Two finals that shaped Hearts and Hibernian history

By DAVID SPEED AND TOM WRIGHT
Published on Saturday 19 May 2012 00:00

HISTORIANS David Speed and Tom Wright reflect on two cup clashes between the Edinburgh teams that were instrumental to the teams’ respective histories

Hibernian, 1902: Side atoned for disappointing league campaign with rousing victory over Celtic at Hampden

TODAY’S all-Edinburgh Scottish Cup Final between Hibernian and Heart of Midlothian at Hampden is possibly the most intriguing final in the history of the Scottish game. In recent years, meetings between Rangers and Celtic at the ultimate stage have become relatively common, but this year’s final has caught the imagination of fans throughout the country.

Irishman Pat Fenlon has led Hibs to the Scottish Cup Final in his first year as manager of the club. Could this be a case of history repeating itself? The last time Hibs won the coveted old trophy in 1902, an Irishman was also in charge at Easter Road.

Of Ulster stock, 37-year-old Dan McMichael had emigrated to Scotland in the 1880s and by the middle of the following decade had moved to Edinburgh. Possibly due to the influence of his brother-in-law James Murphy who had earlier played for the club, McMichael joined Hibs in 1899. Elected as secretary the following year, for the next two decades loyal servant McMichael would hold a number of positions at the club including physiotherapist, secretary, manager, and could even be found painting the Easter Road goalposts.

By the time of the cup final in 1902, McMichael would be looking after team affairs on match days, but strictly speaking there would be no such thing as an actual manager at Easter Road until the following year when the club became a Limited Company, the cup final team being selected by a committee.

After temporarily going out of business in 1891, Hibs had reformed just under two years later, just in time to take its place in the inaugural Scottish Second Division, winning the title at the first time of asking. At that time there was no automatic promotion and third-placed Clyde were elected in their place, but after winning the championship for a second time the following season, this time they could not be denied and they took their place in the top league.

Making rapid strides in establishing themselves in the First Division, and losing in the final of the 1896 Scottish Cup, ironically to Hearts, the only other time the two Edinburgh clubs had faced each other in a national cup final, Hibs were now ready to take things a step further.

By the turn of the new century the astute Dan McMichael had assembled a side containing a mixture of youth and experience that was destined to take the club to new heights. Although Hibs had won the Scottish Cup in 1879 by defeating Dumbarton 2-1 in the final at Second Hampden (later Cathkin), the first club from the East of Scotland to win the trophy, and defeated the famous English side Preston North End at Easter Road a few months later to be crowned “unofficial World Champions”, the Hibs team at the beginning of the 1900s could arguably be considered the club’s first great side.

During the 1901-02 season league results had been less than satisfactory, Hibs winning only six games from a total of 18, with four drawn, but in the Scottish Cup it was a drastically different story.

The road to Hampden began with a 2-0 victory over Clyde at Easter Road, followed by an emphatic 5-l away defeat of Port Glasgow Athletic. An even more emphatic 7-l victory against Queen’s Park at Hampden in the third round set up a semi-final meeting with Rangers at Ibrox.

League champions Rangers, who would go on to win a fourth consecutive title that season, were hot favourites on the day, particularly as Hibs were missing three regular defenders owing to injury, but over 30,000, including many who had travelled through from the capital by special train, saw the Edinburgh side rise to the occasion to record a notable 2-0 victory, although the game was marred when Billy McCartney broke his leg, ruling him out of the final.

At Paisley that same afternoon Celtic’s 3-2 victory over St Mirren had set up an all-green cup final. With work still taking place at the national stadium at Hampden, the cup final was to have taken place at Ibrox on Saturday 12 April 1902.

Unfortunately, after the tragic events during the Scotland versus England international at the same ground seven days before, when 25 people had been killed and well over 500 injured after part of the flimsy wooden terracing behind one of the goals had collapsed, the final was temporarily postponed. It was later decided that even although it was the home ground of one of the finalists, the game would now take place at Parkhead a few weeks later.

The teams took the field at Parkhead on Saturday 26 April 1902. Celtic had now been installed as red-hot favourites, not only because of the advantage of playing on home turf, but also because of their record in the competition. This would be their fourth consecutive final, winning two of the previous three. At the kick-off it was obvious that the gale force swirling wind that was blowing from goalmouth to goalmouth would make good football difficult for both sides and spoil the game as a spectacle for the 16,000 fans that had packed into the ground.

Playing with the wind at their back, somewhat predictably Celtic were the more direct and dangerous in the first half, coming near on several occasions.

The Hibs defence, however, stood firm against the at times incessant pressure, particularly centre half Harrower, who was in defiant mood against former Hibs player McMahon, who was the last of the Easter Road players that had capitulated to Celtic at the formation of the Parkhead side, still to be at the club, and the half ended goalless.

In the second period Hibs began to use the blustery conditions to their advantage and looked the most likely side to score although there was an almighty scare for the Easter Road side when Celtic hit the post before the ball was cleared to safety.

Continuing to assert themselves in the difficult conditions, Welsh cap Bobby Atherton thought he had opened the scoring only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.

A goal was not long in coming, however, and when it arrived it would be in favour of the Edinburgh side. Callaghan took a corner on Hibs’ right, and according to legend, Atherton’s shout for a Celtic defender to ‘leave it’ allowed the tricky McGeahan to take advantage of the situation by cheekily back-heeling the ball into the net. Disputed or not, it was the goal that would decide the cup final.

At the final whistle the thousands of Hibs fans who had made their way from the Capital were in ecstatic mood, the Hibs players leaving the field to exalted acclaim.

At a short ceremony in the Alexander Hotel in Glasgow, the Hibernian President Phillip Farmer was presented with the trophy, before the victorious Hibs side made their way to Queen Street Station for the trip to Edinburgh.

Arrangements had earlier been made for the Hibs party to disembark at Haymarket, where they were met by a huge crowd, the rousing music of a brass band, and a four in hand waiting to transport the players and officials on their victory parade along Princes Street, down Leith Street and along London Road to the ground.

Everywhere the route was crammed with jubilant supporters, all aware of what a momentous occasion it was for the city, the traffic brought to a grinding halt at the bottleneck of the North Bridge and Waterloo Place by a mass of excited bodies. Later the celebrations would continue long into the night.

Sadly, McMichael would meet an untimely end when he fell victim to the great influenza epidemic that swept Europe in 1919, claiming more victims than the Great War. He died on 6 February 1919 and is buried in Easter Road Cemetery close to his beloved football stadium.

TOM WRIGHT

Hearts, 1896: Logie Green clash produced deserved win for Gorgie outfit over nervous capital opponents

HEART of Midlothian against Hibernian is almost the oldest derby in the world, with the clubs having struggled for supremacy in the capital since 1875. While there is always excitement when they meet, there is also a great deal of anxiety because the gulf between the elation of winning and the despair of losing is enormous. This was certainly true in 1896, on the only other occasion that Hearts and Hibs have contested the Scottish Cup final. The chance to avenge a League defeat comes quickly, but meeting in a cup final has proved to be a once-in-a-lifetime event and for the supporters, it is a match that just has to be won.

Season 1894-95 was a memorable one for Edinburgh, with Hearts winning the League Championship and St Bernards being victorious in the Scottish Cup final. In addition, Hibs won the Second Division and were voted into the First. They had struggled after a rich supply of players had been cut-off with the formation of Celtic in 1888, but now they were back among the elite and actually finished third in the league in 1895-96, while Hearts were fourth. They now threatened Hearts pre-eminence in the capital and the boys in “marone” were under pressure.

To make sure that their players were in good shape, Hearts booked them into the Union Hotel in Lothian Road for all of three weeks. This was expensive, but essential, because the players were part-time, had manual jobs, and lived in hard environments. Four were miners, for example, and work-related injuries were common. They needed to be wrapped in cotton wool, given decent food and all the comforts of hotel life. Drinking was, however, strictly regulated by the trainer, James Chapman, a former professional runner. He took the players on long walks and they kicked a ball in the Meadows during what was a fairly pleasant experience.

Hearts’ men were primed and ready for the cup final, which was held at Logie Green, the home of St Bernards, in the Canonmills district of Edinburgh, on Saturday 14 March 1896. Finals were not yet established at Hampden and, indeed, on the same day that ground was used for a rugby international against England. Hibs wanted to play in Glasgow and Hearts’ secretary argued for Edinburgh, although his suggestion that the game be played at Tynecastle was ruled out of order. On a vote of 10-3, the SFA Council decided to play the game in the capital.

Logie Green had been opened in 1889 and was named after an adjacent mansion. A new grandstand was erected in 1894 and temporary seats were built at the north end, especially for the cup final. The capacity was now 23,000 and admission to the Final cost 1/- (5p), which was twice the normal rate. The seated sections also cost extra, and on the day, a crowd of 16,034 paid to watch the match. There were 1,000 tickets issued and the attendance of fully 17,000 compared favourably with previous finals.

The crowd might have been even larger, but there was concern that the ground was not large enough for the event. The game was also in doubt until the day before, because Hibs’ semi-final opponents Renton were seeking to stop the final through the Court of Session. They claimed that the SFA had not fully considered their appeal over an ineligible player, but they failed to win the interdict. This deterred fans from travelling any distance, as did some snow during the week.

The pre-match gossip said that Hearts would bring back Jimmy Adams from Everton, because Bob McCartney had suffered an attack of lumbago. Willie Groves of Hibs was also expected to miss the game through injury. There was also a rumour that Alex King was heading for Celtic, but he played in the final before moving west. Hibs were generally regarded as favourites, but Hearts had a measure of experience with four winners from 1891: John Fairbairn, Isaac Begbie, Davie Russell and Davie Baird.

This monumental match started at 4pm on a fair afternoon and Willie Michael of Hearts kicked off from the north end against a slight breeze. The game contained two significant points, the first being that Hibs were nervous and struggled to contain Hearts’ early attacks. After only three minutes, during a goalmouth scramble, Tom Robertson handled the ball and the elusive and adaptable David Baird scored for Hearts from the resulting penalty.

Hibs tried hard to equalise and burly blacksmith Jock Fairbairn had to look lively in the Hearts goal. However, the threat from the Leith men passed and Hearts regained command as the contest raged to half-time. Hibs started the second period in an even more determined fashion and the second significant event came when the Hearts captain, George Hogg, a 26-year-old shale miner from West Calder, made a tactical change. In these days, the committee picked the team and senior players had key roles on the field. Hogg decided to pull Davie Baird and Bob McLaren back into midfield and this stifled the Hibs threat.

Hearts regained control and, in 65 minutes, John Walker and Alex King dribbled through the Leithers’ defence and the latter player scored with a swerving shot from a tight angle. The second goal drained Hibs’ stamina and spirit and, five minutes later, from a John Walker cross, Willie Michael headed a third goal for Hearts. It was reported that, “those who witnessed the demonstration following upon the third goal will not readily forget it”. John O’Neill scored for Hibs in the closing minutes, but it was too late to change the course of the game.

Hearts were the better side and the players were splendidly prepared by James Chapman. The dominant Davie Russell was man of the match and George Hogg was a great organiser. Gorgie-born Isaac Begbie was in good form and Jock Fairbairn was remarkably clever when Hibs were at their best. Davie Baird’s work rate was outstanding and Alex King was reported to be the finest inside-left in Scotland.

The teams that day were:

Hearts: Jock Fairbairn; Bob McCartney and James Mirk; Isaac Begbie, Davie Russell and George Hogg (captain); Bob McLaren and Davie Baird, Willie Michael, Alex King and John Walker.

Hibernian: Pat McCall; Tom Robertson and Thomas McFarlane; Barney Breslin, Bobby Neill and James Murphy; Pat Murray and John Kennedy; Willie Groves, Willie Smith and John O’Neill.

Referee: Mr W McLeod from Cowlairs FC.

Hearts’ victory was popular and there were wild celebrations at the end. Hibs were sporting losers and the whole event passed off peacefully. Hearts then retired to the Union Hotel, but not with the Scottish Cup, as the trophy was presented by the President of the SFA, Mr RF Harrison, to William Lorimer, President of Hearts, at the Royal Restaurant in West Nile Street, Glasgow on 25 March, 1896.

DAVID SPEED

Taken from the Scotsman