There is nothing in the domestic football season to match the drama and tension of the Scottish Cup Final.  Hampden has been the venue for many historic and titanic matches, from the first final in 1874, through to present day.

This section highlights some of the significant and memorable Hampden Finals.

The first ever Scottish Cup final was played at First Hampden Park in front of approximately 2,500 spectators. Queen's Park faced nearby rivals Clydesdale.

A controversial incident happened during the first half when Fred Anderson of Clydesdale appeared to beat the Queen's Park goalkeeper with a shot. Without any nets the ball rebounded off the knee of a spectator who was positioned behind the goal. To the majority present it seemed that a goal had been scored but on appeal to the referee, he disallowed the goal. Had the goal stood then ends would have been changed as was the practice in early games and Clydesdale would have played with the wind at their back defending a one goal lead.

Once half time had been called without any goals being scored Queen's Park retained the advantage of having the wind at their back and they ran up two goals in the second half. Queen's Park captain J.J. Thomson became the first player to hold aloft the Scottish Cup.

The weather could hardly have been worse. A snow storm raged with considerable force on the Saturday. By the kick off time the referee had little option but to allow the game to go ahead with a large crowd in the ground. The two teams, Third Lanark and Celtic played the tie under protest. Due to the expense of the admission fee it was decided not to inform the crowd that the game was being treated as a "friendly" match. Suspicions were raised when both sets of players emerged from the pavilion to indulge in a snow ball fight. The thick layer of snow hampered the movement of the ball across the pitch and long punts were the only effective tactic. Third Lanark won the match 3-0 and the SFA accepted the result as unofficial, ordering a replay which Third Lanark won 2-1.

The first meeting of Rangers and Celtic in a Scottish Cup Final happened during the first season of professionalism in Scottish Football. 15,000 watched the match at Second Hampden. The game was played at a fast pace on a heavy surface which sapped the strength of the players. It was 0-0 at half time, but Rangers scored three in a 15 minute spell and Willie Maley scored a consolation goal for Celtic. Illness to key players was blamed by Celtic while Rangers put the result down to superior fitness.

The game attracted 147,365 spectators, with 20,000 outside when the gates closed. It was the largest attendance for any club match in the world. It was Aberdeen's first cup final. Celtic won 2-1 and Jimmy McGrory ended his Hampden playing career with a fourth cup medal.

Clyde won 4-0. It was the first time Clyde won the Cup and they held on to it for the next eight years following the outbreak of the Second World War. 

A late goal from Billy McNeil gave Celtic a 3 – 2 victory, and Jock Stein the first of many trophies as manager of Celtic after only six weeks in charge at Celtic.

Stein had previously won the Cup with Dunfermline in 1961, beating Celtic 2 – 0 in the final after a replay. Stein had left Dunfermline to manage Hibernian but was in charge at Easter Road for less than a year, winning the Summer Cup with the Easter Road club prior to moving to Celtic.

Aberdeen, under Alex Ferguson, had won the European Cup Winners Cup ten days before the Final. An Eric Black goal in extra time gave the “Dons” victory, and victory over Celtic the following year gave Aberdeen a third Cup victory in a row.

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

A milestone was reached in Scottish football in 1985 when Hampden Park hosted the 100th Scottish Cup Final. Although the first final had taken place in 1874 the competition had not been played during the First and Second World Wars. Dundee United struck first with a goal from Stuart Beedie but Celtic came back into the match with a brilliant free-kick from Davie Provan and Frank McGarvey sealed the win for Celtic with a diving header.