The 1895–96 British Home Championship was an edition of the annual international football tournament played between the British Home Nations. Despite England achieving an almost record 9–1 victory over Wales, the trophy was won by Scotland who won two and drew one of their matches, the draw coming in a hard-fought duel with Ireland.

Wales and Ireland kicked off the tournament with the Welsh heavily defeating the Irish in Wrexham. England too beat the Irish in their opening game, although by a smaller scoreline and England then achieved their 9–1 victory over Wales with Steve Bloomer scoring five, an England record. Scotland too beat Wales, scoring four without reply before being held by the Irish in an exciting and close match.

In the final game at Celtic Park, England and Scotland played for the trophy, England only needing a draw whilst the Scots required a win to take the tournament. To improve their chances, Scotland decided to select England-based players for the first time, holding a selection trial between their 'Home' and 'Anglo' playersSport and the Working Class in Modern Britain, edited by Richard Holt; Manchester University Press, 1990, Football. International Trial Matches., The Glasgow Herald, 26 March 1896 which became an annual event for the next 30 years. In a close and dramatic game, Scotland narrowly beat the English 2–1 and won the championship. The decisive Scotland v England match, watched by a crowd of 60,000, generated receipts of £3,640, a world record at the time for a football match.Sat 4 Apr 1896 Scotland 2 England 1, London Hearts Supporters ClubChapter XXIV —Queen's Park and International Games, History of the Queen's Park Football Club 1867 - 1917; Richard Robinson, 1920, via Electric Scotland

Table

Results

Winning squad

NameApps/Goals by opponentTotal WALSat 21 Mar 1896 Scotland 4 Wales 0, London Hearts Supporters Club IRESat 28 Mar 1896 Ireland 3 Scotland 3, London Hearts Supporters Club ENGSat 04 Apr 1896 Scotland 2 England 1, London Hearts Supporters Club Apps GoalsBob McColl11/222William Lambie11/121James Blessington1120Jock Drummond1120Neilly Gibson1120George Hogg1120Alex King1120Bobby Neill1/212Jack Bell1/111Pat Murray1/111Sandy Keillor1/111Daniel Paton1/111Tom Brandon110Jimmy Cowan110Ned Doig110Thomas Hyslop110Kenneth Anderson110John Cameron110James Kelly110Peter Meehan110William Blair110John Gillespie110Robert Glen110Rab Macfarlane110Duncan McLean110William Thomson110

Notes

References