Charity Cup/Shield

Birth and Irish Dominance

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In the 1883-84 season the Dundee Burns Club procured a trophy that was to be played for by the leading Dundee clubs in the latter part of each season. Like in many other parts of the country this was to be a charity competition with funds raised from the games distributed to good causes locally. The Dundee Courier on 4th February 1884 described the trophy as 15 inches in height and of an appearance and value equal to that of the Forfarshire Cup trophy – then an extremely prestigious local prize. The trophy had an engraved image of Robert Burns that was meant to be a copy of the statue in front of the Albert Institute in Dundee's city centre. The engraving is surrounded by a wreath of thistles with a football at the bottom of the bowl. The reverse of the trophy shows a floral border enclosing goal posts with the image of a goalkeeper and another ball. This side of the trophy is entitled “The Dundee Burns’ Club Charity Cup” and the space between the goalposts is reserved for the names of the winning teams. Also written on the trophy is:

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“However fortune kick the ba’,

Help them whase backs are at the wa’.”

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The Courier article states that the trophy was the workmanship of Messers Mappin & Webb of London and was procured through Mr Miller, armourer, Drill Hall. The teams selected to compete in the inaugural season were Dundee Harp, Our Boys, East End, Dundee Strathmore and West End. Dundee Harp won that competition and at the medal presentation attended by representatives of all the leading clubs and local dignitaries the initial competition was declared a huge success. The total gate receipts totalled a figure of about £168 with £128 being distributed to charities such as the Home for the Incurables, the Wellburn Institute, the Mars Training Ship, the Convalescent Home, the Lifeboat Institution, the Free Breakfast Fund and the Home for Imbeciles. The Association was given an amount to add to their emergency fund and £40 was used as expenses including the gold medals given to the Harp players.

Perhaps surprisingly Mr James Phillips, representing the Executive of the Forfarshire FA, was quoted as saying that "...although many of them had no doubt wished the cup had been gained by a Scotch club, he was certain that none of the clubs in the town grudged Harp the honour they had won". He did also wish Harp future success in the competition and Mr Hogan, president of Harp, stated that he felt this was possible as, save for one exception, the entire 1st and 2nd elevens were teetotallers. Gold medals were presented to H. McTaggart, M. D'Arcy jun. L. Gilmartin, M. D'Arcy sen, B. Holmes, P. Rock, E. McMahon, J. Hardiman, P. Phin, T. Murray & E. McGirl.

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In season 1884-85 the Burns Club executed a deed that instructed the management of the Dundee Charity Cup would be the responsibility of the Forfarshire FA with the proviso that if the FFA dissolved the trophy would return to the Burns Club. This also meant that only Association clubs could enter the competition and this tenet was important as it precluded Our Boys from entering as they had perhaps hastily withdrawn their membership of the FFA. They had done this after their two protests relating to the Dundee Harp-Our Boys Charity Cup game in 83-84 were dismissed.

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The Dundee Harp-Our Boys fixture was the most eagerly anticipated game in the city and a friendly in early 1883 attracted a city record crowd of 5,000.

This attendance was eclipsed in the aforementioned Charity Cup game and a Forfarshire Cup game in 1885 would be described as "the match of all matches". So there was a great rivalry between those clubs and this perhaps explains the depth of feelings behind the decision of Our Boys to quit the FFA. However, Our Boys still donated some of their gate receipts to the charity fund.

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It was left to East End, West End, Dundee Strathmore and Dundee Harp to contest the 84-85 Charity Cup. Harp would again win the trophy and on their own patch, owing to the failure of the FFA to secure Strathmore's Roll's Pier. According to the Courier dated 30th Jan 1886, the gate receipts for this season's competition amounted to £117 13s 2d.

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In 1885-86 Dundee Harp would yet again win the trophy. Our Boys re-entered but were out in the first game beaten by an impressive Harp side 7-2. Harp had already played eight matches in the three years of the tournament scoring 47 goals in the process.

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Rise of Wanderers

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In 1886-87 the Forfarshire FA met to arrange the draw for the Charity Cup and a motion to include Broughty was denied so the competing teams that year were Our Boys, East End, Dundee Harp, Wanderers and Dundee Strathmore. This would be Wanderers' first foray since forming in 1885. A new rule was passed, or rather, it was decided no longer to overlook the rule that a player cannot play for more than one club in county or Scottish Cup competitions in the same season. This created some unrest at some clubs as they argued that the Charity Cup was distinct from the Forfarshire or Scottish Cup. The FFA stated that if a club were to protest on the grounds that their opponents breached this law then the protest would always be upheld in a court of law. This rule meant Dundee Strathmore decided against taking part and Lochee took their place.

Strathmore were particularly put out by Wanderers inclusion as Wanderers had several players who would fall foul of this rule but the Charity committee decided their large following meant their inclusion would benefit charities. Strathmore, even more perturbed at that comment, stated they had, themselves, "a very respectable, if comparatively quiet following and no-one sees how their exclusion would benefit charities".

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Wanderers took their opportunity to compete with aplomb and ended Dundee Harp's dominance in the competition by defeating the "green jerseys" 4-1 in the final in front of close to 10,000.

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1887-88 saw reports in the Courier that Dundee Harp were keen to reverse their declining fortunes and have been training hard to regain the Charity Cup trophy. In the December before the competition started, the secretary of Arbroath FC wrote to the Courier to clear the name of one of their players as it was discovered a gold county medal was on display in a Dundee pawnbroker's shop. The secretary pointed to the fact the medal was a Charity Cup medal and therefore could not belong to anyone involved with Arbroath FC.

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The competition saw for the first time six clubs enter- Lochee, Our Boys, East End, Dundee Strathmore, Dundee Harp and Wanderers. Wanderers were strong favourites and in the build up to the final between Wanderers and Our Boys the Courier suggested there wouldn't be too much interest in the tie, sadly, as it was not a case of if Wanderers could win, but more a case of by how many they would win by. In the report of the final, held at the home of the "once powerful" Dundee Harp, the Courier reported "Morgan Parkites" demanded their team score double figures while allowing "the boys" none in reply. However, in the end they had to settle for a 4-2 win.

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At the medal presentation the Burns Club made it clear they would be extremely pleased if Wanderers could equal Dundee Harp's achievement of winning the trophy three times in a row. Mr Gow, on behalf of his team stated in response that his team had proved they could also play away from home which contradicted popular belief they weren't any good on the road. He also took pleasure in saying that a "certain club", who were confident of taking their Charity Cup off them, had been "met" and "demolished". One assumes he was referring to Dundee Harp. The medals, the Courier describes, were heart shaped and large in size. The Charity Cup itself was handed over without its lid as this was with the makers as it was not fitting properly!

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1888-89 was an extremely eventful year with protests and disputes galore from the first game to the final. Our Boys met Harp in the first game, the winners of which would be expected to win the trophy, according to the Courier. Our Boys won 3-1 but Harp protested on the grounds that the Our Boys player, Duncan, had played in other cup ties for other clubs, was not an Our Boys player, was not registered with Our Boys and that the Boys' 2nd and 3rd goals were illegal. The Executive of the Forfarshire FA met on the 27th March 1889 and took into consideration the arguments of both sides before deciding to throw Our Boys out of the competition. Harp wanted the tie to be replay instead but the FFA stated that would be in breach of the rules that Harp were requesting the FFA uphold.

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Not to be outdone, East End and Strathmore would contest an eight goal thriller. Neither club would back down and retire from the competition and so a replay was played, this time ten goals would be scored with Strathmore's Scotland international Dickson scoring four. East End protested on the grounds of rough play. Not an entirely ridiculous basis for a protest as rough play was a major issue of the time in Dundee. Many letters were sent to the Courier indicating the need for the practice to be stamped out in order for football to continue to flourish. The FFA met and threw the protest out, however, Strathmore's 'keeper- Gilruth- was suspended for 6 months for biting an opponents leg. The Courier stated "but we are asked to explain Gilruth was kicked, and even bitten on the hand himself, before he retaliated as alledged".

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Strathmore were next to protest, and once more the FFA had to meet in the Dundee Arms to discuss. This time the protest was that the game in which Strathmore lost 7-4 to Dundee Harp was played in poor visibility and that Strathmore had a goal incorrectly chalked off in the second half. The protest was dismissed and the Harp- who had been training particularly hard to get their trophy back went through to the final to meet Wanderers.

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The final was played out in pretty undramatic fashion- no disputes or protests and the game ended in a draw. The FFA met to arrange a replay date and in doing do read out a letter from the finalists asking that the clubs each receive a third of the gate money. The FFA unanimously rejected this proposal and the clubs then requested that the final be replayed at Harp's ground so the clubs could split the proceeds of the gate money from the grandstand. Again, the FFA decided against this and set the venue as Our Boy's West Craigie Park and stated that if the game was not played the trophy and badges would remain with the committee. The clubs, in an act of defiance announced they were to play off the tie at Harp's ground and cited the fact both were in poor financial shape and have lost many Saturdays playing charity matches as their justification. It was eventually agreed that the winners at East Dock Street would receive winners medals and a split of the proceeds. The Courier was not afraid to show its disappointment in the clubs' actions and hinted that not many neutrals would support the game. A mere 2-3k turned out for the game which was many thousands short of the last final played between the teams.

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The fact the game went ahead prompted the Courier to print a piece by someone using the name "Observant Footballer" in which the FFA were roundly criticised for inconsistency and favouring some teams over others. While the author agrees on the harsh sentences handed out such as 6 months suspensions (possibly a reference to Duncan of Our Boys) the author does not see why whole teams who defy regulations cannot similarly be punished. The author hints that the committee of the FFA are "selfish", "ignorant", "jealous" and "unprincipled". The author calls for a stronger, more honest group of men to be elected to the committee instead. Only then will football in Dundee be "lifted from the gutter into which it has been dragged".

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Perhaps unsurprisingly, the FFA decided that as the Charity Cup is a local competition the committee should comprise of local members in the form of two members of the Burns Club and one member from each of the following clubs- East End, Our Boys, Lochee, Dundee Harp, Wanderers and Strathmore. Importantly, a new constitution was to be drafted.

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The Our Boys/East End Duopoly

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1889-90 saw East End become the third team to lift the trophy and saw the emergence of the two city clubs who would eventually merge to become Dundee FC. Our Boys earlier in the season beat East End 2-1 in the Forfarshire Cup final while East End reached the Scottish Cup quarter finals. Our Boys' luck in the competition didn't change, however. Despite being given a bye into the semi finals, the "Dark Blues" were shocked 3-0 by Strathmore. East End's Craik and Dundee Harp's McReady were reported to the FFA for fighting during the teams' first round match.

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At a meeting of the Charity Committee at the Mathers Hotel it was decided to give £5 to Anderson of Strathmore who was injured in the final. However, someone calling themselves "Full Back" wrote to the Courier to express their disgust at Strathmore for not "pecuniarily" assisting Anderson and leaving him without wages for the 6 weeks he had been injured by that point. The author states he had spoken to many leading players of city clubs who would all be favourable to a benefit match being played to aid Anderson financially.

"Forward" wrote in later wholeheartedly agreeing with "Full Back" and stated, he too, knew players who would play in the aforementioned benefit match, should it happen. The match was eventually played comprising of selects chosen by Mr McMahon of Our Boys and Mr Birell of Strathmore. Mr McMahon's select won 4-0 and the gate amounted to £7 10s.

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1890-91 was quite uneventful with the Our Boys' boasts of taking the trophy from East End ringing true in the end, after a thrilling 3-3 draw in the final followed up by an equally entertaining 5-3 victory in the replay. Ever since the dispute about gate receipts, all Charity Cup matches were played at Harp's East Dock Street.

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The 1891-92 season saw great changes by virtue of the formation of the Dundee Charity Football Association with the members being Our Boys, East End, Johnstone Wanderers and Dundee Harp. Concerned readers of the Courier expressed their concern at the silence regarding what was to happen to the competition for the Burns Charity Cup and the exclusion of Strathmore and Lochee.

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The new tournament would be played out with the winners receiving a Charity Shield instead of the Burns Cup. It seems as though media interest in the competition was on the decline as less information is available about these later matches. However there still appears to be large attendances and much excitement must have been raised at the prospect of an East End-Our Boys final at East Dock Street. East End would triumph in a 3-2 victory with all goals scored in the first half.

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1892-93 -With the subsequent merger of Our Boys and East End and then a year later of Strathmore and Johnstone Wanderers, allied with the fact Dundee Harp were no where near their previous glorious selves there wasn't much point in its continuation. There was two closely fought semi finals, held at Carolina Port and East Dock Street- by far the City's two most splendid arenas- and the final was again played out by East End and Our Boys in what was their fourth local final in all. Again East End were victorious. In the build up to the match the Courier reported that measures were brought in to control rough play in the form of a Glasgow no nonsense referee and extra police were drafted in to control matters outside the ground- such must have been the rivalry between the two teams. Also, the Courier was pleased to report the Lord Provost and other high profile locals were to attend and this, it was stated, would help the Charity Association raise the profile of the tournament and, in turn, funds for local charities. Not for the first time there was a hope the Dundee tournament could become somewhat as successful as its Glasgow counterpart.

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After the final, there was the usual civic reception in which, crucially, Mr Buttar of Our Boys proposed a merger of Our Boys and East End to unite the city's divided footballing factions in an attempt to gain admission to the Scottish Football League. Upon receiving the Charity Shield, Mr Black of East End fully supported this view.

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Rebirth and Decline

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Given the recent mergers the 1893-94 edition was only to involve Harp, Dundee and Dundee Wanderers. Harp received a bye to the final while the two other clubs faced each other in a semi.

However, before a ball was kicked the tournament was scrapped for the season as the Dundee players reportedly wanted paid for taking part.

There doesn't appear to be a tournament in 1894-95 either.

The tournament was reinstated in 1895-96 amidst great enthusiasm from the Courier. The hope was that the tournament would recapture its former glory in terms of crowds and local interest. This, sadly was not to be. Crowds were not as high, local media failed to report in depth match reports and the tournament itself this year was a farce. The first semi final between Lochee and Harp appears to not have been brought to a sporting conclusion with the two games being drawn. In the other semi final Dundee thrashed Dundee Wanderers 4-0 but refused to play the final at East Dock Street which prompted an angry letter to the Courier from the secretary of the Dundee Charity Football Association. Harp waived their right to the Charity Shield and offered Dundee Wanderers a game- Wanderers duly won the game 5-1. Meanwhile, the local junior clubs asked the Burns Club for permission to play for the Burns Charity Cup- a request that was granted.

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The 1896-97 tournament started badly also- Dundee and Lochee United put out only "scratch elevens" and the game ended 4-0 to Dundee and was ended when darkness prevented further play. Dundee won the rearranged game 5-2. The final was played by Dundee while they also had an eleven playing Hibs in an East of Scotland league fixture. It was reported that Dundee would still put out a strong eleven and it was reported in the event of a tie the game would go into a period of 30 minutes extra time. In the end it was a largely "A" team that won the trophy for Dundee while the first eleven lost 3-2 in Edinburgh.

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The 1897-98 competition saw only one semi final played as Dundee could not play Arbroath in their semi as players refused to play or were not eligible. Arbroath accepted the bye and won the trophy on home soil.

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After a season's 'abeyance' during 1898-99, according to the local press, the 1899-1900 tournament saw Dundee keep their unbeaten record intact in the competition by winning the shield once more.

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Dundee won the 1900-01 and 1901-02 tournaments with Dundee Wanderers eventually overcoming Dundee in this competition with a surprise win in the 1902-03 final.