1957 Scottish League Cup final
The 1957 Scottish League Cup final match programme
Event1957–58 Scottish League Cup
Celtic Rangers
7 1
Date19 October 1957
VenueHampden Park, Glasgow
RefereeJack Mowat
Attendance82,293

The 1957 Scottish League Cup final was the final match of the 1957–58 Scottish League Cup. The football match was played on 19 October 1957 at Hampden Park, in which Celtic beat rivals Rangers in a record 7–1 victory. The final was nicknamed "Hampden in the Sun", a phrase coined by Celtic supporters as the title of a terrace song. It has since been used in other songs, poems and a book about the game.

The 7–1 scoreline remains a record for a major domestic cup final in British football.

Overview

Celtic entered the final as holders, having beaten Partick Thistle after a replay in the previous year's final. Rangers were the reigning league champions. The match was the 12th League Cup final, and the first contested by the Old Firm. It was held at a sunny Hampden Park in Glasgow, at 2.45pm on the afternoon of 19 October 1957.

Celtic attacked from the start, with shots hitting the post twice in the first twenty minutes.[1] The first goal was scored by Sammy Wilson, from a Charlie Tully cross on in the 22nd minute.[2] Rangers defended for the remainder of the first half,[3] however in the 44th minute Neil Mochan scored a solo goal after a run down the left wing.[1][4] Within eight minutes of the restart Billy McPhail scored Celtic's third goal with a header from a Bobby Collins cross.[3] Rangers narrowed the margin five minutes later, a goal by Simpson,[3] however it only served to reinvigorate the Celtic attack as McPhail, then Mochan scored their second goals.[2]

In the 80th minute, McPhail claimed his third, a hat-trick of goals all scored with his head.[3][5] As the game drew to a close violence flared in among the fans,[6] but in the final minute McPhail was fouled in the Rangers' penalty area. He declined the opportunity to score a fourth goal, a feat never achieved by a player in an Old Firm match, instead Willie Fernie took the kick. In addition to the seven goals, Celtic hit the woodwork four times. They were permitted to keep their jerseys as a souvenir of the day.[2]

Much of the blame for the poor defensive display by Rangers was attributed to centre back John Valentine, who had signed from Queen's Park earlier that season. Bobby Collins told The Sunday Post "I don't know if Valentine had no faith in George Niven or Niven had no faith in Valentine, but ultimately they had no faith in themselves, something you can sense very quickly on a football field, and inevitably the game became a rout."[2]

The victory, reported in The Times as "a wonderful exhibition of football",[7] and as an "October Revolution" by The Sunday Post,[2] was comprehensive. The scoreline remains a record in any major British football final, the record margin of victory in an official Old Firm game, and Rangers' record final defeat.

Match details

Celtic7–1Rangers
 Report Simpson 58'
Hampden Park, Glasgow
Attendance: 82,293
Referee: Jack Mowat

Teams

CELTIC :
GK1Dick Beattie
FB2John Donnelly
FB4Sean Fallon
RH5Willie Fernie
CH3Bobby Evans (c)
LH7Bertie Peacock
RW6Charlie Tully
IF8Bobby Collins
CF11Billy McPhail
IF9Sammy Wilson
LW10Neil Mochan
Manager:
Jimmy McGrory
RANGERS :
GK1George Niven
FB2Bobby Shearer (c)
FB4Eric Caldow
RH5Ian McColl
CH3John Valentine
LH7Harold Davis
RW8Alex Scott
IF9Billy Simpson
CF10Max Murray
IF6Sammy Baird
LW11Johnny Hubbard
Manager:
Scot Symon

In song

In the summer of 1957, the motion picture Island in the Sun was released in Europe, featuring a title song by Harry Belafonte. The song peaked in the UK Singles Chart in June and went on to become the 5th biggest selling single that year[8] Celtic fans composed alternative lyrics to the tune, and began to sing Hampden in the Sun at football matches to celebrate the victory.[9][5] The song has since been recorded by artists such as Freedom's sons and regularly features on albums of Celtic football song. The phrase itself has become synonymous with the match, and has since been used in other songs and poems,[10][11] and is the title of a book about the 1957 final and the iconic status it achieved among the Celtic support.[12]

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 Horne, Cyril (21 October 1957). "Celtic's seven goal triumph in League Cup Final". The Glasgow Herald. p. 4. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Harkness, Jack (20 October 1957). "Just one word for Celtic – Magnificent!". The Sunday Post. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Henderson, Gair (21 October 1957). "All hail, McPhail". Evening Times. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  4. ↑ Cairney, John (2005). Heroes are Forever. Mainstream Publishing. p. 183. ISBN 978-1-84596-103-9.
  5. 1 2 Rej, Arindam . Veterans battle to prove brain damage link, The Guardian, 23 December 2004
  6. ↑ Cairney, John (2005). Heroes are Forever. Mainstream Publishing. p. 184. ISBN 978-1-84596-103-9.
  7. ↑ "Glasgow Rangers outplayed". The Times. 21 October 1957. p. 14. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  8. ↑ Chart Archive: 1950s singles, everyHit.com, retrieved 23 July 2007
  9. ↑ "Hampden in the Sun". The North American Federation of Celtic Supporters Clubs. Archived from the original on 11 January 2002.
  10. ↑ Celtic Over All by Charlie and the Bhoys
  11. ↑ Hoops bid farewell to hat-trick legend Billy, News of the World, 6 April 2003
  12. ↑ Burns, Peter & Woods, Pat (1998). Oh, Hampden in the Sun, Mainstream Publishing, ISBN 1-85158-911-2

See also

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