The Summer Cup was a Scottish football competition open to teams in the top division, first of the wartime Southern League from 1940 to 1945 and then of the Scottish League from 1963 to 1965.

Summer Cup
Founded1941
Abolished1965
Region Scotland
Number of teams16 (1940–44, 1963–65)
14 (1944–45)
Last championsMotherwell (2nd title)
Most successful club(s)Hibernian (2 titles)
Motherwell (2 titles)

History

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When the competition was first introduced in 1940 it was organised by the Southern League and was one of two wartime cup competitions run by the League, along with the Southern League Cup. The competition ran from May to June, when the league season had already finished. It was discontinued after 1945.

Just as the one-off Scottish War Emergency Cup of 1940 was a predecessor of sorts to the wartime Summer Cup, the 1946 Victory Cup could be seen as its successor due to the similar format used, although the trophy actually used for the Victory Cup was that of the Southern League Cup, which did have a 1946 edition completed a few weeks earlier.[1]

The Summer Cup was reintroduced in 1963 as a national cup competition for Scottish Football League Division One clubs because running costs for clubs in the top division were getting more expensive. Both Celtic and Rangers declined to take part in either season the competition was played.

The trophy currently resides in the boardroom at Easter Road, the home of Hibernian.[2] Hibs chairman Harry Swan had helped to establish the competition and, when Hibernian won the first final, team manager Willie McCartney suggested that the trophy should be presented to him; Swan's family subsequently gifted the trophy to Hibernian in perpetuity.[2][3]

List of Finals

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Southern League

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Season Winner Score Runner-up Attendance Scorers Venue Ref
1940–41 Hibernian 3–2 Rangers 37,200 B Baxter, W Finnigan (2);T Gillick, W McIntosh Hampden Park, Glasgow [2][4][5][6][7]
1941–42 Rangers 0–0 1 Hibernian 60,000 [4][8][9]
1942–43 St Mirren 1–0 Rangers 45,000 A Linwood [4][10][11][12]
1943–44 Motherwell 1–0 Clyde 40,000 A Gibson [4][13][14]
1944–45 Partick Thistle 2–0 Hibernian 20,000 J Johnson (2) [4][15][16]
  • 1Rangers won the final and the cup on a Coin Toss after a goalless draw and 2 corners each.

Scottish Division One

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Season Home Team Score Away Team Attendance Scorers Venue Ref
1963–64 Aberdeen 3–2 Hibernian 20,000 E Winchester, A Kerr (2);
J Scott (2)
Pittodrie, Aberdeen [4][17]
[18][19]
Hibernian 2–1 (aet) Aberdeen 28,000 S Vincent, E Stevenson;
C Cooke
Easter Road, Edinburgh
Hibernian and Aberdeen tied 4–4 on aggregate.
Aberdeen 1–3 Hibernian E Winchester;
W Hamilton, J Scott, P Cormack
Pittodrie, Aberdeen
Hibernian beat Aberdeen in play-off match
1964–65 Motherwell 3–1 Dundee United 12,000 P Delaney (2), J McBride;
F Døssing
Fir Park, Motherwel [4][13][20]
[21][22] [23][24]
Dundee United 1–0 Motherwell 18,371 M Berg Tannadice, Dundee
Motherwell beat Dundee United 3–2 on aggregate.

Performance by club

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Club Wins Years won Runners-up Years runner-up
Hibernian 2 1940–41, 1963–64 2 1941–42, 1944–45
Motherwell 2 1943–44, 1964–65 0
Rangers 1 1941–42 2 1940–41, 1942–43
Partick Thistle 1 1944–45 0
St Mirren 1 1942–43 0
Aberdeen 0 1 1963–64
Clyde 0 1 1943–44
Dundee United 0 1 1964–65

References

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  1. ^ Kevin Stirling (27 January 2014). "League Cup History 1946". Aberdeen F.C. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b c The Summer Cup (1940–41 – Hibernian) Hibs-Historical-Trust. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  3. ^ "Summer Cup undermined by typhoid, tours and indifferences". The Scotsman. Johnston Publishing. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Summer Cup Scottish Football Historical Archive, retrieved 15 November 2020
  5. ^ 3-2 Vs Rangers in Summer Cup (12/07/1941), FitbaStats Hibernian
  6. ^ 2-3 Vs Hibernian in Summer Cup (12/07/1941), FitbaStats Rangers
  7. ^ 1940–41 Summer Cup Final, London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  8. ^ 0-0 Vs Hibernian in Summer Cup (04/07/1942), FitbaStats Rangers
  9. ^ 1941–42 Summer Cup Final London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  10. ^ St Mirren FC – season 1942–43 Archived 3 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine St Mirren Info. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  11. ^ 0-1 Vs St Mirren in Summer Cup (03/07/1943), FitbaStats Rangers
  12. ^ 1942–43 Summer Cup Final London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  13. ^ a b History | Through The Years, Motherwell FC, retrieved 15 November 2020
  14. ^ 1943–44 Summer Cup Final London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  15. ^ 1944–45 Summer Cup Final London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  16. ^ Thistle Get the Cup, But Not All the Honour Archived 3 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Evening Times, 30 June 1945 (via Partick Thistle History Archive)
  17. ^ Scottish League FAQS scottishleague.net. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  18. ^ Aberdeen Lead Inadequate, The Glasgow Herald, 3 August 1964
  19. ^ Summer Cup Final Drawn, The Glasgow Herald, 6 August 1964
  20. ^ 1965 Summer Cup Archived 22 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine, MotherWELLnet
  21. ^ Dundee Utd. Not Yet Out of Summer Cup, The Glasgow Herald, 31 May 1965
  22. ^ Motherwell 3 Dundee Utd 1, Summer Cup (Final 1st Leg), Arab Archive
  23. ^ Motherwell Beaten But Win Cup, The Glasgow Herald, June 3 1965
  24. ^ Dundee Utd 1 Motherwell 0: Summer Cup (Final 2nd Leg)), Arab Archive