Sports in Scotland (Part 2)

Rugby

Although more popular in England than Scotland, rugby is still quite the rage in the southern half, especially in the Borders region. Like Football (soccer), rugby emerged from the many traditional "football" games played throughout the British Isles. These included Jeddart Ball and Ba Game, the latter of which is a mob or village game where the resident of a village (such as Kirkwall, where it is still played during the holidays) play throughout the village.

Ba Game in Kirkwall. The initial ball toss up

The Ba Game in action

The first Scottish rugby team was formed in Edinburgh in 1857. The first international match was also in Edinburgh against England in 1871. The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) was formed in 1873 in Glasgow, which today oversees all organized rugby in Scotland. Traditionally an amateur sport, it has become professionalized in the last 15 years.

The main league is the Scottish Hydro Electric League Championship, which consists of a Premiere League (36 teams), National League, and Regional league. And as with football (see previous post), the teams are promoted and relegated between the leagues each year. Included are the Edinburgh Academicals (Scotland's first team) and the Glasgow Hawks.

While England has a better track record, Scotland plays in every Rugby World Cup.

Scotland's national rugby team

Golf

Perhaps Scotland's most famous indigenous sport. The earliest mention of the sport is in 1457 (the Leith Links). The oldest golf course is the world-famous St. Andrew's Old Course.

While places such as China and Holland claim it as their creation, most of the terms and rules associated with golf (also a Scottish word) originated with the Scottish. These include:
Links (1453)
Golf club (1503)
Gold ball (1545)
Drive (1583)
Tee (1721)
Putt (1743)
Caddy (1773)
Even the golf cap, plaid pants and other clothing associated with golf are Scottish in origins. The world golf authority (aside from the US) is housed in Scotland.

Tiger Woods at St. Andrew's Old Course

Shinty

Similar to field hockey, but with tackling. A traditional Scottish Highland game, it evolved in North America into ice hockey when Highlanders immigrated to Nova Scotia in Canada (where informal games are still called shinny). It is still played today. For more, see here.

American Football

Yes, you read that right. American rule football has been growing in popularity in Scotland in recent years. Scotland even had a professional team in the NFL Europe (which ran from the 1980s to 2007) -- the Scottish Claymores (the name refers to a traditional Scottish sword). Started in 1995, the Claymores played in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, and competed in two World Bowls, winning one. Local football teams are still active in Scotland.

The Scottish Claymores

Cricket

Huge in England, which is one of ten major cricket-playing nations, but Scotland is not one of them. However, it is very popular in the Borders region. The 1999 Cricket World Cup was hosted in Scotland. The Scottish National Team with the International Cricket Council (ICC) plays at-home games at the Grange in Edinburgh.

Baseball

The descendent of Cricket, American Baseball (which was not invented by Abner Doubleday, but rather had its origins in 18th Century Britain) has been growing in popularity in Scotland since it was introduced in the 1930s by US service men.

Base-ball in Britain in 1744

The Scottish Baseball League began in 1988, and includes the Edinburgh Diamond Devils.

Sports in Scotland (Part 1)

Association Football (what we Yanks call soccer) is the national sport of Scotland. A greater % of the population watch football in Scotland than anywhere else in the world.

 The sport goes back to the early days of Scotland, when several field ball games were referred to as "foot ball" (it was even banned by the Scottish Parliament in 1457, along with golf). Until the 1800s, these various football games would have been very similar to modern rugby. But in the 1800s, Scottish (and English) football began to take shape. The oldest Scottish football team (called football clubs or F.C. in Britain.) is Queen's Park F.C. housed at Hampden Stadium in Glasgow (which was the largest staidum in the world until 1950.) It is still an amateur club.

Hampden Stadium in Glasgow

Scottish National Cup

The Scottish National Cup was established in 1873, a year after the very first professional football match. it is the oldest national cup in the world. The Scottish National Team, nicknamed the Tartan Army, also plays at Hampden Stadium.

Until 2013, mainstream football in Scotland - while also played in schoolyards, playgrounds, and in numerous amateur leagues -- consisted of two professional leagues: The Scottish Premiere League (SPL), formed in 1998 and the older Scottish Football League (SFL) with three tiered divisions (First, Second, Third), formed in 1890. The SPL was the equivalent of Major League Baseball, while the SFL was akin to baseball's minor leagues. Each year, the top team in the SFL's First Division moved up to the Premiere League (called promotion), while the bottom 12th-place  team of the SPL moves down to the SFL (which is is called relegation.)

Twelve teams made up the Scottish Premiere League (SPL).

 However, that all changed with Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) that formed in 2013 with the merging of the SFL and SPL.

Using the same relegation system as SFL and SPL, there are now four tiered leagues (from top to bottom): Scottish Premiership League, Scottish Championship League, Scottish League One and Scottish League Two. The SPFL now runs the Scottish National Cup, as well as the Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Challenge Cup.

Here are the current 2014-2015 Scottish Premiership League teams:

Aberdeen

Celtic

Dundee

Dundee United

Hamilton Academical

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Kilmarnock

Motherwell

Partick Thistle

Ross County

St. Johnstone

St. Mirren

In Edinburgh, there are two SPFL teams: Hearts of Midlothian and Hibernian,
both are currently in the Scottish Championship League.

Named for a Walter Scott novel (which was originally the nickname used for the infamous prison in Edinburgh, the Tolbooth), the Hearts of Midlothian FC (or simply the Hearts) were formed in 1874 and play at the 1886-built Tynecastle Stadium. Their main rival is the Hibernian FC.

Formed in 1875 by Irish immigrants in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, the Hibs first played the Hearts on Christmas Day in the nearby Meadows Park (final score: 0-0). Today, they play at Easter Road Stadium. For fans of Trainspotting, this is the team many of the characters in the novel (and film) support.

Hearts vs. Hibs at Easter Park Stadium in Edinburgh

 

The Meadows Park -- site of the first match between the Hibs and the Hearts in Edinburgh

The Old Firm

Celtic and Rangers fans physically divided at an Old Firm Derby

But the two teams that most outside of Scotland know about are the Celtics and the Rangers, both located in Glasgow. Known together (for unknown reasons) as the Old Firm, the intense (and even at times violent) rivalry has unfortunately given both Glasgow and British football a bad reputation over the years. Although much less so today, this rivalry -- which goes back to 1888 with their first match (a Rangers victory) has taken on sectarian and religious division, with Protestant, native Glaswegains supporting the Rangers while Catholic, Irish Glaswegians would support the Celtics. Unfortunately, while matches between the two (called Old Firm Derbies) have seen violence in the past (e.g., 1980, 1999) and crime even today rises on those game days as much as nine-fold. The last match was 17 April 2016 (Rangers 5-Celtic 4), which knocked the Celtics out of the Final.

FYI - DO NOT WEAR RANGERS OR CELTIC SHIRTS WHILE WE ARE IN GLASGOW.

For the last 15 years, the Celtics and the Rangers have dominated the National Champs (with the Celtics winning last in 2011 and 2013). However, that hegemony is changing. St. Johnstone (Perth) won it in 2014, last year it was Caledonian Thistle (Inverness).

Celtic Park in Glasgow, the largest stadium in Scotland -- seats over 60,000