Scotland’s national cup competition was initiated by Queen’s Park asking all the clubs playing at the time if they would be interested in taking part in a cup competition and requesting a voluntary contribution. £56.65 was raised to purchase a trophy and set of medals for the winners. The cup was made in Glasgow by George Edwards and Sons of Buchanan Street and is now the oldest surviving national trophy, and possibly the most valuable piece of silverware in the world.

No team has ever won the cup more than three times in succession. The clubs who have won three times in a row are Queen’s Park, Vale of Leven, Rangers and Aberdeen.

Both Rangers and Celtic won the Scottish Cup in their centenary years. Rangers in 1973 and Celtic in 1988.

The present custom of having a Saturday set aside solely for the cup final is a relatively new one. In the past it was common for a full league programme to be played on cup final day. In 1939 when 94,799 watched Clyde beat Motherwell 4-0, Rangers were playing Hamilton and Celtic were at home to St. Johnstone.

The first final to attract a crowd of over 100,000 was in 1928 when 118,115 watched Rangers beat Celtic 4-0 to end a barren run of 25 years without a cup win.  The last six figure crowd for a final also involved the “Old Firm” in the Cup’s centenary year, 1973, when 122,714 saw Rangers beat Celtic 3-2.

The record cup final attendance was in 1937 when 147,365 spectators, a world record for a club match at that time, saw Celtic beat Aberdeen 2-1.  The largest attendance for a final and replay was in 1948 when 129,176 watched the first match between Rangers and Morton and 131,975 the replay on the Wednesday. Rangers won by a solitary goal.

The highest score in a Scottish Cup tie was the 36-0 defeat of Aberdeen Bon Accord by Arbroath in 1885. On the same day, and in the same round, Dundee Harp scored 35 goals against Aberdeen Rovers, just missing the world record by one goal.