BBC Scotland's animated figure in the Scottish Cup video
BBC Scotland has recently launched a great little promotional video for this season's Scottish Cup tournament, in time for the fourth round ties later this month. They have animated the man on top of the trophy as he comes to life and the Victorian footballer kicks a ball around the Scottish Football Museum, ending up with a cracking goal against the motionless tinplate players, before quickly getting back into place as the museum attendant returns.
But who was the original footballer on the cup? The Scottish Cup was commissioned in 1874 by the fledgling Scottish FA, who asked Glasgow silversmiths George Edward & Sons to come up with a suitably grand trophy. No cost was spared and the final bill came to £56 12 shillings (which included a set of medals) Trouble was, association football was in its infancy at the time, and the designer needed some help to create a lifelike representation of a player to stand on top.
I believe that the inspiration for the figure was a drawing which was published in The Graphic after the first football international, played in November 1872. One of nine drawings by William Ralston shows a Scotland player steadfastly dribbling the ball while an English tackler is robustly pushed away by a teammate.
But who was the original footballer on the cup? The Scottish Cup was commissioned in 1874 by the fledgling Scottish FA, who asked Glasgow silversmiths George Edward & Sons to come up with a suitably grand trophy. No cost was spared and the final bill came to £56 12 shillings (which included a set of medals) Trouble was, association football was in its infancy at the time, and the designer needed some help to create a lifelike representation of a player to stand on top.
I believe that the inspiration for the figure was a drawing which was published in The Graphic after the first football international, played in November 1872. One of nine drawings by William Ralston shows a Scotland player steadfastly dribbling the ball while an English tackler is robustly pushed away by a teammate.
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This player is standing in precisely the same pose as the man on the Cup, and it seems entirely plausible that he was the template for the Scottish Cup design.
Unfortunately, Ralston did not caption his drawings with names of the players - this one is simply titled 'Dribbling' - and there are insufficient contemporary photographs to make a comparison, so it may never be possible to identify specifically which one of the Scotland team has been immortalised.
Unfortunately, Ralston did not caption his drawings with names of the players - this one is simply titled 'Dribbling' - and there are insufficient contemporary photographs to make a comparison, so it may never be possible to identify specifically which one of the Scotland team has been immortalised.
 The Scottish Cup (1874) |  The FA Cup (1872) |
Having an action figure gave the Scottish Cup a unique identity, and helped to differentiate it from the original FA Cup, made two years earlier. In many respects that was a similar design, but it had a less adventurous static player on the lid, hand on hip, with the ball at his feet.
Taking this theme further, I was surprised to find that this was not the only time that trophy designers took inspiration from printed sources.
Taking this theme further, I was surprised to find that this was not the only time that trophy designers took inspiration from printed sources.
Football at the Oval: England v Scotland in 1875
In 1875 the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News published this wonderful scene from that year's England v Scotland match (and they published it again in 1879). I recently visited the Hearts museum in Edinburgh where I saw the East of Scotland Shield, commissioned in 1882 to replace the small original trophy made six years earlier.
Detail from the East of Scotland Shield
The elaborate scene on the centrepiece of the East of Scotland Shield looked familiar and I took a photo, later realising that it is almost identical to the 1875 print, apart from being flipped so that the goal is on the right.
Detail from the Scottish Juvenile Cup
And remarkably the same scene, not so detailed but with some unmistakable similarities in the player positions, appears again on a later trophy. This photo shows the centrepiece of the original Scottish Juvenile Cup, which was made in 1899.
I would love to know of any other early football trophies that have taken their inspiration from external sources.
I would love to know of any other early football trophies that have taken their inspiration from external sources.
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