1895–96 British Home Championship

1895–96 British Home Championship
Tournament details
Host country	England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
Dates	29 February – 4 April 1896
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	Scotland (6th title)
Runners-up	England
Tournament statistics
Matches played	6
Goals scored	32 (5.33 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Steve Bloomer (6 goals)

The 1895–96 British Home Championship was an edition of the annual international football tournament played between the British Home Nations. Despite England achieving an almost record 9–1 victory over Wales, the trophy was won by Scotland who won two and drew one of their matches, the draw coming in a hard-fought duel with Ireland.

Wales and Ireland kicked off the tournament with the Welsh heavily defeating the Irish in Wrexham. England too beat the Irish in their opening game, although by a smaller scoreline and England then achieved their 9–1 victory over Wales with Steve Bloomer scoring five, an England record. Scotland too beat Wales, scoring four without reply before being held by the Irish in an exciting and close match.

In the final game at Celtic Park, England and Scotland played for the trophy, England only needing a draw whilst the Scots required a win to take the tournament. To improve their chances, Scotland decided to select England-based players for the first time, holding a selection trial between their 'Home' and 'Anglo' players[1][2] which became an annual event for the next 30 years. In a close and dramatic game, Scotland narrowly beat the English 2–1 and won the championship. The decisive Scotland v England match, watched by a crowd of 60,000, generated receipts of £3,640, a world record at the time for a football match.[3][4][5]

Table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Scotland (C)	3	2	1	0	9	4	+5	5
England	3	2	0	1	12	3	+9	4
Wales	3	1	0	2	7	14	−7	2
Ireland	3	0	1	2	4	11	−7	1

Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
(C) Champion.

Results

29 February 1896

Wales	6 – 1	Ireland
9', 20' William Lewis 23', 84' Billy Meredith 60' Harry Pugh 34' Grenville Morris		70' Adam Turner

Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Attendance: 3,000

Referee: James Cooper(England)

7 March 1896

Ireland	0 – 2	England
		40' Gilbert Smith 75' Steve Bloomer

Solitude, Belfast

Attendance: 12,000

Referee: James Robertson (Scotland)

16 March 1896

Wales	1 – 9	England
65'Thomas Chapman		25', 40' (60), 83' (89) Steve Bloomer 15', 44'Gilbert Smith 33'Billy Bassett 80'Johnny Goodall

Arms Park, Cardiff

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Tom Robertson (Scotland)

21 March 1896

Scotland	4 – 0	Wales
Robert Neil 19', 71' Alexander Keillor 30' Daniel Paton 59'

Carolina Port, Dundee

Attendance: 11,700

Referee: Joseph McBride (Ireland)

28 March 1896

Ireland	3 – 3	Scotland
James Barron 20', 32' Robert Milne 43' (pen.)		7', 25' Bob McColl 78' Patrick Murray

Solitude, Belfast

Attendance: 8,000

Referee: James Cooper (England)

4 April 1896

Scotland	2 – 1	England
William Lambie 22' Jack Bell 33'		80' Billy Bassett

Celtic Park, Glasgow

Attendance: 51,345

Referee: Humphrey Percy Jones (Wales)

Notes

Sport and the Working Class in Modern Britain, edited by Richard Holt; Manchester University Press, 1990, ISBN 9780719026508
Football. International Trial Matches., The Glasgow Herald, 26 March 1896
"Football: Scotland v. England". The Star. Guernsey: 2. 9 April 1896.
Sat 4 Apr 1896 Scotland 2 England 1, London Hearts Supporters Club
Chapter XXIV —Queen's Park and International Games, History of the Queen's Park Football Club 1867 - 1917; Richard Robinson, 1920, via Electric Scotland

References

Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.

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[workingclass-1] Sport and the Working Class in Modern Britain, edited by Richard Holt; Manchester University Press, 1990, ISBN 9780719026508

[herald96-2] Football. International Trial Matches., The Glasgow Herald, 26 March 1896

[3] "Football: Scotland v. England". The Star. Guernsey: 2. 9 April 1896.

[4] Sat 4 Apr 1896 Scotland 2 England 1, London Hearts Supporters Club

[qpes-5] Chapter XXIV —Queen's Park and International Games, History of the Queen's Park Football Club 1867 - 1917; Richard Robinson, 1920, via Electric Scotland

British Home Championship
Football in the United Kingdom: England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Competitors	England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland / Ireland
Seasons	1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 First World War 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 Second World War 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84
Rous Cup Nations Cup Matches outside the British Home Championship