The Great War
1914-1919
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See also |
Although the Great
War began soon after the start of the season, the Scottish League continued
with its First and Second Division championships as normal. The Scottish FA
also ran its Scottish Qualifying Cup competition, but by the turn of the year
had taken the decision to abandon the Scottish Cup entirely. With attendances
dwindling and adverse public reaction, the Scottish League decided on
reducing players’ wages and suspending the Second Division, which had been
losing money hand over fist. In its place, two regional leagues-Western and
Eastern- were created with the help of a number of non-League clubs. As the war dragged
on there was a number of proposals put to the League. One was to cut the
duration of games back to 80 minutes during December and January was rejected
by just one vote. The other was to ask the League’s three northern clubs,
Aberdeen, Dundee and Raith Rovers, to stand down, although they would retain
full voting rights and representation at League meetings. They did so in June
1917 and Clydebank, who were formed only in 1914, were voted in to replace
them. The suspended clubs eventually returned in 1919. A likewise attempt at
removing Ayr United and Falkirk in 1918 was however voted down. Unlike during the
1939-1945 war, the Scottish League championship was official, and saw Celtic
win four titles in a row before Rangers broke the run in 1918 thanks to the
Ibrox side being able to call upon the majority of their players. Some other
clubs were not so fortunate, and Heart of Midlothian had to scratch from a
League fixture in April 1916 when they couldn’t field a team against Morton –
the only occasion in which a First Division season fixture was left unplayed.
Due to the end of season fixture congestion that always occurred, a number of
clubs played two games in a day, with the famous example of Celtic winning
both of theirs -
League champions 1914-1919
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