1902-04-26: Celtic 0-1 Hibernian, Scottish Cup

Match Pictures | Matches: 1901 – 1902 | 1902 Pictures

Trivia

  • Scottish Cup Final

  • The first ever all-green Scottish Cup final.
  • Hibs win the Scottish Cup for the only time in the 20th Century!
  • Hibs last Scottish Cup trophy victory for 100 years when they were to defeat TheRangers/Sevco.
  • Celtic lose to Edinburgh double, having lost the previous year in the final to Hearts.
  • Match played at Celtic Park following the recent Ibrox Disaster in which a number died (RIP), this match was delayed by two weeks due to that stadium disaster.
  • A report in the Glasgow Herald newspaper writes of the “meagre attendance” at the game, concluding the Ibrox disaster and fears of the “stability of the terracing” had kept fans away
  • Leith Observor newspaper refers to Celtic as the “Western team".
  • Debut for William McCafferty at Celtic, strange one for a debut. His only other match was v Rangers (1-1 draw in the league).
  • Atherton, who had seen an effort disallowed for offside, is said to have deceived the Celtic defence with a cry of "leave ra ba" in an impeccable Glaswegian accent.
  • For Hibs, after the collapse and end to the original Hibs football club, this was a quick ascendency for the new club who went on to win the league the next season.

Review

The 1902 Scottish Cup Final was played on the 26th of April 1902 at Celtic Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 29th season of the Scottish Cup.

The Final was due to be played at Ibrox on 12 April, but the first Ibrox disaster happened a week earlier during the annual Scotland v England fixture.

This meant that the Final was delayed by two weeks and moved to Celtic Park, even though Celtic were one of the finalists.

Hibernian and Celtic contested the match.

Hibernian won the match 1–0, thanks to a 75th minute goal from Andy McGeachan.

Teams

HIBERNIAN:

Goals:

  • McGeachan Goal 75'

Manager: Dan McMichael

CELTIC:

Manager: Willie Maley

Stadium: Celtic Park
Referee:
Attendance: 16,000

Articles

  • Match Report (see end of page below)

Pictures

  • Match Pictures

Articles

Scottish Cup memories: How newspapers covered Hibs’ 1902 victory

By Graham Fraser 26 April 2013 07:01 BST
STV
http://local.stv.tv/edinburgh/magazine/222866-hibs-scottish-cup-victory-as-it-was-reported-by-newspapers-in-1902/

Cup winners: The 1902 Scottish Cup winners Hibs.Scottish Football Museum

Anyone who knows anything about football can tell you Hibs fans have long suffered jibes from other supporters over the last time their side won the Scottish Cup.

It was 1902. Real Madrid had just been formed. Britain was fighting in the Boer War.

But this year, Pat Fenlon’s latest crop will once again have a chance to banish all those bad memories – especially after last year’s 5-1 humbling by city rivals Hearts in the final.

All that stands in Hibs’ way is the considerable challenge of Neil Lennon’s Scottish Champions Celtic on May 26.

The last time Hibs did triumph in the cup, it was against Celtic. The game was played at Parkhead after the initial fixture, which was due to take place at Ibrox, was cancelled after 26 supporters were killed and 547 more were injured following the collapse of a stand at a Scotland vs England match.

Looking at newspaper reports from the time allows us to highlight some similarities between the 1902 and 2013 finals, and also revel in the journalistic style of the period.

On April 26, 1902 – the day of the match – The Leith Observer published a short preview of the game, dubbed the “annual struggle for the Scottish Cup, the blue riband of national football… when the Celtic and the Hibernians oppose each other in the final tussle”.

While referring to Celtic as the “Western team”, the report laments Hibs’ “traditional weakness in the final tie” and cup runs in previous seasons which had seen them lose to Rangers, Third Lanark and Queen’s Park.

Hibs were also “vanquished by the Heart of Mid-Lothian” in the previous season’s competition. Sound familiar?

Alongside a picture of the cup finalists, with moustachioed players and others in cloth caps, the newspaper looks forward to the tie and highlights Hibs’ training regime in preparation for the game.

“The Hibs are a comparatively young set of fellows, some of whom have sprung very suddenly into fame,” the report states.

“The Celts are heavier and more matured players, but anything may crop up to counteract their advantages.

“Hibs are reported as fit as they could be. Their training has been of a very light kind, a walk to Portobello being the hardest part of it, and mild relaxation in the form of a night occasionally at the theatre and a little primitive golf.”

The following Saturday, the same newspaper reports on Hibs’ victory in a column sandwiched between recent cricket scores and an article about the Leith Caxtonian Bowling Club.

Under the descriptive headline Football The Scottish Cup Final, a reporter highlights the key incidents of an apparently poor match.

The article, which describes Hibs as the away side and refers to points instead of goals, describes a game watched by 15,000 fans on a very windy day.

Hibs started the match brightly, but their player John Divers failed to capitalise as he “lost many chances through his inclination to lie offside”.

Celtic then came into the game, but the encounter was a dull affair and the match was all square at half time.

The Glasgow side had the first big chance of the second half, when George Livingstone “shook the uprights with a grand shot” but William McCafferty failed to score the easy rebound.

Bobby Atherton then scored for Hibs, but it was chopped off for offside, and the game was being ruined by the wind much to the ire of The Leith Observer reporter.

“The Celts kicked out freely and endeavoured to keep the ball low. A few high kicks by (Barney) Battles were the means of the ball being blown back to his goal, where (Robert) McFarlane had difficulty in saving,” he commented.

Hibs then got a crucial goal on 75 minutes. After a second successive corner by Paddy Callaghan, Andy McGeechan struck the ball between Celtic defenders Hugh Watson and Willie Loney into the back of the net.

Celtic tried to make a comeback, but it was not to be. Hibs were crowned Scottish Cup winners for 1902.

Wild celebrations? Perhaps. But The Leith Observer reporter was a little more sedate in his summary of the final moments: “The visitors were having less of the play now, and as time drew nigh, the efforts put forth by the home side were worthy of a better fate. The whistle sounded shortly afterwards, leaving the Hibs winners of a dull and spiritless game.”

Meanwhile, a report in the Glasgow Herald newspaper writes of the “meagre attendance” at the game, concluding the Ibrox disaster and fears of the “stability of the terracing” had kept fans away.

It also notes how a weakened Celtic side, without the presence of striker John Campbell, may have contributed to Hibs’ victory. “The Celts were without Campbell, and this let in McCafferty again, a lad with plenty of dash but still lacking in balance for a game of such importance.”

The report added: “Campbell’s absence, however, could scarcely account for the disjointed and listless play of the Celts, who seldom had the appearance of a winning team.

“The Hibs, on the other hand, played from the outset with a vigour and dash which commanded success, and were well worthy of a much greater victory.”

After the game, the Hibs players attended a special function at the Alexandra Hotel in Glasgow where the cup was presented by the SFA to Philip Farmer, the President of Hibs and a relative of the current owner Sir Tom Farmer.

The players later returned to Edinburgh to continue the celebrations. The Leith Observer reported: “A hearty send off was given to the players and officials at Queen Street Station, and the train was left at Haymarket station where a band played ‘see the conquering hero’.

“The Hibernian party then mounted a four-in-hand which was waiting outside the station and proceeded by the band. They set off, amid loud cheers, for Princes Street, the captain of the team holding the trophy aloft.

“All along the route their reception was most enthusiastic and there was no lack of evidence that the Hibs' success in following the example of the Hearts last year was most popular with all sections of the community.”

Since the 1902 triumph, Hibs have finished runner-up in the Scottish Cup on nine occasions.

Regardless of which team wins on May 26, websites like this and other media outlets will no doubt produce vast swathes of content to mark the occasion.

For Hibs fans, they will be hoping and praying that they will finally have some contemporary match reports to frame and hang on their walls rather than the reflections of reporters who have long since passed.

BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scottish_cup/1346578.stm
99 years and counting …

The Boer War was reaching its bloody conclusion, a Scottish Tory, Arthur Balfour, was Prime Minister and Buffalo Bill was touring Scotland the last time Hibernian lifted the Scottish Cup.

The Edinburgh side won the trophy for a second time back in 1902 but have not enjoyed success in the competition over the past 99 years despite fielding great teams in the 1920s, 50s and 70s.

The famous cup run started on 11 February with a 2-0 win over Clyde at Easter Road, who incidentally were dispatched 5-1 in the third round of this year's tournament.

Port Glasgow Athletic and Queen's Park were the next victims, beaten 5-1 and 7-1 respectively.

In the semi final, the club managed by Dan McMichael, who also acted as treasurer, secretary and some-time physiotherapist, travelled to Ibrox and came away with a 2-0 victory over Rangers.

Good sportsmen

Celtic were the opponents for the final, just as they will be on Saturday.

The game was due to be played at Ibrox on 12 April but tragedy had struck a week earlier when part of a newly-constructed stand collapsed claiming the lives of several spectators at a Scotland – England international.

The final was delayed for a fortnight and the venue was changed to Celtic Park.

A Catholic newspaper of the time, quoted in Alan Lugton's book The Making of Hibernian, said: " Hibernian, like good sportsmen were quite willing to come to Parkhead, as they felt that no first class team need fear to play on a first-class pitch such as is to be found there "

According to the club's historians, preparations for the big game consisted of brisk walks from Hibs' Easter Road home down to the beach at Portobello and back.

Cheekily backheeled

Camaraderie was encouraged with golf outings and regular nights of darts, dominoes and cards.

The Hibs side, none of whom were natives of Edinburgh, boasted several star players, including Scotland internationals – goalkeeper Harry Rennie, right-half Barney Breslin, inside-left Paddy Callaghan and centre forward Johnny Divers, as well as their skipper Bobby Atherton, who played for Wales.

A dull match watched by a crowd of 16,000, was settled with 15 minutes to go when inside-right Andy McGeechan cheekily backheeled the only goal of the game from a corner.

Atherton, who had seen an effort disallowed for offside, is said to have deceived the Celtic defence with a cry of "leave ra ba" in an impeccable Glaswegian accent.