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The Day The Scottish Cup Came Up To Maryhill


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And so, 100 years ago today, it was time for the biggest game in Thistle's 46-year-old history so far. In the last four of the Scottish Cup, it's Partick Thistle, first-time semi-finalists, versus Heart of Midlothian, 4-times winners in 1891, 1896, 1901 and 1906.

Read the story of the game, played in a hurricane at Ibrox, and meet the legend that is Kenny Campbell:

I have never yet met a player whose heart did not yearn for the position of being able to say that he was one of the team which won the highest honour in the land.”

The Day The Scottish Cup Came Up To Maryhill part 13 →

 

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Great stuff.

Even a hundred years ago our corners were mostly garbage, it seems.

And got to love this (basically, the Hearts keeper had a good game): " Not only did he deal with a number of troublesome shots very smartly, but his judgement in coming out to relieve tension was sound, and most encouraging to his side."

:D

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Part 14 has all the Semi Final replay action, and our profiled players tonight are Tom Crichton & Matt Wilson. Giving the working man a slightly better chance of making the game, this was the only one of our Cup matches with an evening kick-off, proceedings getting underway at 5.15pm. In a micro-statistic which typified Thistle's year so far, Thistle had played Hearts three times in 1921, and had failed to find the net on each occasion. On the other hand, our defence had been breached only once, and from the penalty spot at that. The rain poured down at Ibrox as our Thistle grandfathers packed out the 'Bovril Shed' for the 4th time in 16 days, 90 mins away from a Scottish Cup final...

The Day The Scottish Cup Came Up To Maryhill part 14 →

21-ibrox-2.jpg

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I like the change from yellow to dark blue in the TTA  logo.  Appropriate  for the later stages of the 1921 cup run!  Interesting that the Thistle emblem is still the 1970's crest, though, not the 1921 one.

Not that I'm  being picky or pedantic, even if that is my habit of a lifetime!

Keep up the good work.  Much appreciated .             :wearethistle:    :ptfc:

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Ahead of Monday's installment, a bit of a rewrite for part 14 was required as some important developments had been overlooked, sorry about that! The 'deep link' below takes you straight to the updated section... 

http://www.thethistlearchive.net/the-day-the-scottish-cup-came-up-to-maryhill-14#30-Mar-1921

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Scottish football authorities being accused of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. Celtic getting more money from Scottish football. Rangers (whatever happened to them) being followed by 'rowdies'. Not statements from current times, but a hundred years ago. Some things never change. :thinking:

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Indeed AJ. Thanks for reading the update, it had to be done. "Plus ça change" as they say.  :rolleyes:

 

And so, one hundred years ago tonight, it was surely time to settle this Semi Final tie, once and for all.

Demonstrating “stamina of exceptional order”, Thistle were becoming the first team in history to play ten (legitimate) matches before the final. Take a bow Sandy Lister. Building up the record-breaking credentials, six clean-sheets had been registered in the campaign so far, Thistle “hanging on with bulldog tenacity when the fight was uphill”. It had taken three games against Hibs and three games against Motherwell. Now would be a very good time to complete the set by eliminating Hearts at the third time of asking!

In part 15, we've got all the action from Ibrox, the post-match stories which developed, and we'll meet two giants of Partick Thistle history in Willie Bulloch and Jimmy McMullan. Enjoy!

The Day The Scottish Cup Came Up To Maryhill part 15 →

21-ibrox-3.jpg

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6 minutes ago, The Thistle Archive said:

Indeed AJ. Thanks for reading the update, it had to be done. "Plus ça change" as they say.  :rolleyes:

 

And so, one hundred years ago tonight, it was surely time to settle this Semi Final tie, once and for all.

Demonstrating “stamina of exceptional order”, Thistle were becoming the first team in history to play ten (legitimate) matches before the final. Take a bow Sandy Lister. Building up the record-breaking credentials, six clean-sheets had been registered in the campaign so far, Thistle “hanging on with bulldog tenacity when the fight was uphill”. It had taken three games against Hibs and three games against Motherwell. Now would be a very good time to complete the set by eliminating Hearts at the third time of asking!

In part 15, we've got all the action from Ibrox, the post-match stories which developed, and we'll meet two giants of Partick Thistle history in Willie Bulloch and Jimmy McMullan. Enjoy!

The Day The Scottish Cup Came Up To Maryhill part 15 →

21-ibrox-3.jpg

All done without sports scientists or protein and nutrition products. :happy2:

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Jimmy McMullen, Wembley Wizard  signing for Maidstone United as player manager.  What an inspired signing  by the "Stones"!  I always thought Roy Hodgson  was their most well known player, but for me Jimmy trumps him by spades.

Jimmy was the first ever manager of Aston Villa, bud didn't  have a happy time there. (Prior to Jimmy a committee picked the team.)

His time at Manchester City was more successful,  and he was regarded as one of their best players.  Eleven streets in Moss Side were named after Man City players, and  Jimmy McMullen Walk was one of them.  I do believe it's still there - between Alexandra Park and the old Maine Rd stadium! How many  Thistle players  have streets named after them?

As always an excellent piece!

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  • 2 weeks later...
5 hours ago, Jaggernaut said:

How sweet, to be able to thwart a "double" !

How sweet, that it would be against "them!"

How sweet, that it would be against all odds!

How sweet, if we could manage to beat them or their best friends/enemies one day again soon! It's been much, much too long.

With sweet love and devotion 

Deeply touching my emotion

I want to stop and thank you ,Thistle.

Adapted from the great James Taylor lyrics.  Well done Jaggernaut!!

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And so, to the last installment in our Scottish Cup story, capturing all the drama of Scottish Cup Final day in words and pictures. From beginning to end, tremendous energy and stamina were displayed by both sides; Thistle were trademark resolute and Rangers were frustrated. Meet the last two squad members; stand-in Watty Borthwick and goalscorer John Blair... eternal Partick Thistle legend!

The Day The Scottish Cup Came Up To Maryhill part 17 →

21-celtic-park-2.jpg

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A big thank you to everybody that made this thread possible. From the family members of Thistle players of the time to everybody @The Thistle Archive and also @East Kent Jag II,this thread has been fascinating and insightful. A great way to celebrate and commemorate the players who were involved in the 11 games that ended with us bringing the Scottish cup to Maryhill. All Thistle fans know what happened in 1921 and also 1971, in fact some of us auld yins were at the 1971 league cup final. But some of the stories from the 1921 Scottish cup squad most of us would never have heard. Who knew that a Rangers players knicker elastic might have helped Thistle win the cup. The reporting of the day was also a bit different from current reports, although just like 1971 we upset the odds to win the 1921 Scottish cup. The virtual medals are also a great idea.

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Thank you the Thistle Archive team, and thank you AJ.

But this is all about a wonderful dogged group of players.  It was an epic.  3 games in round 2 against Hibs; 3 games in the QF against Motherwell; and 3 games against Hearts in the SF.  Glasgow Spongers only stumble on their imperious route to the final was a 0-0 draw against Alloa at Ibrox in Round 3.  This was followed up with a 4-1 win, also at Ibrox in the replay.  I suppose the two 50,000+ crowds (half  of the final attendance) helped sway the decision to forgo home advantage  for the replay!

This story was made for me by the elegant profiles of manager George Easton, trainer Sandy Lister and all of the players who took part in the campaign.  My favourite?  Jimmy (Napoleon) McMenemy.  Written off by the Celtic manager Willie Maley,  he came to the Jags, and showed what a football brain can do. More grist to the mill of our current Dads' Army!  The enigmatic Matt Wilson I liked, as well as David Johnstone, who came into the midfield when Willie Hamilton fell ill.  Willie sadly died a short time later.

With all of the discussions we have about the best Thistle manager. George Easton must be up there - and not because of this cup win.  A manager with excellent awareness of evolving talent, he brought excellent player after excellent player to Firhill.

Well done TTA!!

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13 minutes ago, East Kent Jag II said:

Thank you the Thistle Archive team, and thank you AJ.

But this is all about a wonderful dogged group of players.  It was an epic.  3 games in round 2 against Hibs; 3 games in the QF against Motherwell; and 3 games against Hearts in the SF.  Glasgow Spongers only stumble on their imperious route to the final was a 0-0 draw against Alloa at Ibrox in Round 3.  This was followed up with a 4-1 win, also at Ibrox in the replay.  I suppose the two 50,000+ crowds (half  of the final attendance) helped sway the decision to forgo home advantage  for the replay!

This story was made for me by the elegant profiles of manager George Easton, trainer Sandy Lister and all of the players who took part in the campaign.  My favourite?  Jimmy (Napoleon) McMenemy.  Written off by the Celtic manager Willie Maley,  he came to the Jags, and showed what a football brain can do. More grist to the mill of our current Dads' Army!  The enigmatic Matt Wilson I liked, as well as David Johnstone, who came into the midfield when Willie Hamilton fell ill.  Willie sadly died a short time later.

With all of the discussions we have about the best Thistle manager. George Easton must be up there - and not because of this cup win.  A manager with excellent awareness of evolving talent, he brought excellent player after excellent player to Firhill.

Well done TTA!!

Ran out of likes. Agree with everything you say. Also just like 71 as far as the press was concerned we were just bit players, while the other bigger teams from Glasgow won the cup. We showed them.

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Wonderful stuff as always. I love the word "ousted".

Until I read your profile of him, I had not realised that John Blair's roots were in Ardrossan, and his career was launched with Saltcoats Victoria. A very good friend of mine is both Club Secretary and Club Chaplain at Saltcoats Victoria. I have just sent him an extract from your report and thanked Saltcoats Victoria for nurturing such a Thistle legend.

The fact that the said friend happens to be the most ardent h*n in the history of the world only added to the pleasure!:shakeshout:

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5 hours ago, Auld Jag said:

A big thank you to everybody that made this thread possible. From the family members of Thistle players of the time to everybody @The Thistle Archive and also @East Kent Jag II,this thread has been fascinating and insightful. A great way to celebrate and commemorate the players who were involved in the 11 games that ended with us bringing the Scottish cup to Maryhill. All Thistle fans know what happened in 1921 and also 1971, in fact some of us auld yins were at the 1971 league cup final. But some of the stories from the 1921 Scottish cup squad most of us would never have heard. Who knew that a Rangers players knicker elastic might have helped Thistle win the cup. The reporting of the day was also a bit different from current reports, although just like 1971 we upset the odds to win the 1921 Scottish cup. The virtual medals are also a great idea.

Seconded. Great reading.

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16 hours ago, Auld Jag said:

A big thank you to everybody that made this thread possible. From the family members of Thistle players of the time to everybody @The Thistle Archive and also @East Kent Jag II,this thread has been fascinating and insightful. A great way to celebrate and commemorate the players who were involved in the 11 games that ended with us bringing the Scottish cup to Maryhill. All Thistle fans know what happened in 1921 and also 1971, in fact some of us auld yins were at the 1971 league cup final. But some of the stories from the 1921 Scottish cup squad most of us would never have heard. Who knew that a Rangers players knicker elastic might have helped Thistle win the cup. The reporting of the day was also a bit different from current reports, although just like 1971 we upset the odds to win the 1921 Scottish cup. The virtual medals are also a great idea.

Watch this space AJ!

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