1895–96 British Home Championship Explained

Tourney Name:1895–96 British Home Championship
Country:England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
Dates:29 February – 4 April 1896
Num Teams:4
Champion:SCO
Count:8
Second:ENG
Matches:6
Goals:32
Prevseason:1894–95
Nextseason:1896–97

The 1895–96 British Home Championship was an edition of the annual international football tournament played between the British Home Nations. Despite England achieving an almost record 9–1 victory over Wales, the trophy was won by Scotland who won two and drew one of their matches, the draw coming in a hard-fought duel with Ireland.

Wales and Ireland kicked off the tournament with the Welsh heavily defeating the Irish in Wrexham. England too beat the Irish in their opening game, although by a smaller scoreline and England then achieved their 9–1 victory over Wales with Steve Bloomer scoring five, an England record. Scotland too beat Wales, scoring four without reply before being held by the Irish in an exciting and close match.

In the final game at Celtic Park, England and Scotland played for the trophy, England only needing a draw whilst the Scots required a win to take the tournament. To improve their chances, Scotland decided to select England-based players for the first time, holding a selection trial between their 'Home' and 'Anglo' players[1] [2] which became an annual event for the next 30 years. In a close and dramatic game, Scotland narrowly beat the English 2–1 and won the championship. The decisive Scotland v England match, watched by a crowd of 60,000, generated receipts of £3,640, a world record at the time for a football match.[3] [4] [5]

Table

Results

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Winning squad

NameApps/Goals by opponentTotal

WAL[6]

IRE[7]

ENG[8]
AppsGoals
Bob McColl11/222
William Lambie11/121
James Blessington1120
Jock Drummond1120
Neilly Gibson1120
George Hogg1120
Alex King1120
Bobby Neill1/212
Jack Bell1/111
Pat Murray1/111
Sandy Keillor1/111
Daniel Paton1/111
Tom Brandon110
Jimmy Cowan110
Ned Doig110
Thomas Hyslop110
Kenneth Anderson110
John Cameron110
James Kelly110
Peter Meehan110
William Blair110
John Gillespie110
Robert Glen110
Rab Macfarlane110
Duncan McLean110
William Thomson110

References

Notes and References

  1. https://books.google.com/books?id=sHPCAAAAIAAJ&dq=Anglo+Scots+home+Scots&pg=PA183 Sport and the Working Class in Modern Britain
  2. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KvtfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-7EMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5804%2C7446060 Football. International Trial Matches.
  3. 1896-04-09 . 2 . Football: Scotland v. England . The Star . Guernsey.
  4. https://www.londonhearts.com/scotlandunoff/games/18960404.html Sat 4 Apr 1896 Scotland 2 England 1
  5. https://electricscotland.com/history/sport/football/chapter24.htm Chapter XXIV —Queen's Park and International Games
  6. https://londonhearts.com/scotlandunoff/games/18960321.html Sat 21 Mar 1896 Scotland 4 Wales 0
  7. https://londonhearts.com/scotlandunoff/games/18960328.html Sat 28 Mar 1896 Ireland 3 Scotland 3
  8. https://londonhearts.com/scotlandunoff/games/18960404.html Sat 04 Apr 1896 Scotland 2 England 1