16th Apr 1921 Partick Thistle 1 Rangers 0 (Scottish Cup Final)

matches:1920-21: ← 49game 5051 →

Match Information

46y			George Easton		Bill Struth
Willie Bulloch; Joe Harris; David Johnstone
Willie Hamilton; Fred McLachlan; Andrew Kerr
John Blair (1-0, 20 mins)
28y, 7m, 10d			Kenny Campbell		Willie Robb
27y, 9m, 19d			Tom Crichton		Bert Manderson
38y, 1m, 29d			Willie Bulloch		Billy McCandless
28y, 0m, 28d			Joe Harris		David Meiklejohn
19y, 7m, 25d			Matt Wilson		Arthur Dixon
31y, 3m, 7d			Watty Borthwick		James Bowie
23y, 9m, 20d			John Blair		Sandy Archibald
23y, 0m, 2d			Jimmy Kinloch		Andy Cunningham
24y, 4m, 6d			David Johnstone		Geordie Henderson
40y, 6m, 5d			Jimmy McMenemy		Tommy Cairns
22y, 1m, 24d			Willie Salisbury		Alan Morton
27y, 11m, 9d

Match Report

TTA report

Rangers took the game towards Campbell from the start but their forwards lacked a finishing touch. A full 20 minutes had gone before Thistle managed to ease the pressure. The defence stood firm and repelled Rangers' attacks without ceremony. In that spell Thistle had only managed to threaten the Rangers' goal once, but another attack changed the game. McMenemy passed to Borthwick. He beat his man and sent a fine pass over to Blair who steadied himself and fired a magnificent shot from 20 yards into the bottom corner beyond Robb. Encouraged by this, Thistle came more into the game and there were shouts for a penalty just on half-time when Robb appeared to grapple with Kinloch as a cross came over. After the break Rangers did most of the pressing but their forwards were poor and it was only Meiklejohn who worried Campbell with a fierce drive. At the other end Salisbury had a low drive which was well saved. As the game wore on it looked increasingly likely that Rangers would draw a blank and Thistle defended their slender lead to the end depriving Rangers of a League and Cup double. Thistle took their big chance and relied heavily on the defence - as they had done throughout this cup run - losing only 4 goals in 990 minutes of football. Winning without 2 of their best players was all the more impressive.

Scrapbook

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Daily Record, 4th April, 1921

Daily Record, 8th April, 1921

Daily Record, 13th April, 1921

Daily Record, 14th April, 1921

Dundee Courier, 15th April, 1921

Pall Mall and Globe, 15th April, 1921

Dundee Evening Telegraph, 15th April, 1921

Aberdeen Daily Journal, 16th April, 1921

Daily Record, 16th April, 1921

Sports Special Green 'Un, 16th April, 1921

Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 16th April, 1921

Victoria Daily Times, 16th April, 1921

Daily Province, 16th April, 1921

Nanaimo Free Press, 16th April, 1921

Sunday Post, 17th April, 1921

Boston Sunday Globe, 1921

Philadelphia Inquirer, 17th April, 1921

New York Tribune, 17th April, 1921

Daily Record, 18th April, 1921

Daily Record, 18th April, 1921

Daily Record, 18th April, 1921

Daily Record, 18th April, 1921

Daily Mail, 18th April, 1921

Daily Mirror, 18th April, 1921

Dundee Courier, 18th April, 1921

Dundee Evening Telegraph, 18th April, 1921

Glasgow Herald, 18th April, 1921

Glasgow Herald, 18th April, 1921

Manchester Guardian, 18th April, 1921

Montreal Gazette, 18th April, 1921

Newcastle Daily Chronicle, 18th April, 1921

Nottingham Journal and Express, 18th April, 1921

Sheffield Daily Independent, 18th April, 1921

Athletic News, 18th April, 1921

Athletic News, 18th April, 1921

Edmonton Journal, 18th April, 1921

The Leader, 18th April, 1921

The Ottowa Journal, 18th April, 1921

The Scotsman, 18th April, 1921

The Times, 18th April, 1921

Daily Record, 19th April, 1921

Coatbridge Express, 20th April, 1921

Port Glasgow Express, 20th April, 1921

Midlothian Advertiser, 22nd April, 1921

Liverpool Echo, 22nd April, 1921

Fife Free Press, 23rd April, 1921

SFA Office Bearers Minutes excerpt (p3), 4th May, 1921

John Blair Letter, 7th June, 1921

Daily Record, 5th January, 1943

Evening Times, 20th May, 1961

The Sun, 2nd March, 2019

Gallery

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• Video still, Celtic Park, 16th April, 1921. (BP)

• Video still, Celtic Park, 16th April, 1921. (BP)

• Video still, Celtic Park, 16th April, 1921. (BP)

• Video still, Celtic Park, 16th April, 1921. (BP)

• Video still, Celtic Park, 16th April, 1921. (BP)

• Video still, Celtic Park, 16th April, 1921. (BP)

• Video still, Celtic Park, 16th April, 1921. (BP)

• Video still, Celtic Park, 16th April, 1921. (BP)

• Video still, Celtic Park, 16th April, 1921. (BP)

• Video still, Celtic Park, 16th April, 1921. (BP)

• Video still, Celtic Park, 16th April, 1921. (BP)

• Video still, Celtic Park, 16th April, 1921. (BP)

• Aerial dual, Celtic Park, 16th April, 1921. (DM)

• Video still, Celtic Park, 16th April, 1921. (BP)

• Video still, Celtic Park, 16th April, 1921. (BP)

• Rangers drive for goal. (DR)

• Before kick-off. (DR)

Video Highlights

(credit: British Pathé )

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Who put the ball in the Rangers net?

John featured at #2 in our Top 25 countdown here on The Thistle Archive →

JOHN BLAIR

16.04.1921 Rangers [n] W1-0 (Scottish Cup Final)
John Blair (1-0, 20 mins)

John was a Saltcoats-born right winger who scored 33 times in his 6 seasons at Firhill, one of which was arguably the most important goal ever scored by a Partick Thistle player – the match winner in a Scottish Cup final!

John had started the season in fine scoring form, with 8 goals before the New Year, but he was on a barren run of 22 games without netting, albeit he had been making worthwhile contributions, notably assisting with the goals which secured Scottish Cup victories over Hibernian, in February, and Motherwell, in March.

If Thistle were to actually WIN this Cup, it certainly wasn’t going to be easy. An unfortunate injury list left us weakened and, so far, we had won only 4 of our 10 matches in the campaign. Rangers were acknowledged as the best team in Britain at this time and were, once again, dominating this season’s League, eventually losing just one of their 42 games. How they craved their first League & Cup double.

Against the run of play, the famous winning goal at Celtic Park was scored in the twentieth minute…

40-year-old stand-in Jimmy McMenemy, going for his 7th winners’ medal, was marshal of the day’s operation, nullifying threats and guiding others, and he teed-up a back pass which invited our stand-in spoiler, Watty Borthwick, to uncharacteristically burst forward down the left. Watty shimmied past internationalist Andy Cunningham, and lofted over a deep cross-field pass which was cleverly dummied by Jimmy Kinloch, who had spotted the unmarked run of John Blair, by now, dashing inside from the right wing. Having ghosted in behind the high lying Rangers backs, John was now in with a big chance, and his culminating touch, from some 20 yards out, served justice to a fine move. Thistle’s outside right kept his head at the critical moment, “delivering the parting and successful shot with admirable coolness and judgement”, and the ball nestled just inside the post of the Rangers ‘keeper who, like his defenders, also seemed to be taken by surprise.

From beginning to end, tremendous energy and stamina were displayed by both sides; Thistle were trademark resolute and Rangers were frustrated, although in terms of second half chances, we came closer to increasing our advantage than to losing it.

It tickles me to know that news of Thistle's triumph was received by a great roar at Hampden Park, the good old Queen's Park standites voicing their approval as the final results board went round! ‘twas a popular victory in Scottish football in general, the consensus being that it was for the good of the game that the honours go round.

As for our #2 entrant, he put himself in a great position to have that one shot at glory, and he took it like a champ. John Blair - eternal Partick Thistle legend!

Stats Watch

EIGHTH TROPHY FOR THISTLE - THE BIG ONE!

● Thistle appear in their seventeenth Cup Final, their first in the Scottish Cup.

● Thistle win their eighth trophy.

● Rangers are denied their first double, a much-coveted accolade at the time. In all, they played 61 games this season and were beaten only by Celtic and Thistle.

● To this day, Partick Thistle are the only side to have won the Scottish Cup by winning less than half of their games, 5 wins and 6 draws to be precise. Our unorthodox tradition will not allow it to happen any other way!

● With the herculean run to victory, Thistle gained the distinction of most legitimate games played (11) in a winning campaign. (3rd Lanark RV played 12 games in their controversial 1888-89 campaign, but 3 of these were voided). 1938 cup winners East Fife would subsequently match Thistle's 11 game total, and these two clubs share the record to this day.

● Thistle record their EIGHTH clean-sheet in this season's Scottish Cup; a tournament record which looks like it'll stand forever.

● Kenny Campbell registers his SEVENTH clean-sheet in this season's Scottish Cup;, a record for any goalkeeper in the Scottish Cup which still stands today.

ongoing sequences:

● 10 consecutive competitive appearances for Kenny Campbell, 12th Mar 1921 to date. (Longest run since: Tom Crichton - 11 games, 22nd Jan 1921 to 8th Mar 1921. Club-record: Jock McTavish - 61 games, 15th Nov 1913 to 6th Feb 1915.)

Stats Watch adheres to our stated definitions of League, League Max, Major Competitive, Competitive or All Games. Where there is no written qualification, you should presume that the Stat in question is compiled from the All Games criteria.

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