The Road To Hampden: History Files
For The Record
Scottish Football
1800-
1862: 10 rules were introduced and adopted by many public schools.
Violence was not allowed and players were not allowed in front of the ball.
1863: Cambridge rules re-written to encompass 14 points: including
The size of the pitch, along with the banning of tripping and kicking opponent’s shins.
1866: Players were no longer offside providing three opponents were between them and the goal.
1869: Goal kicks were introduced
1872: Corner kicks were introduced
1874: Shin guards were worn for the first time: Credited to Samuel Widdowson
1878: October 24th: the first match to be played in Northern Ireland between was an exhibition match, Queens Park played Caledonians.
1878: A referee used a whistle to control the game.
1879: The first match between England and Wales.
1879: Rangers refused to play in a replay for the Scottish Cup final because they had a goal disallowed in the first match. The Cup was awarded to Vale of Leven.
1880: The Irish Football association was formed in Belfast.
1882: The Scottish, English, Irish and Welsh FA’s met in Manchester were they united their rules and formed an International Football Association Board to control the laws of the game.
1882: Scotland played Wales for the first time.
1882: Throw-ins had to be two handed.
1883: Scotland v Ireland became a regular fixture, creating the first home Nations championship.
1885: September 5th: Arbroath beat Bon Accord 36-0 in the first round of the Scottish cup, which is still a record for an official match. On the same day Dundee Harp beat Aberdeen Rovers 35-0.
1886: International Caps were awarded for the first time.
1891-92: Penalty kicks introduced.
1894: Celtic build, the first press box at Parkhead.
1900-01: Scotland beat Ireland 11-0.
Rules changed: The goalkeeper can only be charged when holding the ball.
Previously he could be charged when playing the ball.
1901-02: The penalty area and six yard box took on their present form at the start of this season. Previously the six-yard area was two adjacent circles forming a kidney shape, the penalty area extended to the full width of the pitch.
1902-03: Queen’s Park unveiled Hampden Park, heralded as the greatest stadium in the world, for their league match against Celtic.
1903-04: The International Board ruled that goals could be scored direct from free kicks awarded for intentional fouls. Referees were also given the discretion to play advantage.
Third Lanark won the Scottish league; The last time the title was won by a club other than Rangers or Celtic until 1932.
1905-06: Scotland’s 2-1 victory over England at Hampden Park Glasgow was the first time the attendance for an International had exceeded 100,000.
A change in the rules meant that it became mandatory for the outer casing of the ball to be made from leather.
1906-07: Celtic became the first Scottish club to win the double of league and cup. Cup v Hearts; 3-0.
1907-08: Celtic repeat last seasons achievement of league and cup double. Cup v St Mirren: 5-1
1908-09: Auld Firm Fans Riot At Hampden; Mayhem broke out at the Scottish Cup Final replay when hundreds of fans rioted at the end of the match. It was the second time that Rangers and Celtic had finished all square. Most of the players and fans alike assumed that there would be extra time. However under the rules of the SFA, extra time was only permissible for the second replay. The players were invited to leave the pitch and the 60,000 strong crowd went berserk, believing that the draws were staged to bring in additional revenue. Hundreds of fans spilled onto the pitch and took their anger out by tearing down the goals, cutting up the turf and setting fire to the pay-boxes and stand, using Whisky as fuel. More than 100 people were hurt during the rioting, many of them police and firemen. The cup and players medals were withheld and both clubs paid compensation to Queen’s Park.
1909-10: Goalkeepers are instructed to wear different coloured jersey from the rest of the teams players.
Dundee win the Scottish Cup after a replay against Clyde (2-2) (2-1).
1911-12: The laws of the game were changed so that goalkeepers could only handle the ball in their own penalty area. The change was prompted after a match in 1910,when both the Third Lanark and Motherwell goalkeepers took advantage of being able to handle the ball anywhere on the pitch to BOTH score a goal. This was the only time in first class football that both goalkeepers had scored in the same match.
1912-13: The distance an opposing player has to retreat from the ball at free kicks is increased from 6yards to 10yards.
Dumbarton are elected to the Scottish first division despite only finishing in sixth place at the end of the previous season in division 2.
1913-14: The 10yard rule is extended to include corner kicks.
Celtic won the double for the third time.
1914-1918: War breaks out with Germany.
1919-20: The Scottish league continued as a single division but expanded to 22 teams.
1920-21: The Scottish league is hit by an exodus of players leaving to join rival leagues. They agree to allow Central and Western league teams to join a reformed Second division next season.
1921-22: Scotland continued with the restructuring of the two divisions by changing the size. Relegating three teams and only promoting one. Queen’s Park one of the clubs to go down, were relegated for the first time since they had joined the league.
1922-23: Three clubs in the Scottish second division have points deducted for using ineligible players, (St Johnstone, Cowdenbeath and St Bernard’s).
1923-24: The Scottish leagues introduce another division. Division 3 is born.
Airdrie win the Scottish Cup for the first time beating Hibernian 2 – 0.
1924-25: Offside rule changed; The rule change was straight forward, from season 1926-27 instead of three men being required to be between a player and the goal when the ball was passed, only two would be necessary.
1925-26: Bobby Skinner breaks the British goal scoring record with 53 goals for Dunfermline.
1927-28: Scotland’s Wembley Wizards dump England 5 – 1.
1928-29: Scotland make it a clean sweep in the Home Internationals. Hughie Gallacher scored a record 5 goals in their 7 – 3 victory over Ireland in Belfast.
1929-30: Scotland played their first official International match abroad. A victory over France by 2 – 0 in Paris on May 18th.
1930: Uruguay win the first World Cup beating Argentina 4 – 2 in front of 93,000 spectators.
1931-32: Sectarianism took a macabre, ghoulish turn when Celtic’s young goalkeeper John Thomson died in hospital 5 hours after a collision in a match between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox Stadium on September 5th.Thomson was 22 years old and with four Scotland caps, fractured his skull when he dash out of his area and dived at the feet of Sam English as both players went for a 50-50 ball. Neutral observers did not attach any blame towards English but bigoted crowds did, claiming that it had been deliberate. English who had been devastated by the incident was barracked mercilessly. English moved away from Scotland and signed for Liverpool but with the tragedy still haunting him, disillusioned he returned home to his native Ireland.
1933-34: Scotland’s 2 – 2 draw with Austria on November 29th was the first time a continental team had played an International in Scotland.
Scotland, Wales and Ireland won a concession in June when the FA agreed that clubs should make players available to the three countries for matches in the home championship.
1936-37: Scotland dump England 4 – 2 at Hampden Park in front of a record breaking crowd of 149,547 spectators (official), unofficially that crowd may have been 10,000 higher as it is reported that fans broke down the gates in their eagerness to see the match.
1937-38: East Fife became the first second division side to win the Scottish cup, beating Kilmarnock 4 – 2.
1938-39: The game between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox attracted a crowd of 118,567 spectators, a record for a league match.
Pitch markings were changed to add an arc in each corner to bound the area from which corner kicks were taken.
1939-45: Second World War; May 1940 Scotland 1 – 1 England, Hampden Park.
1945-46: Aberdeen beat Rangers 3 – 2 in the Scottish Southern League Cup. The following season the competition became known as The Scottish League Cup.
1946-47: Derby break the British transfer record by signing Billy Steel of Morton, the Scottish International inside forward.
1947-48: Hibernian win the Scottish League title for the first time. Willie McCartney who had assembled the side, died in January before he could savour his sides finest achievement.
1948-49: The rules were changed to make obstruction an offence, penalised by a free kick.
Rangers win the first treble.
1951-52: The admission charge for matches is raised by threepence to 1s 6d.
1952-53: The Government raised admission charges yet again by another threepence to 1s 9d.
1953-54: Uefa was formed at a meeting during the World Cup finals in Switzerland.
1955-56: Yer man here wiz born.
Uefa start the Inter Cities Fairs Cup.
The first floodlit match was at Ibrox on March 7th(Rangers 8 – 0 Queen of the South).
The Home Internationals finished in a four-way tie for the first time, with all teams having three points.
Hearts beat Celtic 3 – 1 in the Scottish Cup Final to win their first trophy for 50 years.
Real Madrid win the first European Cup in Paris, beating Rheims 4 – 3.
Rangers win the First division Championship.
Queen’s Park win the second division Championship.
Aberdeen win the Scottish League Cup, beating St Mirren 2 – 1.
1958-59: Denis Law was the youngest person to play for Scotland at the age of 18.He scored a goal on his debut against Wales in October, Scotland won the match 3 – 0.
1959-60: The late great Jock Stein took on his first job as manager of Dunfermline, who won their last six games with Jock in charge to avoid relegation.
1963-64: Rangers win the treble for the second time.
Denis Law is chosen as European Footballer of the year.
1964-65: Jock Stein becomes manager at Celtic in February.
Pickles the mongrel digs up the World Cup and his owner nets £6,000 reward.
1965-66: Jock Stein takes on Celtic’s board of directors. Stein insisted on sole control of picking the team and no joint managership with Sean Fallon. Unheard of before, big Jock got his way and made his priority the European Cup.
1966-67: Glasgow Celtic had absolutely no chance of winning the European Cup according to outsiders. As Inter Milan had won the trophy twice before and had a glittering array of stars on the park, then Celtic were only there as cannon fodder. Big mistake, someone had forgot to tell big Jock and the rest of the Lisbon Lions. Celtic took to the field signing the Celtic song, to the amazement of the Milan players. Milan manager Herrera was furious when big Jock took the bench he had earmarked for himself, but his arse was planted and he was not moving. Mazzola opened the scoring for Inter from a penalty award in the 7th minute. Celtic followed the Stein script to the letter by firing in shot after shot until the Italian stronghold broke. They got their just rewards, when Big Tam Gemmel blasted the ball into the Milan net from 20yds.With 5 minutes left in the match it was Gemmel again, with a clever pass to Bobby Murdoch who drove the ball into the area, cannoning off Steve Chalmers and into the net for the winner. Celtic had ripped the script to shreds. Jock Stein had been manager for a little over two seasons and had taken Celtic to the pinnacle of club success, the European Cup, the first British side to mount the summit.
Celtic win the treble.
Berwick Rangers beat Glasgow Rangers 1 – 0, in the Scottish Cup. The goal that sealed the victory form the club from Northumbria was scored by Sammy Reid in the 32nd minute.
Scotland beat England the World Champions at Wembley 3 – 2.
1967-68: Goalkeepers were limited to taking four steps with the ball by the International Board.
1968-69: Rangers break the Scottish transfer record by signing Colin Stein from Hibs for £100,000 in October.
Celtic win the treble for the second time in three years.
A mere 7,843 spectators watch Scotland play Northern Ireland at Hampden, the smallest ever crowd in the Home Internationals.
1969-70: Uefa decided to use penalty kicks, rather than toss a coin to decide matches that finished all square in the three Cup competitions.
1970-71: January 2nd, Ibrox Park, Rangers v Celtic. The day that disaster struck as 66 football fans lost their lives on staircase 13.Words cannot explain why this happened. God bless you and your families. Yours sincerely, Andy.
The Scottish league switches from goal average to goal difference to separate teams on level points.
1971-72: Rangers v Moscow Dynamo, Barcelona. It was Rangers chance to celebrate European glory and bring home the European Cup Winners Cup. Some 20,000 fans had made the trip to support their team and were in the mood to party. So much so that the players had to leave the pitch three times before the match could start. Rangers were three goals up by the 50th minute with strikes from Colin Stein (1) and Willie Johnston (2), and each goal was greeted by a pitch invasion. With three minutes remaining, Rangers were hanging on to a 3 – 2 lead and that’s how the game finished. When the final whistle came, thousands of relieved Rangers fans ran onto the pitch and a battle with the Spanish police followed. Rangers were subsequently banned from European competition for two years, which was later reduced to one year. Manager Willie Waddell moved upstairs and Jock Wallace took over as manager.
Tommy Docherty is appointed as Scotland manager, September 12th.
1973-74:Celtic win the League title for the ninth year running.
Denis Law made a record 54th appearance for Scotland on May 11th in the 1 – 0 defeat by Northern Ireland.
1976-77: Red and Yellow cards were introduced on October 2nd.
Rangers announce I October that they will sign players regardless of their religion.
1977-78: John Greig takes over as manager at Ibrox.
1978-79: Goal difference is introduced into the Home Internationals to produce an outright winner rather than the title being shared.
1979-80: Rival fans fought a pitch battle after Celtic beat Rangers 1 – 0 in the Scottish Cup final on May 10th. Police called for all matches between the two clubs to be played behind closed doors, and their scheduled encounter in the Glasgow Cup final
was postponed.
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