THE TIMES - Monday 23 April, 1956
THE OTHER CUP FINAL
HEARTS ARE SCOTTISH TRUMPS
Celtic 1, Heart of Midlothian 3
Hearts were trumps at Hampden Park, Glasgow, on Saturday. That, at least, was how it seemed to an infidel from the South as giant Celtic were cast down in their own city in the final of the Scottish Cup and Heart of Midlothian took the trophy east again after exactly half a century. So Edinburgh, the proud capital and the home of Hearts, enjoyed this moment of triumph and by nightfall had let down her hair with some well-mannered revelry along stately Princes Street.
This was Cup Final day in Glasgow with a vengeance. From cockcrow there was only one topic of conversation. Even the shaving hand of the barber shook alarmingly as he regaled his art with a ceaseless patter. He was an Edinburgh man earning his living in Glasgow. Hearts were the pride of his life. "Och! I’ll be through to the match. I’ll no miss this day." His hand and the razor trembled.
By midday the city was awash as the tide from the east flowed in. The streets were alive with noise. Bugles and bells and rattles; peopke wearing their favours, the green and white of Celtic, the maroon of Hearts. There was the same air of carnival as in London on Cup Final day. Only in London it seems more dispersed.
There is a difference too, at Hampden itself. It is more strident, more raucous. It lacks the rather prim ritual of Wembley. At Wembley, only a third, or slightly less of the 100,000 crowd would lay down their very lives for the teams engaged in battle. Rather, it has become a Derby Day, a function at which to be present. But at Hampden quite 90,000 of the 130,000 gathering truly get their teeth into the struggle. They are the clansmen who have watched their heroes in rain, wind and sun, and because a large proportion of the tickets are on public sale - unlike a Wembley final - they are in at the death. Who gets the floating vote of the other 40,000 depends on the contestants themselves. There was no question about this on Saturday. And here was another difference. Again unlike Wembley, the teams enter the vast arena separately. If there was a gale of cheering when Celtic came out it was a mere whisper to the reception given to Hearts. The skies were almost split. There is a romantic ring about the Heart of Midlothian. It is a name that has always been worn chivalrously by these men in maroon shirts. There was little doubt where Scottish hearts now lay in the main. Deep in the middle Hampden’s battle raged. It was never a classic but it was clean and exciting and the right team won, even for a neutral from across the border. Hearts played the thoughtful football. Celtic - without Stein at centre-half and "wee Bobby Collins" in attack - were the dour, experienced fighters who accepted defeat only at the last whistle. This was their twenty-seventh final, their fourth in six years and the third in succession. Even two goals by Crawford, the Hearts outside-left - one before half-time, the other just after the interval - never damped Celtic’s spirits.
Urged on by Evans, now wearing his green and white horizontal striped shirt outside his trousers as he had worn Scotland’s colours the previous week against England - an old-fashioned touch indeed - Celtic fought back to 2 - 1 as Haughney rammed the ball home. With a swirling wind and sun at their backs it seemed for a moment as if their spirit would save the day. But with 10 minutes left Conn put Hearts beyond reach and the rejoicing must have been heard far away in Edinburgh itself as Hampden’s roar reached a new pitch.
So the Cup went east, and while the clock was about to go forward one hour Hearts turned back the calendar 50 years to their last triumph. The English Cup was born in 1872 and its Scottish counterpart two years later. But unlike England’s original "little tin idol" which disappeared from a shop window in Birmingham in 1895, the Scottish trophy is still going strong. As such it is the oldest major prize in British football. It has had its excitements, notably when it was withheld in 1909 after the Rangers-Celtic final of that year ended in a riot. But thieves have never laid hands on it.
Now it is in Edinburgh. But sadly we did not see the Hearts captain chaired from the field clutching his prize. This is a touch the Hampden scene lacks against Wembley. But no matter. The capital rejoiced and only the Celtic clans sheltered in their tents. As the lights went up a party in evening dress were celebrating a wedding. They also celebrated something else: the victory of Hearts and the return to the senior League Division of the Queen’s Park amateurs. These two are held in special affection and this was a day when all open minded Scotsmen were content.
HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN:- Duff; Kirk, McKenzie; McKay, Glidden, Cumming; Young, Conn, Bauld, Wardhaugh, Crawford.
CELTIC:- Beattie; Meechan, Fallon; Smith, Evans, Peacock;Craig, Haughney, Mochan, Fernie, Tully.