When 100,000 watched Kilmarnock win their first ever Scottish Cup
We're going back more than 100 years into the archives to remember the first time Killie brought the trophy home
Following a narrow defeat to Celtic in the fourth round, Kilmarnock fans are watching on this weekend as the league takes a break for the Scottish Cup.
Killie haven’t made it past the quarter-final stage since lifting the trophy in 1997, the third time they lifted the famous old trophy.
Memories of that day at Ibrox remain fresh, the clip of Paul Wright turning home the winner at the back post given a regular airing.
Less familiar though is the club’s first triumph in the competition, a match which none alive can remember (the same is true of Ayr United’s major trophy successes but that’s because they’ve never had any).
On April 17, 1920 Killie went to Hampden and defeated Albion Rovers 3-2 to bring the cup back to Ayrshire for the first time.
This is the story of that day.
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There is quite literally no team with a longer history in the Scottish Cup than Kilmarnock.
Killie took part in the inaugural tournament in 1873-74 and played in the first ever match, losing 2-0 to Renton after playing most of the match with 10 men.
The club had also kicked in £1 toward the casting of the trophy but had never managed to lift it themselves, losing to Rangers in their only previous final appearance in 1898.
Progression to the final had been secured with a 3-2 win over Morton, a match which appears to have been something of a classic.
Morton chairman W.B McMillan said after the match: “Did you ever see a contest so strenuously fought out in which there was so little rough play?”, while the Daily Record’s correspondent remarked: “I can not recall a national cup semi-final that I enjoyed so much”.