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.
History 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.
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. 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.
List of Finals Southern League SeasonWinnerScoreRunner-upAttendanceScorersVenueRef1940–41Hibernian3–2Rangers37,200B Baxter, W Finnigan (2);T Gillick, W McIntosh Hampden Park, GlasgowThe Summer Cup (1940–41 – Hibernian) Hibs-Historical-Trust. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2014.Summer Cup Scottish Football Historical Archive, retrieved 15 November 20203-2 Vs Rangers in Summer Cup (12/07/1941), FitbaStats Hibernian2-3 Vs Hibernian in Summer Cup (12/07/1941), FitbaStats Rangers1940–41 Summer Cup Final, London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 19 January 2014.1941–42Rangers0–0 1Hibernian60,0000-0 Vs Hibernian in Summer Cup (04/07/1942), FitbaStats Rangers1941–42 Summer Cup Final London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 19 January 2014.1942–43St Mirren1–0Rangers45,000A LinwoodSt Mirren FC – season 1942–43 St Mirren Info. Retrieved 19 January 2014.0-1 Vs St Mirren in Summer Cup (03/07/1943), FitbaStats Rangers1942–43 Summer Cup Final London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 19 January 2014.1943–44Motherwell1–0Clyde40,000A GibsonHistory Through The Years, Motherwell FC, retrieved 15 November 20201943–44 Summer Cup Final London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 19 January 2014.1944–45Partick Thistle2–0Hibernian20,000J Johnson (2)1944–45 Summer Cup Final London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 19 January 2014.Thistle Get the Cup, But Not All the Honour , Evening Times, 30 June 1945 (via Partick Thistle History Archive) 1Rangers won the final and the cup on a Coin Toss after a goalless draw and 2 corners each.
Scottish Division One SeasonHome teamScoreAway teamAttendanceScorersVenueRef1963–64Aberdeen3–2Hibernian20,000E Winchester, A Kerr (2);J Scott (2)Pittodrie, AberdeenScottish League FAQS scottishleague.net. Retrieved 19 January 2014.Aberdeen Lead Inadequate, The Glasgow Herald, 3 August 1964Summer Cup Final Drawn, The Glasgow Herald, 6 August 1964Hibernian2–1 (aet)Aberdeen28,000S Vincent, E Stevenson;C Cooke Easter Road, EdinburghHibernian and Aberdeen tied 4–4 on aggregate.Aberdeen1–3HibernianE Winchester;W Hamilton, J Scott, P CormackPittodrie, AberdeenHibernian beat Aberdeen in play-off match1964–65Motherwell3–1Dundee United12,000P Delaney (2), J McBride;F Døssing Fir Park, Motherwel1965 Summer Cup , MotherWELLnetDundee Utd. Not Yet Out of Summer Cup, The Glasgow Herald, 31 May 1965Motherwell 3 Dundee Utd 1, Summer Cup (Final 1st Leg), Arab ArchiveMotherwell Beaten But Win Cup, The Glasgow Herald, June 3 1965Dundee Utd 1 Motherwell 0: Summer Cup (Final 2nd Leg)), Arab ArchiveDundee United1–0Motherwell18,371M Berg Tannadice, DundeeMotherwell beat Dundee United 3–2 on aggregate.
Performance by club
ClubWinsYears wonRunners-upYears runner-upHibernian21940–41, 1963–6421941–42, 1944–45Motherwell21943–44, 1964–650 –Rangers11941–4221940–41, 1942–43Partick Thistle11944–450–St Mirren11942–430–Aberdeen0–11963–64Clyde0–11943–44Dundee United0–11964–65
References