British League Cup

Football tournament season

British League CupTournament details

Country| United Kingdom
Dates| 30 April – 17 June 1902
Teams| 4
Final positions
Champions|  Celtic
Runner-up|  Rangers
Semifinalists|

* Sunderland
* Everton

Tournament statistics
Matches played| 4
Goals scored| 18 (4.5 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)| Robert Hamilton (3)
Jimmy Quinn (3)

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.

## Summary

[edit]

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

[edit]

* Celtic (runners-up in 1901–02 Scottish Division One)
* Everton (runners-up in 1901–02 Football League)
* Rangers (champions in 1901–02 Scottish Division One)
* Sunderland (champions in 1901–02 Football League)

## Results

[edit]

### Semi-final

[edit]

30 April 1902

Celtic | 5 – 1|  Sunderland

|
|

McMahon
Marshall 10'
Campbell
McDermott | Report | Ferguson (pen.)

Celtic Park, Glasgow

Attendance: 4,000

* * *

1 May 1902

Everton | 1 – 1|  Rangers

|
|

Young |  | Hamilton

Goodison Park, Liverpool

Attendance: 8,000

#### Replay

[edit]

3 May 1902

Rangers | 3 – 2|  Everton

|
|

Speedie
Hamilton
Walker | Report | Dilly
Brearley

Celtic Park, Glasgow

### Final

[edit]

17 June 1902

Celtic | 3–2 (a.e.t.)|  Rangers

|
|

Quinn | Report | Hamilton
Speedie

Cathkin Park (I), Glasgow

Attendance: 10,000[3]

Referee: J. Hay

#### Teams

[edit]

| Celtic:

GK |  | Andrew McPherson
RB |  | Hugh Watson
LB |  | Barney Battles
RH |  | Willie Loney
CH |  | Henry Marshall
LH |  | Willie Orr
OR |  | Alec Crawford
IR |  | Johnny Campbell
CF |  | Jimmy Quinn
IL |  | Tommy McDermott
OL |  | Davie Hamilton
| Rangers:

GK |  | Matthew Dickie
RB |  | Nicol Smith
LB |  | Davie Crawford
RH |  | Neilly Gibson
CH |  | James Stark
LH |  | John Robertson
OR |  | Willie Lennie
IR |  | Johnny Walker
CF |  | Robert Hamilton
IL |  | Finlay Speedie
OL |  | Alex Smith

## Benefit Tournament

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

* Football World Championship, similar cross-border format competition in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
* Empire Exhibition Trophy, similar cross-border format competition in 1938
* Coronation Cup (football), similar cross-border format competition in 1953
* Anglo-Franco-Scottish Friendship Cup, cross-border competition in 1960s
* Texaco Cup, tournament for British Isles clubs in 1970s
* Anglo-Scottish Cup, cross-border competition in 1970s and 1980s
* Dubai Champions Cup, annual match in UAE between Scottish and English champions in late 1980s
* Scottish Challenge Cup, lower-league Scottish cup competition with invitees from the top tiers of Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and the fifth tier of England

## References

[edit]

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. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b 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 Archived 21 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine, 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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