To be the Champion of Britain was, as we have seen, the equivalent of being the Champion of the World. The domestic football of England and Scotland was without equal well into the 20th century.
From the 1870s onwards there were showdowns between English and Scottish clubs , both formal and informal, and then in 1902 a tournament called The British league Cup was played.
Unfortunately this was not the grand championship that it might have been. The tournament was set up by Glasgow Rangers as a fundraiser for victims of the Ibrox Disaster. The trophy Rangers donated was the £100 Exhibition Cup that they had won by beating Celtic at the Glasgow International Trade Fair the previous year.
30.04.02- Celtic 5 Sunderland 1
Played at Ibrox, attendance 4,000
01.05.02- Everton 1 Glasgow Rangers 1.
Played at Goodison*, attendance 8,000.
20 minutes of extra time was played.
03.05.02- Glasgow Rangers 3 Everton 2
The replay was held at Celtic Park. Four of the Rangers players from the first match were absent, as they were playing in the international at Villa park that day (this was the 'replay' of the Ibrox game at which the tragedy occurred) the players were Nicol Smith, Drummond, Robertson and Alex Smith. Everton's Jimmy Settle appeared for England.
17.06.02- Celtic 3 Glasgow Rangers 2
The final was played at Cathkin park on 17.06.02- This was the day of The Coronation of King Edward VII. A crowd of 12,000 turned out. The takings were reported as being '£265 at the gate and £49 at the stands'- the total raised by the 4 matches was £900.
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*Some sources state that this match was played at Celtic Park- a report in The Edinburgh Evening News (02.05.02) makes it clear that this was not the case.
From the 1870s onwards there were showdowns between English and Scottish clubs , both formal and informal, and then in 1902 a tournament called The British league Cup was played.
Unfortunately this was not the grand championship that it might have been. The tournament was set up by Glasgow Rangers as a fundraiser for victims of the Ibrox Disaster. The trophy Rangers donated was the £100 Exhibition Cup that they had won by beating Celtic at the Glasgow International Trade Fair the previous year.
The four teams that took part in the British League Cup were the League Champions and runners up from the recently ended domestic season in England and Scotland, namely Sunderland, Everton, Glasgow Rangers and Celtic.
The Football League Div. 1 1901-02 | ||||||||
P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
1 | Sunderland | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 50 | 35 | 44 |
2 | Everton | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 53 | 35 | 41 |
The Scottish Football League Div. 1 1901-02 | ||||||||
P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
1 | Glasgow Rangers | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 43 | 29 | 28 |
2 | Celtic | 18 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 38 | 28 | 26 |
30.04.02- Celtic 5 Sunderland 1
Played at Ibrox, attendance 4,000
Celtic | Sunderland |
Edmond | E. Doig |
Watson | Annan |
Battles | Watson |
Loney | Ferguson |
Marshall | McAllister |
Orr | Jackson |
Livingston | W.Hogg |
McDermott | R.Hogg |
Campbell | Miller |
McMahon | Gemmell |
Quinn | McLatchie |
Billy Hogg was the only Englishman in the Sunderland team. Both sides were considered to be below full strength and receipts of £100 were taken.
01.05.02- Everton 1 Glasgow Rangers 1.
Played at Goodison*, attendance 8,000.
Everton | Glasgow Rangers |
G Kitchen | M Dickie |
G Eccles | N Smith |
J Watson | J Drummond |
S Wolstenholme | N Gibson |
J Blythe | B Neil |
W Abbott | J Stark |
J Taylor | J Graham |
J Brearley | J Robertson |
A Young | R Hamilton |
J Bell | J Miller |
T Dilly | A Smith |
20 minutes of extra time was played.
03.05.02- Glasgow Rangers 3 Everton 2
The replay was held at Celtic Park. Four of the Rangers players from the first match were absent, as they were playing in the international at Villa park that day (this was the 'replay' of the Ibrox game at which the tragedy occurred) the players were Nicol Smith, Drummond, Robertson and Alex Smith. Everton's Jimmy Settle appeared for England.
17.06.02- Celtic 3 Glasgow Rangers 2
The final was played at Cathkin park on 17.06.02- This was the day of The Coronation of King Edward VII. A crowd of 12,000 turned out. The takings were reported as being '£265 at the gate and £49 at the stands'- the total raised by the 4 matches was £900.
Celtic | Glasgow Rangers | |
McPherson | GK | Dickie |
Watson | FB | N.Smith |
Battles | FB | Crawford |
Loney | HB | Gibson |
Marshall | HB | Stark |
Orr | HB | Robertson |
Crawford | F | Lennie |
Campbell | F | Walker |
Quinn | F | Hamilton |
McDermott | F | Speedie |
Hamilton | F | A.Smith |
Jimmy Quinn
Celtic's Jimmy Quinn scored 3 goals in the final.