Celtic Beating Hearts in the Scottish Cup

Date: 20 April 1907…Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow…

Occasion: The 1907 Scottish Cup Final…

Final Score: Celtic 3 Hearts 0…Goal-scorers: Somers (2), Orr (pen)

Attendance: 50,000 Drawings:Gate £1130, Stands £294 – Total £1424

Until this year, no team had achieved the League and Cup Double in Scotland. Preston North End and Aston Villa had done it in England, but as yet no-one in Scotland. But this was a superb Celtic side who were far ahead of anyone in the League (they would win it in the midweek following the Cup Final) and today they were up against the team who had won the Scottish Cup last year, Heart of Midlothian.

The weather was blustery and unpredictable, but still 50,000 turned up at Hampden. The kick-off had to be delayed by 15 minutes because Hearts goalkeeper Tom Allan had been caught in traffic. (Horses and trams were even slower than modern cars and buses!) Hearts had suffered a serious blow in the absence of Charlie Thomson, their best player, centre half and captain.

The mesmeric Bobby Walker, a great inside right commonly known as “Houdini”, was the captain. Celtic had been without their centre half Willie Loney with a broken arm for most of the season, but they had a more than useful replacement in Alec McNair, who would become better known in future years as a right back.

Celtic started well with the wind behind them but couldn’t score, and Hearts came more into the game near the end of the half. Both teams had chances, but half-time came with the game still locked at 0-0. It was at the start of the second half with Celtic now playing against the wind (but it was a quixotic and capricious swirl) that Celtic took control.

It started with a penalty kick much complained about by the Edinburgh press in particular. It was awarded by Mr Philp of Dunfermline when Jimmy Quinn was impeded going for the ball by a Hearts defender. The job of taking the penalty fell to captain Willie Orr, now in the veteran stage of his career. It cannot have been an easy job in the wind and rain but Willie duly beat Tom Allan.

It was the perceived wisdom in 1907 that no-one came back against this fine Celtic team. So it turned out, as Alec McNair, dominated the centre of the park, while Hearts star man Bobby Walker was well policed by James “Dun” Hay.

Celtic then gradually took control of the game and two goals by the grossly underestimated Peter Somers, “the powder monkey” won the game for Celtic. Celtic finished the game well on top, and left the field to the cheers of their supporters. It was Celtic’s 5th Scottish Cup win, still sadly 5 behind Queen’s Park.

Celtic would now win the Scottish Cup another 4 times before the Great War, but for Hearts who had won the Cup in 1901 and 1906, this was the start of a trophy famine which would last nearly 50 years.

Celtic: Adams, McLeod and Orr; Young, McNair and Hay; Bennett, McMenemy, Quinn, Somers and Templeton

Hearts: Allan, Reid and Collins; Philip, McLaren and Henderson; Bauchope, Walker, Axford, Yates and Wombwell

Referee: Mr D Philp, Dunfermline

Linesmen: D. Campbell (Renfrewshire) and C. McDonald (Glasgow)