1897–98 in Scottish football

The season of 1897–98 in Scottish football was the 25th season of competitive football in Scotland and the eighth season of the Scottish Football League.

Football in Scotland

Season	1897–98
← 1896–97 1898–99 →

1897–98 in Scottish football
Division One champions
Celtic
Division Two champions
Kilmarnock
Scottish Cup winners
Rangers
Junior Cup winners
Dalziel Rovers
Scotland national team
1898 BHC

League competitions

Scottish Division One

Main article: 1897–98 Scottish Division One

Celtic are champions of the Scottish Division One.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Celtic (C)	18	15	3	0	56	13	+43	33
2	Rangers	18	13	3	2	71	15	+56	29
3	Hibernian	18	10	2	6	47	29	+18	22
4	Heart of Midlothian	18	8	4	6	54	33	+21	20
5	St Mirren	18	8	2	8	30	36	−6	18
5	Third Lanark	18	8	2	8	37	38	−1	18
7	Dundee	18	5	3	10	29	36	−7	13^[a]
8	Partick Thistle	18	6	1	11	34	64	−30	13^[a]
9	St Bernard's	18	4	1	13	35	67	−32	9
10	Clyde	18	1	3	14	21	83	−62	5

Source: statto.com
Rules for classification: Teams finish equal if level on points. Points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss
(C) Champions
Notes:

1. Dundee and Partick Thistle finished level on points but Dundee won a play-off match to determine ranking positions.^[1]

Scottish Division Two

Main article: 1897–98 Scottish Division Two

Kilmarnock won the Scottish Division Two but were not promoted.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Kilmarnock (C)	18	14	1	3	64	29	+35	29
2	Port Glasgow Athletic	18	12	1	5	66	36	+30	25
3	Morton	18	9	4	5	47	38	+9	22
4	Leith Athletic	18	9	2	7	40	39	+1	20
5	Abercorn	18	6	4	8	33	41	−8	16
5	Ayr	18	7	2	9	36	43	−7	16
5	Linthouse	18	6	4	8	38	39	−1	16
8	Airdrieonians	18	6	2	10	45	56	−11	14
9	Hamilton Academical	14	5	2	7	26	32	−6	12^[a]
10	Motherwell	18	3	4	11	31	56	−25	10
-	Renton (R)	4	0	0	4	2	19	−17	0	Resigned^[b]

Source: statto.com
Rules for classification: Teams finish equal if level on points. Points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Hamilton Academical took Renton's place in the league and fulfilled the club's remaining fixtures.
2. Renton resigned after playing four games.

Other honours

Cup honours

National

Competition	Winner	Score	Runner-up
Scottish Cup	Rangers	2 – 0	Kilmarnock
Scottish Qualifying Cup	Port Glasgow Athletic	4 – 1	East Stirlingshire
Scottish Junior Cup	Dalziel Rovers	2 – 1	Parkhead

County

Competition	Winner	Score	Runner-up
Aberdeenshire Cup	Aberdeen	3 – 2	Orion
Ayrshire Cup	Kilmarnock	9 – 3	Galston
Border Cup	Peebles Rovers	4 – 3	Kelso
Dumbartonshire Cup	Dumbarton	3 – 2	Vale of Leven
East of Scotland Shield	Hearts	2 – 0^[a]	Leith Athletic
Fife Cup	Raith Rovers	3 – 1	Alloa Athletic
Forfarshire Cup	Dundee Wanderers	7 – 5^[a]	Arbroath
Glasgow Cup	Rangers	4 – 0	Queen's Park
Lanarkshire Cup	Airdrie	3 – 2	Motherwell
Linlithgowshire Cup	Bo'ness	3 – 0	Armadale Volunteers
North of Scotland Cup	Clachnacuddin	12 – 1	Inverness Citadel
Perthshire Cup	Fair City Athletic	3 – 2^[a]	Rob Roy
Renfrewshire Cup	St Mirren	2 – 0	Port Glasgow Athletic
Southern Counties Cup	Dumfries	2 – 1	Dumfries Hibs
Stirlingshire Cup	Camelon	6 – 5	Falkirk

Non-league honours

Highland League

Top three

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Clachnacuddin	16	15	1	0	74	8	+66	31
2	Inverness Caledonian	16	13	1	2	49	20	+29	27
3	Elgin City	13	8	2	3	44	30	+14	18

Source: RSSSF

Other Senior Leagues

Division	Winner
Border League	Selkirk	^[2]
Central League	unfinished	^[3]
Central Combination	East Stirlingshire
Northern League	Victoria United	^[4]
Perthshire League	Scone	^[5]
Scottish Combination	Rangers 'A'	^[6]
Southern Counties League	unfinished	^[7]

Scotland national team

Main articles: 1897–98 British Home Championship and Scotland national football team 1872–1914 results

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score^[b]	Competition	Scotland scorer(s)
19 March	Fir Park, Motherwell (H)	Wales	5–2	BHC	James Gillespie (3), James McKee (2)
26 March	Solitude Ground, Belfast (A)	Ireland	3–0	BHC	Thomas Robertson, Robert Smyth McColl, William Stewart
2 April	Celtic Park, Glasgow (H)	England	1–3	BHC	James Millar

Key:

• (A) = Away match
• (H) = Home match
• BHC = British Home Championship

Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
England (C)	3	3	0	0	9	3	+6	6
Scotland	3	2	0	1	9	5	+4	4
Ireland	3	1	0	2	3	6	−3	2
Wales	3	0	0	3	2	9	−7	0

Source: ^[8][9]
Rules for classification: 1) points. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
(C) Champions

Other national teams

Scottish League XI

Date	Venue	Opponents^[10]^[11]	Score^[c]	Scotland scorer(s)
29 January	Carolina Port, Dundee (H)	Irish League XI	5–0	Hugh Morgan, Bernard Breslin, Robert Hamilton (2), James Gillespie
9 April	Villa Park, Birmingham (A)	Football League XI	2–1	Robert Hamilton (2)

See also

• 1897–98 Rangers F.C. season

Notes

1. Replay needed.
2. Scotland's score is shown first.
3. Scottish League XI's score is shown first.

References

1. 1897-98, Partick Thistle - The Early Years
2. "Border League Competitions". Scottish Football Historical Archive. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
3. "Midland League (including the Central Combination, the Central League)". Scottish Football Historical Archive. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
4. "Northern League". Scottish Football Historical Archive. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
5. "Perthshire League". Scottish Football Historical Archive. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
6. "Scottish Combination". Scottish Football Historical Archive. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
7. "Southern Counties League". Scottish Football Historical Archive. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
8. Reyes, Macario; Morrison, Neil (1 October 1999). "British Home Championship 1884–1899". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
9. "British Championships 1898". Scotland Football Stats. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
10. "SFL XI v The Football League XI Record". London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
11. "SFL XI v Irish Football League XI Record". London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 3 October 2022.

External links