Football records in Scotland

Football in Scotland is a popular professional sport. Founded in 1873,^[1] Scotland has the second oldest national football association in the world. The national cup competition, the Scottish Cup, was started in the 1873–74 season. Its trophy is the oldest national sporting trophy in the world.^[2] A Scottish football league system was first instituted in 1890, with the creation of the Scottish Football League. A second national cup competition, the Scottish League Cup, was created in the 1946–47 season. This page details the team and individual records set in these competitions.

League competitions

Team records

Titles

• Most top-flight league titles: 54, Rangers^[3]
• Most consecutive league titles: 9, (joint record)^[3]
  • Celtic (1965–1974)^[3]
  • Rangers (1989–1997)^[3]

Top-flight appearances

• Most appearances: 117 seasons, Celtic (1890–present)^[4]

Largest victories

• Largest top flight home win: 11–0, Celtic v Dundee, 26 October 1895^[5]
• Largest top flight away win: 1–11, Airdrieonians v Hibernian, 24 October 1959^[5]

Streaks

• Longest top flight unbeaten run: 62 games, Celtic (20 November 1915 – 21 April 1917)^[6][7]
• Most consecutive top flight wins: 25, Celtic (2003–04)
• Unbeaten league season:
  • Celtic P18 W15 D3 L0, 1897–98^[6]
  • Rangers P18 W18 D0 L0, 1898–99^[6]

Attendances

• Highest attendance: 118,567 - Rangers v Celtic at Ibrox Park, 2 January 1939

Individual

Goals

• Most top flight goals in a career: 410, Jimmy McGrory (Celtic 397, Clydebank 13)^[8]
• Most top flight goals in a season: 52, Willie MacFadyen (Motherwell, 1931–32)^[9]
• Most top flight goals in a game: 8, Jimmy McGrory (Celtic 9 Dunfermline Athletic 0, 14 January 1928)
• Most top flight hat-tricks: 48, Jimmy McGrory

Appearances

• Most top flight appearances: 626, Bob Ferrier (Motherwell)^[10]
• Most consecutive appearances with a goal scored: 14, Evelyn Morrison (Falkirk, 1928–1929)

Goalkeepers

• Longest period of time without conceding a goal: 1,215 minutes, Fraser Forster (Celtic, 2013–2014)^[11]

Titles

• Most league title wins by a manager 18, Bill Struth (Rangers).
• Most league title wins by a player 12, Alec McNair (Celtic); David Meiklejohn (Rangers).

Scottish Cup

Team records

• Most final wins: 36, Celtic^[12][13]
• Most consecutive wins: 3, joint record:
  • Queen's Park (1874, 1875, 1876)^[12]
  • Vale of Leven (1877, 1878, 1879)^[12]
  • Queen's Park (1880, 1881, 1882)^[12]
  • Rangers (1934, 1935, 1936)^[12]
  • Rangers (1948, 1949, 1950)^[12]
  • Rangers (1962, 1963, 1964)^[12]
  • Aberdeen (1982, 1983, 1984)^[12]
• Most appearances: 54, Celtic (excludes cancelled 1909 fixture)^[12]
• Most consecutive appearances: 8, Rangers (1976–1983)^[13]
• Most appearances without winning: 2, Hamilton Academical (1911, 1935)^[12]
• Most final losses: 18, Celtic (excludes cancelled 1909 fixture)^[12]
• Most common pairing in the final: 15, Celtic v Rangers (7 wins each, 1909 was withheld)^[13]

Attendances

• Highest attendance: 146,433, Celtic v Aberdeen at Hampden Park, 24 April 1937 (1937 Scottish Cup Final)

Individual

• Most cup final wins by manager: 14, Willie Maley (Celtic)
• Most cup final wins by player 8, Bobby Lennox (Celtic)
• Most overall goals: Jimmy McGrory 77 goals (Celtic 74, Clydebank 3)

Scottish League Cup

Team records

• Most final wins: 27, Rangers^[14]
• Most consecutive wins: 5, Celtic (1966–1970)^[14]
• Most appearances: 34, Rangers^[14]
• Most consecutive appearances: 14, Celtic (1965–1978)^[13]
• Most appearances without winning: 3, Dunfermline Athletic^[14]
• Most final losses: 15, Celtic^[14]
• Most common pairing in the final: 12, Celtic v Rangers (8 Rangers wins, 4 Celtic wins)^[13]

Attendances

• Highest attendance: 107,609, Celtic v Rangers at Hampden Park, 25 October 1965 (1965 Scottish League Cup Final)

Individual

• Most overall goals: Joe Harper 74 goals (Aberdeen 51, Hibernian 16, Morton 7)

Transfers

Record transfer fees paid

#	Player	From	To	Fee	Date
1	Tore André Flo	Chelsea	Rangers	£12,500,000	23 November 2000	[15]
2	Shota Arveladze	AFC Ajax	Rangers	£8,500,000	2001	[16]
3	Michael Ball	Everton	Rangers	£6,500,000[17]	20 August 2001	[18]
4	Chris Sutton	Chelsea	Celtic	£6,000,000	11 July 2000	[19]
	John Hartson	Coventry City	Celtic	£6,000,000	2 August 2001	[20]
6	Mikel Arteta	Barcelona	Rangers	£5,800,000	29 June 2002
7	Eyal Berkovic	West Ham	Celtic	£5,750,000	8 July 1999	[21]
	Neil Lennon	Leicester City	Celtic	£5,750,000	8 December 2000	[22]
9	Andrei Kanchelskis	Fiorentina	Rangers	£5,500,000	15 July 1998
10	Lorenzo Amoruso	Fiorentina	Rangers	£5,000,000	29 May 1997
	Arthur Numan	PSV Eindhoven	Rangers	£5,000,000	18 May 1998
	Giovanni van Bronckhorst	Feyenoord	Rangers	£5,000,000	6 July 1998

Record transfer fees received

#	Player	From	To	Fee	Date
1	Victor Wanyama	Celtic	Southampton	£12,500,000	11 July 2013	[23]
2	Virgil van Dijk	Celtic	Southampton	£11,500,000	1 September 2015	[24]
3	Fraser Forster	Celtic	Southampton	£10,000,000	9 August 2014	[25]
4	Aiden McGeady	Celtic	Spartak Moscow	£9,500,000	1 August 2010	[26]
5	Craig Gordon	Hearts	Sunderland	£9,000,000	8 August 2007	[27]
6	Alan Hutton	Rangers	Tottenham Hotspur	£9,000,000	30 January 2008	[28]
7	Giovanni van Bronckhorst	Rangers	Arsenal	£8,500,000	20 June 2001	[29]
8	Jean-Alain Boumsong	Rangers	Newcastle United	£8,000,000	1 January 2005	[30]
10	Carlos Cuéllar	Rangers	Aston Villa	£7,800,000	12 August 2008	[31]
9	Barry Ferguson	Rangers	Blackburn Rovers	£7,500,000	29 August 2003	[32]

Most successful clubs by titles

Team	Domestic			European				Total
	League titles	Scottish Cup	League Cup	Champions League	Cup Winner's Cup	Europa League	Super Cup
Rangers	54	33	27	-	1	-	-	115
Celtic	47	36	16	1	-	-	-	100
Aberdeen	4	7	6	-	1	-	1	19
Heart of Midlothian	4	8	4	-	-	-	-	16
Hibernian	4	3	3	-	-	-	-	10
Queen's Park	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	10
Kilmarnock	1	3	1	-	-	-	-	5
Dundee United	1	2	2	-	-	-	-	5
Dundee	1	1	3	-	-	-	-	5
Motherwell	1	2	1	-	-	-	-	4
St Mirren	-	3	1	-	-	-	-	4
East Fife	-	1	3	-	-	-	-	4
Dumbarton	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	3
Third Lanark	1	2	-	-	-	-	-	3
Clyde	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	3
Falkirk	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	2
Dunfermline Athletic	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	2
Partick Thistle	-	1	1	-	-	-	-	2
Inverness Caledonian Thistle	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
St Johnstone	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
Greenock Morton	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
Airdrieonians	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
St Bernard's	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
Raith Rovers	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Livingston	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1
Ross County	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1

References

1. "Scottish FA > About". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
2. "Scottish Cup > History & Archives". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
3. Stokkermans, Karel (23 December 2013). "Trivia on Winning Domestic Championships". www.rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
4. Stokkermans, Karel (21 November 2013). "Coventric!". www.rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
5. Stokkermans, Karel (19 December 2013). "Double Digits Domestical". www.rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
6. Stokkermans, Karel (23 December 2013). "Unbeaten". www.rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
7. Brown, Alan (29 October 2001). "Celtic FC's series of 62 matches unbeaten in Division One". www.rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
8. Brown, Alan; Robertson, Forrest; Ross, David (20 March 2009). "Scotland - All-Time Topscorers". www.rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
9. Kilani, Imed (16 March 2012). "Top Division Scoring Records". www.rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
10. Rota, Davide (20 January 2012). "List of League Appearances Records". www.rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
11. "Fraser Forster: Celtic clean sheet record a team effort". BBC Sport. BBC. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
12. Ross, James M. (25 July 2013). "Scotland - List of Cup Finals". www.rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
13. Stokkermans, Karel (28 November 2013). "Domestic Cups Trivia". www.rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
14. Ross, James M. (20 June 2013). "Scotland - List of League Cup Finals". www.rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
15. "Flo goes to Rangers". BBC Sport. 23 November 2000.
16. Walker, Mark (13 May 2015). "Former Rangers striker's agent claims club paid four times publicised fee". The Herald. Herald & Times Group.
17. Conflicting reports as to how much Rangers actually paid, £4m up front with a further £2.5m in installments
18. "Gers sign Rapid's Jelavic for £4m". BBC News. 20 August 2010.
19. "O'Neill secures Sutton". BBC Sport. 11 July 2000. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
20. "Celtic sign trio on deadline day". BBC Sport. 2 August 2001. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
21. Staniforth, Tommy (8 December 1999). "Football: Berkovic commits to Celtic". The Independent. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
22. Ley, John (7 December 2000). "Lennon realises dream to join his idols Celtic". Retrieved 15 November 2013.
23. "Victor Wanyama completes £12.5m move to Southampton from Celtic". The Guardian. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
24. Hynter, David (1 September 2015). "Virgil van Dijk signs for Southampton from Celtic for £11.5m". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
25. "Southampton sign Fraser Forster for £10m from Celtic". The Guardian. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
26. "Aiden McGeady completes record move to Spartak Moscow". BBC Sport. 13 August 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
27. "Sunderland's Craig Gordon sidelined by fractured arm". BBC Sport. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
28. "Spurs complete signing of Hutton". BBC Sport. 30 January 2008.
29. "Arsenal sign Van Bronckhorst" BBC Sport. 20 June 2001.
30. "Magpies complete Boumsong signing" BBC Sport. 2 January 2005.
31. "Cuellar seals £7.8m move to Villa" BBC Sport. 12 August 2008.
32. "Rovers sign Ferguson" BBC Sport. 29 August 2003.

External links

• "League Records". Statto.com. Retrieved 24 August 2012.