Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup
A knock-out cup for Glasgow's charities that Rangers won 31 times.
The Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup was a knock-out tournament for clubs in and around Glasgow, later extended to invited clubs from further afield, with the field chosen by the Glasgow Charity Cup Committee. Like most Scottish competitions it was dominated by the Old Firm: Rangers won it 31 times and Celtic 28.
Quick Facts
- Sport
- Football
- Founded
- 1877
- Folded
- 1966
- Teams
- various from Glasgow
- few from elsewhere in Scotland
- few from England
- Country
- SCO; ENG (from 1962 to 1966)
- Champion
- Glasgow Select (3rd title)
- Most titles
- Rangers (32 titles)
Reader's Guide
In its early years the committee invited clubs from outside the city on reputation; half of the eight-team draw in 1887-88 was made up of Hibernian, Dumbarton, Renton and Vale of Leven, all former Scottish Cup winners, and Renton won it four times in a row in the 1880s before entry was restricted to Glasgow clubs. By 1886 the competition had raised 5,620 pounds for local charities, and a 2008 study put the total over its 90 years at about 11 million pounds in modern value. In its final years it stopped being a knock-out and became a single match between a Glasgow Select and an invited English league team.
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