1901–02 British Home Championship

1901–1902 British Home Championship
Tournament details
Host country	England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
Dates	22 February – 3 May 1902
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	Scotland (7th title)
Runners-up	England
Tournament statistics
Matches played	6
Goals scored	22 (3.67 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Andy Gara , Robert Hamilton and Jimmy Settle (3 goals)
	← 1899–1900 1902–03 →

The collapsed Western Tribune Stand

The 1901–02 British Home Championship was an international football tournament between the British Home Nations which was meant to herald the arrival of the full professional game of football as both England and Scotland fielded fully professional teams for the first time. The championship was however dominated and overshadowed by a disaster during the final deciding match between England and Scotland at Ibrox Park, which claimed 25 lives.^[1] Six minutes into the game, a section of the wooden West Tribune Stand suddenly collapsed due to heavy rainfall the night before.^[2] Over 500 people were injured as the stadium was packed to its 68,000 capacity for the match. Although play was stopped in the immediate aftermath of the disaster as players, police and stewards rushed to aid the injured, it was later continued. The continued match finished 1–1 despite the players' reluctance and repeated pauses to allow police and injured spectators to cross the pitch. After the match the Scottish and English Football Associations decided to void the result, and the match was replayed at Villa Park.^[3] All proceeds from the replay were contributed to the Disaster Fund set up to aid victims of the accident.^[4]

Ireland kicked off the tournament in fine style, beating Wales 3–0 in Cardiff with a good performance. Their luck didn't hold out in their second game however, thumped 5–1 by an impressive Scottish side in Greenock. Scotland continued their run of good form against Wales, with another 5–1 victory, setting them up as tournament favourites going into the final games. England had played poorly in their opening matches, drawing 0–0 with Wales and scrambling a 1–0 victory over the Irish. The final match up was marred by tragedy and the game was eventually relocated to England due to the turmoil in the Scottish football community as a result of the disaster. The match was fiercely fought and ended with a 2–2 draw, sharing the points but giving the championship to the Scots.

Table[]

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Scotland (C)	3	2	1	0	12	4	+8	5
England	3	1	2	0	3	2	+1	4
Ireland	3	1	0	2	4	6	−2	2
Wales	3	0	1	2	1	8	−7	1

Source:^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) points. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
(C) Champion

Results[]

22 February 1902

Wales	0 – 3	Ireland
		40', 60', 75' Andy Gara

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Arthur Kingscot (England)

1 March 1902

Ireland	1 – 5	Scotland
Robert Milne 88'		43', 70', 74' RC Hamilton 49' Bobby Walker 76' Albert Buick

Grosvenor Park, Belfast

Attendance: 15,000

Referee: Frederick Bye (England)

3 March 1902

Wales	0 – 0	England

Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Tom Robertson (Scotland)

15 March 1902

Scotland	5 – 1	Wales
John Robertson 38' Albert Buick 47' Alec Smith 50' Bobby Walker 55' John Campbell 88'		Hugh Morgan-Owen

Cappielow Park, Greenock

Attendance: 5,284

Referee: Joseph McBride (Ireland)

22 March 1902

Ireland	0 – 1	England
		86' Jimmy Settle

Balmoral Showgrounds, Belfast

Attendance: 12,000

Referee: Tom Robertson (Scotland)

5 April 1902

Scotland	Result Void 1–1	England
Sandy Brown		Jimmy Settle

Ibrox Park, Govan

Replay
3 May 1902

England	2 – 2	Scotland
Jimmy Settle 65' Albert Wilkes 67'		3' Bobby Templeton 28' Ronald Orr

Villa Park, Birmingham

Attendance: 15,000

Referee: James Torrans (Ireland)

Winning squad[]

Scotland

Name	Apps/Goals by opponent			Total
Name	WAL^[5]	IRE^[6]	ENG^[a]^[8]	Apps	Goals
Alex Smith	1/3	1	3	3	3
Bobby Walker	1	1/1	1	3	1
Jock Drummond	1	1	1	3	0
Harry Rennie	1	1	1	3	0
Jackie Robertson	1	1	1	3	0
Bob Hamilton	1	1/3		2	3
Albert Buick	1/1	1/1		2	2
John Campbell	1	1		2	0
Nicol Smith		1	1	2	0
Bobby Templeton			1/1	1	1
Ronald Orr^[a]			1/1	1	1
Andy Aitken			1	1	0
Bob McColl^[a]			1	1	0
Alex Raisbeck			1	1	0
Henry Allan	1			1	0
Sandy McMahon	1			1	0
Hughie Wilson	1			1	0
George Key		1		1	0
William McCartney		1		1	0

Notes[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Caps against England refer to the replayed game in Birmingham (the team was largely the same as in the 'Ibrox disaster' match, but Bob McColl and Ronald Orr were selected in place of Sandy Brown and George Livingstone).^[7]

^ Ibrox Park and the greatest loss of all, scotsman.com Heritage & Culture, Retrieved 1 June 2007
^ The Fatalities of the Ibrox Disaster of 1902 Archived 30 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Robert Shields, The Sports Historian 1998, Retrieved on 1 June 2007
^ The Scotland Match at Ibrox Park in 1902, England Football Online, Peter Young, Retrieved 1 June 2007
^ 1902 Newspaper Report, Scotland: The complete record 1872 to 2005, Retrieved 1 June 2007
^ Sat 15 Mar 1902 Scotland 5 Wales 1, London Hearts Supporters Club
^ Sat 01 Mar 1902 Ireland 1 Scotland 5, London Hearts Supporters Club
^ Sat 05 Apr 1902 Scotland 1 England 1, London Hearts Supporters Club
^ Sat 03 May 1902 England 2 Scotland 2, London Hearts Supporters Club

References[]

Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.

[Eng-8] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Caps against England refer to the replayed game in Birmingham (the team was largely the same as in the 'Ibrox disaster' match, but Bob McColl and Ronald Orr were selected in place of Sandy Brown and George Livingstone).^[7]

[1] Ibrox Park and the greatest loss of all, scotsman.com Heritage & Culture, Retrieved 1 June 2007

[2] The Fatalities of the Ibrox Disaster of 1902 Archived 30 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Robert Shields, The Sports Historian 1998, Retrieved on 1 June 2007

[3] The Scotland Match at Ibrox Park in 1902, England Football Online, Peter Young, Retrieved 1 June 2007

[4] 1902 Newspaper Report, Scotland: The complete record 1872 to 2005, Retrieved 1 June 2007

[5] Sat 15 Mar 1902 Scotland 5 Wales 1, London Hearts Supporters Club

[6] Sat 01 Mar 1902 Ireland 1 Scotland 5, London Hearts Supporters Club

[7] Sat 05 Apr 1902 Scotland 1 England 1, London Hearts Supporters Club

[9] Sat 03 May 1902 England 2 Scotland 2, London Hearts Supporters Club

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[a]

[8]

[7]

hide v t British Home Championship
Football in the United Kingdom: England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Competitors	England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland / Ireland
Seasons	1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 First World War 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 Second World War 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84
Rous Cup Nations Cup Matches outside the British Home Championship