David Potter on Celtic’s Scottish Cup Finals – Our first eight triumphs

Celtic Historian David Potter takes us on a journey through all of Celtic Scottish Cup Final triumphs as we gear up for Saturday’s 2023 Scottish Cup Final against Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Hampden. The story of Celtic’s glory in our favourite competition begins at Ibrox of all places, on 9 April 1892.

CELTIC’S SCOTTISH CUP FINALS – Number 1…CELTIC 5-1 QUEEN’S PARK – IBROX, 9th APRIL 1892 – This game was actually a replay because the first game was played on March 12, but abandoned because of crowd problems. It was actually played to a finish and Celtic won 1-0 but the SFA had already decided on a replay.

As the SFA and Queen’s Park were virtually the same thing in 1892, there was no shortage of “conspiracy theorists”, a group which grew when prices were doubled for the game on 9 April, something that looked like sheer greed but also seemed to discriminate against the poverty stricken Irish while the well heeled Queen’s Park supporters were more able to afford 2 shillings. 23,000 appeared for the game including not a few Celtic fans who had clearly saved up for admission.

They saw their team one goal down at half time but turning it on in the second half to win 5-1 with two goals from Sandy McMahon, two from Johnny Campbell and one from an own goal. The celebrations in the East End that night were immense and all-pervasive because “Our Bhoys Have Won The Cup”

The Celtic team was: Cullen, Reynolds and Doyle; Maley, Kelly and Gallagher; McCallum, Brady, Gallagher, McMahon and Campbell.

Read all about Celtic ‘s next Scottish Cup Final win on the next page…

CELTIC’S SCOTTISH CUP FINALS – Number 2…CELTIC 2-0 RANGERS – HAMPDEN, 22 APRIL 1899 – The game was played at “Second” Hampden (which in later years became Cathkin Park, the home of Third Lanark) and it was a game that Rangers were expected to win because they had won the League with a 100% record, and they looked unbeatable. But on this occasion Celtic stood up to them and beat them before a massive crowd of 25,000 with a glorious headed goal from Sandy McMahon and a late counter from Johnny Hodge who ran through and scored after receiving a pass from the injured Jack Bell.

The Celtic team was: McArthur, Welford and Storrier; Battles, Marshall and King; Hodge, Campbell, Divers, McMahon and Bell.

Read all about Celtic ‘s next Scottish Cup Final win on the next page…

CELTIC’S SCOTTISH CUP FINALS – Number 3…CELTIC 4-3 QUEEN’S PARK – IBROX, 14th APRIL 1900 – This game was known as the “hurricane final” with a strong wind blowing from the west. Celtic had not had the best of seasons in the League but had defeated Rangers decisively in the replayed semi-final and now faced Queen’s Park in what would turn out to be their last ever Scottish Cup final now the professionalism was taking over.

Celtic played with the wind in the first half and were 3-1 up at half time with goals from Sandy McMahon, John Divers and Jack Bell. Early in the second half Divers scored against the wind to make in 4-1, but Queen’s Park kept pressing and pulled a couple back to enter the last 10 minutes with the score at 4-3. But Celtic held out heroically against the wind (“blasty Boreas” as The Scottish Referee puts it) with Dan McArthur in top form, and the Cup was won for the third time. The full backs Storrier and Battles were outstanding.

The Celtic teams was: McArthur, Storrier and Battles; Russell, Marshall and Orr; Hodge, Campbell, Divers, McMahon and Bell.

Read all about Celtic ‘s next Scottish Cup Final win on the next page…

CELTIC’S SCOTTISH CUP FINALS – Number 4…CELTIC 3-2 RANGERS – HAMPDEN, 16th APRIL 1904 – This was the first game to be played at New Hampden and is generally seen as the springboard for the great “6 in a row League Championship” side that came next. It was also the occasion of the Jimmy Quinn hat-trick.

Rangers were 2-0 up early on, but then Quinn charged through to score and then hammered home a cross from Bobby Muir to equalise before half time. Then Jimmy charged through to score another goal not dissimilar to his first. He was almost dismembered by his ecstatic team mates, but then shook them off and walked with grim determination “cool as hell” (as an admirer out it) back to the centre line. This is arguably Celtic’s best and most famous Scottish Cup final of them all.

The Celtic team was: Adams, McLeod and Orr; Young, Loney and Hay; Muir, McMenemy, Quinn, Somers and Hamilton.

Read all about Celtic ‘s next Scottish Cup Final win on the next page…

CELTIC’S SCOTTISH CUP FINALS – Number 5…CELTIC 3-0 HEARTS – HAMPDEN, 20th APRIL 1907 –  No team had so far won the Scottish League and the Scottish Cup in the same season, and this Scottish Cup victory was the first step.

It was also significant in that it condemned Hearts, who had won the Cup last year to a trophy famine that lasted nearly 50 years! The weather was not pleasant but there were 50,000 given as attending (one suspects there were more) with the traffic jams around the ground delaying the arrival of Hearts’ goalkeeper Tommy Allan, and therefore the game kicked off about 10 minutes late.

Early in the second half, Jimmy Quinn was tripped, and although Hearts disputed the decisions, Willie Orr scored the penalty before Peter Somers scored another two goals, both simple tap ins after Alec Bennett had set the ball up nicely for him. It ended up a rather one-sided Scottish Cup final.

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

Read all about Celtic ‘s next Scottish Cup Final win on the next page…

CELTIC’S SCOTTISH CUP FINALS – Number 6…CELTIC 5-1 ST MIRREN – HAMPDEN, 18th APRIL 1908 – Celtic went one better this year and won the Grand Slam – the Scottish Cup, Scottish League, Glasgow Cup and the Glasgow Charity Cup. Today on a windy day at Hampden, Celtic won their 6th Scottish Cup with a masterly performance over St Mirren.

The forward play of McMenemy in particular was a sight to behold and ironically he was the only member of the forward line who didn’t score, Alec Bennett being the man who scored twice.

The Celtic team was: Adams, McNair and Weir; Young, Loney and Hay; Bennett, McMenemy, Quinn, Somers and Hamilton.

Read all about Celtic ‘s next Scottish Cup Final win on the next page…

CELTIC’S SCOTTISH CUP FINALS – Number 7…CELTIC 2-0 ST MIRREN – IBROX, 15th APRIL 1911 – Celtic won the Scottish Cup for the 7th time by beating Hamilton in a replay. The first game is generally written off as a dreadful 0-0 draw, and this one was only slightly better.

The weather was not congenial with much wind and rain, and it was only in the latter stages that Celtic, playing with the benefit of the conditions, scored twice with shots from a distance, one from Jimmy Quinn and one from Tommy McAteer. Several interesting things about 1911’s Scottish Cup campaign. One was that they were never out of Glasgow as they were always drawn at home, the other was that they never lost a goal, and the third was that three man from Croy – Jimmy Quinn, Tommy McAteer and Andy McAtee – played in that final.

The Celtic team was: Adams, McNair and Hay; Young, McAteer and Dodds; McAtee, McMenemy, Quinn, Kivlichan and Hamilton.

Read all about Celtic ‘s next Scottish Cup Final win on the next page…

CELTIC’S SCOTTISH CUP FINALS – Number 8…CELTIC 2-0 CLYDE – IBROX, 6th APRIL 1912 – Yet again an Ibrox Scottish Cup final was bedevilled by wind, but this time it was drier, and Celtic were clearly the better team both with the wind and against it.

The star man was Andy McAtee, but the goals came from Jimmy McMenemy with the wind in the first half and the prodigious Patsy Gallacher in the second half against the wind after fine work from McAtee. Both goals owed something to goalkeeping errors but Celtic were totally on top from beginning to end. It was the 8th Scottish Cup triumph.

The Celtic team was: Mulrooney, McNair and Dodds; Young, Loney and Johnstone; McAtee, Gallacher, Quinn, McMenemy and Brown.

Many more to follow…

David Potter