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Ref: Continental Tour of Central Europe
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Date: May 1914
World Club Championships (unofficial)
They say good things come to those who wait and that was certainly the case for Celtic with the Budapest Cup.
In May of 1914 Celtic – who had just completed a league and Scottish Cup double – and English FA Cup winners Burnley were scheduled to take part in pre-season tours of the continent and both were expected to be in Budapest at the same time.
With British football teams then commonly regarded as the best in Europe the locals thought this was an ideal opportunity to see two of the best teams in the world go head to head.
So it was arranged that Celtic and Burnley would clash at the FTC Stadion, home of Ferencvaros, for the prize of a handsome silver cup – in the shape of a lighthouse – donated by local newspaper the Hungarian News.
The hosts had failed to mention this game to Celtic but once in the city the club altered its tour schedule to take part. An enthusiastic crowd of 10,000 gathered for the match with all profits from the occasion going to local charities.
The Hoops side that day was: Shaw, McGregor, Dodds, Young, Johnstone, McMaster, McAtee, Gallagher, McColl, McMenemy and Browning.
In uncomfortably warm conditions and on a poor playing surface, Celtic dominated the first half and their superior play was reward with a goal on 20 minutes when Jimmy McMennemy was upended in the area before dusting himself down to convert the penalty.
The English side regrouped at the break and during a hard fought second-half, which saw tempers reach boiling point on several occasions, they grabbed an equaliser from the penalty spot when ‘Sunny’ Jim Young handled in the box. There was no doubt that over the course of the 90 minutes Celtic played the best football and created the most opportunities but Burnley’s spirited fight-back was worthy of a share of the spoils.
With Celtic allegedly refusing to play extra-time it was agreed that the two club’s would hold a replay back in Britain and that the trophy would be forwarded to the eventual winners
So on September 1st 1914, just weeks after the start of the Great War, the Bhoys travelled to Lancashire to take on Burnley once more. In pleasant sunshine another crowd of 10,000 gathered at Turf Moor for the much anticipated Anglo-Scottish encounter.
Celtic lined up with the same side that took to the field in Budapest and as in Hungary it was the Bhoys who demonstrated the higher level of skill. But at half-time the score remained at 0-0.
Things took a turn for the worse for the Bhoys when Peter Johnstone had to sit out the second-half due to a foot injury. However Celtic remained in charge and in 58 minutes they finally got the reward their play deserved when Jimmy McColl netted the opener. Patsy Gallagher added a second with just under twenty minutes remaining before Burnley grabbed a consolation from the penalty spot – for another handball – with just over 10 minutes left.
Celtic were viewed as deserved winners and their cool yet dashing attacking style was applauded by opponents, neutrals and fans alike.
A share of the Turf Moor gate was sent to Budapest for the charities concerned but no trophy made the return journey back to Britain. The original trophy put up for the Budapest game had been raffled at the outbreak of the war to raise much needed funds for Red Cross.
However, some seventy-four years later Celtic would finally be presented with a memento of their triumph.
In May 1988 the chairman of Ferencvaros, Zoltan Magyar, marked Celtic’s centenary celebrations by presenting his Parkhead counterpart Jack McGinn a fine vase in recognition of the Hoops triumph.
Although the engraved plate states that Celtic won the match in Burnley 2-0 contemporary newspaper reports of the game in Lancashire report the result as 2-1 with Watson scoring Burnley’s consolation following a Joe Dodds handball. Charlie Shaw’s medal:
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