British League Cup

The British League Cup was a football competition that was set up in April 1902 to raise money for the disaster at Ibrox Stadium, in which 25 people were killed and 517 injured at an international match between Scotland and England at the start of that month. The four clubs that participated in this competition were the winners and runners-up of the Scottish and English football leagues. It was a predecessor to the Empire Exhibition Trophy, Coronation Cup and Anglo-Scottish Cup. It succeeded the old World Championship matches between English and Scottish top clubs, as football became more widespread in the world and England-Scotland club matches could no longer be billed as World Championships.

British League Cup
CountryUnited Kingdom
Dates30 April – 17 June 1902
Teams4
ChampionsScotland Celtic
Runners-upScotland Rangers
Semi-finalists
Matches played4
Goals scored18 (4.5 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Robert Hamilton (3)
Jimmy Quinn (3)

Summary

The competition took place in Glasgow, apart from one semi-final between Everton and Rangers played at Goodison Park in Liverpool,[1] the replay for which took place at Celtic Park where Celtic had also played Sunderland. The final, played at the first Cathkin Park, was won 3–2 by Celtic against Rangers after extra time, with the winning goal coming so late that many newspapers reported that the result was a 2–2 draw.[2][3][4][5] The event was held near to the accession date of King Edward VII and due to its Britain-wide scope was also referred to as the 'Coronation Cup' in some sources.[3] The final was held six weeks after the semi-finals with the intention to play it as close as possible to the coronation ceremony event, but this was delayed until the August after Edward fell ill.[6]

The trophy itself had first been won by Rangers the previous year as the Glasgow International Exhibition Cup. Despite its inscription still stating "Awarded to Rangers F.C." after Celtic won the British League Cup competition, they kept the trophy permanently.[7][8][5]

Participating teams

Results

Semi-final
Celtic Scotland5 – 1England Sunderland
McMahon
Marshall 10'
Campbell
McDermott 		Report Ferguson (pen.)
Attendance: 4,000
Everton England1 – 1Scotland Rangers
Young Hamilton
Attendance: 8,000

Replay
Rangers Scotland3 – 2England Everton
Speedie
Hamilton
Walker 		Report Dilly
Brearley

Final
Celtic Scotland3–2 (a.e.t.)Scotland Rangers
Quinn Report Hamilton
Speedie
Attendance: 10,000[3]
Referee: J. Hay

Teams
Celtic:
GKAndrew McPherson
RBHugh Watson
LBBarney Battles
RHWillie Loney
CHHenry Marshall
LHWillie Orr
ORAlec Crawford
IRJohnny Campbell
CFJimmy Quinn
ILTommy McDermott
OLDavie Hamilton
Rangers:
GKMatthew Dickie
RBNicol Smith
LBDavie Crawford
RHNeilly Gibson
CHJames Stark
LHJohn Robertson
ORWillie Lennie
IRJohnny Walker
CFRobert Hamilton
ILFinlay Speedie
OLAlex Smith

Benefit Tournament

There was a further 'Rangers Benefit Tournament' to raise funds at the start of the following season,[5][9] held over a few weeks at various stadia, and with low attendances reported.[10] Celtic also won that competition, defeating Morton 4–2 in the final at Ibrox[10] after a 7–2 win over Rangers in the quarter-final.[11][5]

Other uses of the name

In the 21st century, suggestions have been made (mostly from Scotland, although some calls from English managers) that a 'British League Cup' could be played involving the amalgamation of the English EFL Cup and the Scottish League Cup due to the perception of both competitions diminishing in appeal under their current formats, with no such changes implemented as of 2023. [12][13][14][15][16]

See also

References
  1. Everton 1 Glasgow Rangers 1, Liverpool Courier, 2 May 1902, via Everton Chronicles
  2. "British League Cup 1902". Scottish Football Historical Archive. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  3. "Coronation Cup Tie Final". Evening Telegraph. 18 June 1902. Retrieved 13 October 2018 – via The Celtic Wiki.
  4. The British League Cup 1902, Before The 'D'...Association Football around the world 1863-1937, 11 November 2015
  5. Celtic: Pride and Passion, Jim Craig, Pat Woods (Random House, 2013), ISBN 9781780577630
  6. ‘All Hampden was covered in green, white and gold,’ David Potter’s Seven Magnificently Random Celtic stories, The Celtic Star, 21 October 2019
  7. "The Glasgow Exhibition Cup (1901/1902)". 25thMay1967. 20 October 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  8. "Glasgow International Exhibition Cup". The Celtic Wiki. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  9. 1902-03, Partick Thistle - The Early Years
  10. Football., The Glasgow Herald, 25 September 1902
  11. Rangers FC vs Celtic FC since 1888, RSSSF, 22 Jun 2004
  12. Scottish Premier League to propose British League Cup, BBC Sport, 18 April 2011
  13. SPL explore the idea of a British League Cup, Scotzine, 18 April 2011
  14. Rangers' 'British' League Cup idea destined to fall at first hurdle, The Daily Telegraph, 10 January 2012
  15. Potential British Cup could be in the works after UEFA allow Welsh and Northern Irish teams to play in Challenge Cup, Daily Record, 9 June 2016
  16. Celtic, Rangers and other Scottish clubs can revamp England's Carabao Cup, claims Premier League boss, The Scotsman, 22 January 2020
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