Record attendance oddities

[HibeeJibee]

Anyone confirm/correct these breakdowns:


Airdrieonians "24,000" v Hearts on 8th March 1953 [I have also seen this given as "26,000"]
Airdrie United/Airdrieonians 9,044 v Rangers on 23rd August 2013

Clydebank 10,605 v Celtic on 26th November 1977 (although game was actually abandoned at HT)
ES Clydebank 14,900 v Hibs on 10th February 1965
East Stirlingshire "12,000" v Partick on 19th February 1921 [I have also seen "11,500" v Hibs on 10th February 1969 cited]

Meadowbank Thistle 2,818 v Albion Rovers on 9th August 1974 [I have also seen this given as "4,000"]
Livingston 10,112 v Rangers on Saturday 27th October 2001 [I have also seen 10,024 v Celtic on 18th August 2001 cited]



Celtic 136,505 v Leeds United on 15th April 1970 (at Hampden)
- record at own ground "83,500" v Rangers on 1st January 1938 [I have also seen this given as "92,000"]

Gretna 6,137 v Rangers on 16th January 2008 (at Fir Park)
- record at own ground "3,000" v Dundee United on 17th January 2005

Hearts 57,857 v Barcelona on Saturday 28th July 2007 (at Murrayfield)
- record at own ground 53,396 v Rangers on 13th February 1932

Inverness Caledonian Thistle 11,296 v Rangers on 9th March 2006 (at Tannadice)
- record at own ground 7,753 v Rangers on 20th January 2008 [I have also seen 7,711 v Rangers on 4th August 2007 cited]

[ScottishFA]

A couple of comments on Meadowbank Thistle

I think the record home attendance may have been the Scottish Cup tie v Inverness Caley on 28 Jan 1978, which was quoted in the press as 3,500.

However, even that was beaten by the Scottish Cup tie v Hibs, played at Tynecastle on 26 Jan 1980, which was 8,500; and the League Cup semi v Rangers in 1984, also at Tynecastle, which drew 5,100.

[HibeeJibee]

I've also seen cup-tie v Caledonian given as 3,004 but odd opponent for big turnout?

Other than these 5 has anyone else set their 'home' record elsewhere?

[ScottishFA]

The Meadowbank v Caley match got a big attendance primarily for two reasons. There was a fair bit of hype in the north in the build-up, due to the strong feeling that Meadowbank had 'stolen' Inverness's place in the Scottish League, and consequently a huge travelling support. In addition, the Hearts cuptie that day was called off due to the weather, so there were far more Edinburgh folk than usual.

[sam peckinpah]

The record crowd at Broomfield is given as between 24000 - 26000 for that match against Hearts. The club was notorious however for not issuing accurate attendances (the stand was excluded) and, in local lore, there are many who believe 26000 was exceeded many times.

The 9044 for the Airdrie vs Rangers match is correct but this is note the record crowd at New Broomfield. The St Mirren vs Hamilton 2005 Challenge Cup final in November 2005 pulled in 9612.

In a role-reversal, I think I'm right that the 6275 for Airdrie's play-off vs Hibs in May 1997 was the record at Broadwood until Roy Keane's Scottish Cup debut for Celtic vs Clyde saw 8200 turn up in February 2005.

[Shawfield Boy]

Sam,

"In a role-reversal, I think I'm right that the 6275 for Airdrie's play-off vs Hibs in May 1997 was the record at Broadwood until Roy Keane's Scottish Cup debut for Celtic vs Clyde saw 8200 turn up in February 2005"

I have the attendance for Clyde v Celtic at Broadwood on the 14th August 1996 (League Cup tie) as having an attendance of 7382. I'll go away and see if I can verify that.

Regards

SB

[smathers]

Clyde's record home attendance is given as 52,000 for their Rangers League match at Shawfield Park, on November 21st, 1908. Reports support that the attendance was only around 18,000 for this match. Does anyone know then what Clyde's record attendance actually is?

[ScottishFA]

David Ross analysed Clyde's record in some detail in his book The Roar of the Crowd, and pointed out that this figure for 1908 only appeared several years later, and it was indeed 18,000.

He says the record for Shawfield was probably another Clyde v Rangers, the Scottish Cup tie on 10 February 1912, with about 48,000. However, two years later a Clyde v Celtic cup tie got a crowd which came very close, about 46,000. With no precise records it is impossible to say.

[Laurie's XI]

ES Clydebank 14,900 v Hibs on 10th February 1965
East Stirlingshire "12,000" v Partick on 19th February 1921 [I have also seen "11,500" v Hibs on 10th February 1969 cited]

Re the East Stirlingshire records, I believe that both the 1921 12,000 and 1969 11,500 crowds are wrong.

12,000 v Patrick 19/2/1921 - The Falkirk Herald gave the crowd as 8000 and said this was the official attendance with the Sunday Post and Aberdeen Press and Journal confirming this figure. Elsewhere the crowd was given as 12,000 and it is from these other sources, including the John Byrne’s seminal book “Scottish Cup 1873-1986”, that the 12,000 came down through history as 'Shire's record crowd. Elsewhere the crowd was given in the Glasgow Herald as 10,000. As an interesting side note to this game is that 'Shire were offered either £300 or £500 from Partick Thistle to switch the tie to Firhill which they declined and a 2nd offer to switch the game to Brockville Park was also declined.

10/2/1969 - It was mentioned in Rothmans Year Books for a number of years that the record home crowd was 11,000 v Hibernian in 1969. However, 'Shire never played them at home in 1969 and they were possibility alluding to the 8,500 crowd for the Scottish Cup last 16 tie v Hibernian on 5th March, 1960 at Firs Park. They may have even meant the 8th February, 1969 Scottish Cup last 16 tie match against St. Johnstone when the crowd was 6532. However, the obvious connection would be that they were referring to E.S. Clydebank v Hibernian on 10/2/1965 (though I have the crowd figure both 14,900 and 11,500).

So, what was is 'Shire’s record home crowd ? Sadly there is no definitive answer. The Falkirk Herald match report for the 1/12/1945 Scottish Victory Qualifying Cup Tournament Final 2nd Leg at Firs Park v Clachnacuddin starts by saying "A record crowd attended the second leg of the final tie..." but frustratingly they don’t give the crowd size. For the Falkirk Herald to say that it was the record crowd then it would have had to have been over 9000 which was the record pre-war attendance: 7/9/1935 v Morton Division Two and 11/1/1936 v Falkirk Division Two. Note that the 11,000 home crowd v St. Mirren on 15/11/1935 in Division Two which is quoted in the Club's Centenary book is wrong (I have not been able to establish where the author got that figure from) and was given as 6,500 in the Falkirk Herald. I had pencilled visiting the library a few years ago to have a look at the Falkirk Mail to see it they gave the crowd size but, to be honest, I forgot about it when covid restrictions hit and only now reading this thread have remembered that it was on my "to do" list" !

One match which should most definitively be considered for the record attendance took place on 27/1/1951 v Kilmarnock in the 1st Round of the Scottish Cup. Although sadly the Falkirk Herald did not detail the crowd size it was recorded as 11000 by, amongst other sources, the London Hearts website. It is also worth noting, just to cloud the waters, that John Byrne’s book “Scottish Cup 1873-1986” gives the crowd as 9000. I remember reading somewhere that the match was a sell out and that 13,000 tickets had been sold but whether they all turned up I don't know.

The final outside contender for the record home crowd would be the Division Two match v Morton on 4/5/1963 when a 9000 crowd was given, though the London Hearts website amends this to 7149.

[ScottishFA]

Re Shire v Hibs, there was also the Scottish Cup tie at Firs Park on 27 January 1968. However, the Evening Times usefully gives the precise crowd as 3,152: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid= ... page&hl=en Strangely that is less than half the number that watched St Johnstone a year later.

The Evening Times also gives the ES Clydebank v Hibs crowd as 11,500 (or 'more than 11,500' in the match report): https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid= ... page&hl=en

[prorege]

The Shire v St Johnstone Cup tie in 1968/9 got an unexpectedly large crowd as it was one of the few games played that day. Falkirk had no game.

I was chatting to a neighbour recently - a Dunfermline fan - and he was at the game, the Pars tie at Aberdeen having been called off the previous day.