IT was an imaginative way of marking the Queen's Coronation in 1953 - an eight-club knock-out tournament, starring the cream of Scottish and English football, and taking place at Hampden and Ibrox.
From Scotland: Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, and Hibs, who had been Scottish champions in 1950-51 and 1951-52. From England: Manchester United, Arsenal, Spurs and Newcastle. The four teams from south of the border were formidable opposition. Manchester United had won the First Division title in 1951-2 (with Spurs as runners-up). Arsenal had triumphed the following year, while Newcastle had won the FA Cup in 1951 and 1952.
Previewing the tournament, Evening Times sportswriter Alan Breck reflected that Celtic had upheld Scottish football's reputation in 1938 when it won the Empire Exhibition tournament against English opposition. "Now the wonder is if, in the Coronation tournament starting on Monday, a Scottish club will again come out on top", he wrote.
"The omens are not too good. Rangers, winners of the Scottish Cup and League, have completed a formidable list of fixtures and ... they may not be so fresh a team as Manchester United, their first-round opponents at Hampden on Wednesday ... Perhaps most Scottish hopes will rest on Hibs, who meet Tottenham Hotspur in the first round at Ibrox Stadium on Monday".
Celtic had not been faring particularly well, having finished eighth in the league and failed to sparkle in either the Scottish Cup or the League Cup. But on the weekend before the Coronation Cup began they defeated Queen's Park 3-1 to win the Glasgow Charity Cup, with newly-signed Neil Mochan doing much to impress on his debut. "His inclusion in the team", the Glasgow Herald predicted on the morning of the Charity Cup final, "will undoubtedly add thousands of spectators to the attendance".
The Coronation tournament went ahead despite the anger and frustration of the players' unions in both Scotland and England. James Guthrie, the English union secretary, said: "The two unions will let their players take part under protest.
"We asked for two points to be considered - an increase in the fee of £10 per player per match and a donation to the benevolent fund of each union. However, Sir George Graham, secretary of the organising committee, would not agree to negotiations". The unions sent their complaint to the Ministry of Labour and asked for arbitration.
The opening games took place on Monday, May 11: Celtic v Arsenal at Hampden and Hibs v Spurs at Ibrox. Celtic, watched by nearly 60,000 fans, turned on a stunning display to beat the London side by one goal to nil.
"It was almost incredible", began our football correspondent's report the following morning. "Celtic, who have had their supporters in a frenzy of anguish with a series of displays unworthy of the club in the season just ended, have beaten Arsenal, the English League Division 1 champions - not just beaten them but taught them how to play football ... Celtic produced combined football of such brilliance as to make even their most perfervid follower wonder whence it came. Had Arsenal lost by five or six goals they could have had no valid complaint".
Celtic scored the only goal of the game through Bobby Collins, in the 23rd minute. But every last player, from Jock Stein to Mochan and keeper Johny Bonnar, played his part. "Will somebody please tell me how I am going to stick, suffer, thole or endure the average Scottish League game after seeing the Celtic and Arsenal game at Hampden?", queried a happy Alan Breck. "There was more sparkling football here than in a dozen of our own matches".
Hibs, meanwhile, drew 1-1 with Spurs after extra time, disposing of the London side 2-1 in the following evening's replay, Lawrie Reilly scoring twice, with the winning goal arriving just 30 seconds from time.
On Wednesday night Rangers took an early lead through Peter McMillan against Matt Busby's Manchester United at Hampden, watched by 75,000 fans, but ended up losing 2-1, while Newcastle flattened Aberdeen by four goals to nil at Ibrox with a display of exhibition football.
Celtic's semi-final saw them take on Busby's men at Hampden on Saturday, May 16. "Undoubtedly [Manchester] United have created by far the greatest impression [of the four English teams], and if Celtic maintain their surprisingly brilliant form of last Monday their semi-final with the Manchester club should be an exceptionally fine match", observed the Glasgow Herald's correspondent. Hibs faced Newcastle at Ibrox.
As it turned out, Celtic and Hibs both won to set up an all-Scottish final. Celtic beat Manchester United 2-1, the goals coming from Charlie Tully assists for Bertie Peacock and Mochan. "Though they did not play with the brilliance that astounded Arsenal and even their most perfervid supporters", noted the Herald, "Celtic beat Manchester United with a display that was perhaps the more creditable in view of the very difficult conditions".
In the other semi-final Hibs sent four goals past the Newcastle keeper Ronnie Simpson (who would later, after a spell at Hibs, become a Celtic legend in his own right). The Edinburgh team's goals came from Frank Brennan (own goal), Reilly (2) and Bobby Johnstone.
And so to the final, at Hampden on Wednesday, May 20.
Celtic had lost Tully to injury, and Hibs, in this newspaper's view, were favourites to win "but such are Celtic's skill and exuberance at the moment that favouritism means nothing. A continuation of the splendid displays of the Celtic half-backs would neutralise the advantage Hibernian appear to have in forward play".
Urged on by a crowd of 107,000, both sides served up an entertaining match, but Celtic ran out decisive 2-0 winners. Mochan put them ahead after 28 minutes with a powerful 30-yard shot, and Jimmy Walsh scoring minutes from time. Inbetween, Celtic keeper John Bonnar rescued his side time and again in the face of one-way traffic by the Hibs' foward line.
Our correspondent marvelled: "The astonishing Celtic, the Celtic who only a few weeks ago were the despair of their huge following and who it was freely said were lucky in that they had collected sufficient points early in the season or they would have been fighting to keep their place in the premier league in Scotland, have confounded everyone by winning the Coronation Cup".
"A month ago", our correspondent concluded, Hibs "would probably have given Celtic a start and a beating - today, as has been proved, no team in Britain can conquer this Celtic side on level terms".
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