1946 Victory Cup

One-off Scottish football competition

The Victory Cup was a one-off Scottish football competition held in 1946 to celebrate the end of World War II. It is an unofficial competition in statistical terms, taking place at the end of the 1945–46 season just before official competitions such as the Scottish Football League and the Scottish Cup resumed.

The winners of the Victory Cup were Rangers who defeated Hibernian 3–1 in the final at Hampden Park in Glasgow.[1][2][3]

Summary

The format was a straight knockout tournament open to clubs from across Scotland, with the first round being played over two legs, subsequent rounds in a single match with replays as necessary and the semi-finals and final at neutral venues.[1] A preliminary tournament took place between September 1945 and January 1946, with Clachnacuddin and East Stirlingshire (who won the final held between them in a second replay) qualifying to make up 32 participants for the final tournament which was held between April and June 1946.

The trophy itself had been used throughout the war for the Southern League Cup which was contested five times on a regional basis, four of these being won by Rangers. Its last edition was played on a nationwide basis (acting as a forerunner to the Scottish League Cup) and was won by Aberdeen. However, the Scottish Football Association asked for the trophy to be returned for use in the Victory Cup, and Rangers' win meant it stayed in their possession permanently.[4][5]

A similar wartime competition was held at the end of World War I, won by St Mirren.[1][6]

A separate Victory In Europe Cup had been held in May 1945, in the form of a single match at Hampden between Celtic and Queen's Park arranged by the organisers of the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup; Celtic won that trophy by having won one more corner kick, following a 1–1 result.[7]

Results

First round

Leg 1 Team 1 Aggregate Team 2 Leg 2
2–0 Aberdeen 4–0 Hamilton Academical 2–0
4–0 Airdrieonians 5–1 Dumbarton 1–1
3–1 Alloa Athletic 3–6 Heart of Midlothian 0–5
3–4 Arbroath 4–7 Raith Rovers 1–3
1–3 Ayr United 3–7 Morton 2–4
2–2 Clachnacuddin 3–9 Partick Thistle 1–7
4–2 Clyde 6–3 Albion Rovers 2–1
0–0 Cowdenbeath 5–3 Queen's Park 5–3
2–1 Dundee United 3–4 Queen of the South 1–3
2–0 East Fife 2–3 Kilmarnock 0–3
2–1 Falkirk 6–3 Motherwell 4–2
3–0 Hibernian 3–2 Dundee 0–2
2–8 St Johnstone 2–13 Celtic 0–5
3–1 St Mirren 5–3 East Stirlingshire 2–2
1–4 Stenhousemuir 2–8 Rangers 1–4
1–2 Third Lanark 3–2 Dunfermline Athletic 2–0

Second round

Team 1 Aggregate Team 2
Aberdeen 1–1 Kilmarnock
Airdrieonians 0–4 Rangers
Celtic 3–0 Queen of the South
Clyde 0–0 Morton
Cowdenbeath 1–1 Partick Thistle
Falkirk 3–2 Third Lanark
Hibernian 3–1[8] Heart of Midlothian
Raith Rovers 2–1 St Mirren

Replays

Team 1 Aggregate Team 2
Kilmarnock 0–3 Aberdeen
Morton 0–2 Clyde
Partick Thistle 2–1 Cowdenbeath

Quarter-finals

Team 1 Aggregate Team 2
Clyde 4–2 Aberdeen
Falkirk 1–1 Rangers
Partick Thistle 1–1 Hibernian
Raith Rovers 0–2 Celtic

Replays

Team 1 Aggregate Team 2
Rangers 2–0 Falkirk
Hibernian 2–0 Partick Thistle

Semi-finals

Team 1 Aggregate Team 2 Venue
Hibernian 2–1 Clyde Tynecastle Park
Rangers 0–0 Celtic Hampden Park

Replay

Team 1 Aggregate Team 2 Venue
Celtic 0–2[9][10] Rangers Hampden Park

Final

Rangers3–1Hibernian
Gillick
Duncanson 		Aitkenhead
Attendance: 100,000[3]
Referee: J. M. Martin[2]
Rangers:[3]
GK Bobby Brown
FB Sammy Cox
FB Jock Shaw
RH Charlie Watkins
CH George Young
LH Scot Symon
RW Willie Waddell
IF Torrance Gillick
CF Willie Thornton
IF Jimmy Duncanson
LW Jimmy Caskie
Manager:
Bill Struth
Hibernian:[2]
GK 1 Jimmy Kerr
DF 2 Jock Govan
DF 3 Davie Shaw
MF 4 Hugh Howie
MF 5 Peter Aird
MF 6 Willie Finnigan
FW 7 Gordon Smith
FW 8 Willie Peat
FW 9 Arthur Milne
FW 10 Johnny Aitkenhead
FW 11 Bobby Nutley
Manager:
Willie McCartney

References

  1. ^ a b c "Victory Cup". Scottish Football Historical Archive. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Match details, Victory Cup 15/06/1946 [Hibernian team]". FitbaStats. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Match details, Victory Cup 15/06/1946 [Rangers team]". FitbaStats. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  4. ^ "WWII Victory Cup". QPFC. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  5. ^ Kevin Stirling (27 January 2014). "League Cup History 1946". Aberdeen F.C. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Victory Cup". StMirren.info. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Victory In Europe Cup". The Celtic Wiki. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Sat 04 May 1946; Hearts 1 Hibernian 3". London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Rangers in Victory Cup Final". Glasgow Herald. 6 June 1946. Retrieved 1 October 2018 – via The Celtic Wiki.
  10. ^ Tales of Jimmy Mallan, Charles Buchan’s Football Weekly, September 1955, via Not The View, January 2019
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