov 1873". The Herald. November 1873. Retrieved 6 October 2019 – via London Hearts Supporters Club.
  19. "Dumbarton 0 - 0 Renton, Scottish Cup (22/11/1873)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  20. "Renton 0-0 Dumbarton, Saturday, November 22nd". The Sons Archive. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  21. "Queen's Park 1 - 0 Eastern, Scottish Cup (22/11/1873)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  22. "Renton 1 - 0 Dumbarton, Scottish Cup (29/11/1873)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  23. "Dumbarton 0-1 Renton, Saturday, November 29th". The Sons Archive. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  24. "Queen's Park 2 - 0 Renton, Scottish Cup (13/12/1873)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  25. "Scottish Cup Past Winners". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  26. "Queen's Park 2 - 0 Clydesdale Glasgow, Scottish Cup (21/03/1874)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
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