Most Successful teams in Scottish Cup History

The Scottish Cup was formed way back in 1873, with seven clubs (Queen’s Park, Clydesdale, Vale of Leven, Dumbreck, Third Lanark, Eastern Granville and Kilmarnock) coming together to form the Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup. Alongside the English FA Cup, it is the second oldest competition in the game today.

With the current edition already at its semi-final stage, Hearts, Hibernian, Celtic and Aberdeen will battle it out this weekend for a place in the final. Before that, we’ve taken a look back through the history books for the competition’s most successful clubs.

Celtic – 39

Last Scottish Cup win: 2019

As with many of Scotland’s major honours, Celtic are perennial winners of the Scottish Cup. After finishing runners up in 1889, they won their first crown at the 19th time of asking, beating Queen’s Park in the final following a replay.

They dominated the competition before World War One, winning five titles between 1907 and 1914 and won an incredible seven titles in a decade between 1965 and 1975.

They have also dominated in recent years too, winning 10 titles in the last 20 years, including the last three consecutive editions. They also boast the competition’s most successful manager, with the legendary Willie Maley winning 14 times during his mammoth reign.

Rangers – 33

Last Scottish Cup win: 2009

As with Glasgow rivals Celtic, Rangers have their fair share of periods of Scottish Cup dominance. After winning the competition for the first time in 1894, their first period of dominance came just before World War Two.

They won the competition in 1928 under Bill Struth, beating Celtic 4-0 in the final at Hampden Park in front of 118,000 fans. They would then win the competition in 1930, 1932, 1935 and 1936, taking five titles in just seven years.

After winning the competition another four times between 1999 to 2003, and back-to-back wins in 2008 and 2009, Rangers began an 11-year run without winning the competition. They’ll have to wait until at least 2021 to end that run, after being knocked out the competition by Hearts back in February.

Queens Park – 10

Last Scottish Cup win: 1893

The dominant force in the early years of the completion, Queen’s Park made the final 12 times in the first 27 years, prevailing on 10 occasions between 1873 and 1893.

They won the cup three times in a row between 1874-1876 as well as between 1880-1882 and won it for a final time in 1893. They haven’t made a final since the turn of the 20th Century, but remain the third most successful Scottish Cup Team of all-time.

Hearts – 8

Last Scottish Cup win: 2012

It might have taken 18 editions of the competition for them to register their first win, but Heart of Midlothian have won the Scottish Cup seven further times since beating Dumbarton 1-0 in the 1891 final.

After winning the cup four times before 1906, Hearts went 49 long years without even a final appearance to boast about before beating Celtic 3-1 at Hampden under the stewardship of manager Tommy Walker.

Another barren period followed, as Hearts would go another four decades before tasting Scottish Cup success again, although they did lose in four finals during this period. In 1998, they beat Rangers 2-1 at Celtic Park and in 2006, they edged second division side Gretna on penalties. Their most recent win came 2012, as they beat city rivals Hibernian 5-1 in the final on a memorable day for Jam Tart’s fans.

Aberdeen – 7

Last Scottish Cup win: 1990

Aberdeen’s first Scottish Cup win came in 1947, after losing in the final a decade previously. They beat Hibernian 2-1 in the final, but would go another 23 years before tasting the success again.

They too enjoyed a period of relative dominance, after winning the competition four times in five seasons between 1981 and 1986 under the stewardship of the great Sir Alex Ferguson, a period in which they would also win the UEFA Super Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup.

Their last win came in 1990, as they beat Celtic at Hampden Park, although they have competed unsuccessfully in the final on three occasions since then, most recently in 2018/19.

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