Hibernian, one of the most prominent clubs in Scottish football, was founded in 1875.The Origins of Hibernian - 3 , Hibernian official site The club was named in honour of the Roman name for Ireland and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. The club has competed in the top division of Scottish football in all but four seasons since they first gained entry to the top division in 1895. Hibernian have been Scottish champions four times, most recently in 1952. The club has also been champions of the second tier six times, most recently in 2017. Hibernian have won the Scottish Cup three times, the last time in 2016. This win ended a drought of 114 years and ten cup finals lost since 1902. The club has won the League Cup three times,The club also won the Southern League Cup, which was the forerunner of the Scottish League Cup, during the Second World War. most recently when they defeated Kilmarnock 5–1 in 2007.
Formation (up to 1875)
There was a substantial migration of Irish people to Scotland during the 19th century, particularly after the Great Famine. Most settled in the Glasgow area, but a small proportion made their way through to Edinburgh.The Origins of Hibernian - 1 , Hibernian official site The Cowgate was known as Little Ireland at the time, due to the concentration of Irish people in the area.
St Patrick's Church in the Cowgate had founded a Catholic Young Men's Society (CYMS) in 1865.The Origins of Hibernian - 2 , Hibernian official site The Irish community was not integrated into the wider Edinburgh community, but Canon Edward Joseph Hannan was looking for a way to achieve this. Michael Whelahan suggested to Canon Hannon that the CYMS should form its own football club. In a meeting on 6 August 1875, Hibernian F.C. was founded, with Canon Hannon as its first manager and Whelahan as its first captain. This was done as part of the celebrations to mark the centenary of the birth of Daniel O'Connell.Lugton (1999), pp1.
Hibs players had to be members of the CYMS. Because of this policy, Hibs have been accused of being the first sectarian football club in Scotland, a charge commonly levelled at Rangers. The club was intended to be an organisation for young Catholics to pursue a life of temperance and religious adherence by offering top-class football to them.The Making of Hibernian, Alan Lugton Hibs played charity matches in benefit of causes other than the Catholic Church, however, and Whelahan once said:The Origins of Hibernian - 4 , Hibernian official site
During the first few years of their history, Hibs played their matches on The Meadows of the south side of Edinburgh. Hibs established themselves in Scottish football after overcoming some initial sectarian resistance to an Irish club. A note from the Scottish Football Association stated that:
Ironically, Hibs' future rivals Hearts played a significant role in breaking down this resistance, as they defied rules which stated that no club should play matches against the Irish club. Hearts provided the opposition in Hibs' first match on Christmas Day 1875, which Hearts won 1–0.Sat 25 Dec 1875; Friendly; Hearts 1, Hibernian 0 , www.londonhearts.com The persistence of Canon Hannan and Whelahan meant that Hibs were eventually accepted by the governing bodies.
Early success (1878–1887) Hibs and Hearts quickly established themselves as the dominant clubs in Edinburgh, forming a rivalry that lasts to this day. The five-game struggle for the Edinburgh Cup of 1878 played a major part in this.The First Great Edinburgh Derby — The Five Games for 1878 EFA Cup, www.londonhearts.com The club first moved to the Easter Road area in 1880 to a ground known as Hibernian Park.
By 1883, Hibs had "largely conquered" Edinburgh football,Origins of Hibernian - 6 , Hibernian official site and in 1887 became the first club from the "east coast" of Scotland and only the fifth club overallThe Scottish Cup had hitherto been dominated by Queen's Park and Vale of Leven. to win the Scottish Cup.Origins of Hibernian - 8 , Hibernian official site On 13 August 1887, Hibs defeated Preston North End in a match billed as the Association football Championship of the World decider.On The Record Daily Record, 23 January 2008 The match was arranged because Hibs had just won the Scottish Cup, while Preston were building a team that would be known as The Invincibles.
Celtic (1887–1891)
Hibs were the first club in Scotland who had been formed by members of the Irish Catholic population who had settled in Scotland during the 19th century. Their example led to the creation of Irish clubs in Dundee and Glasgow. These were Dundee Harp, Dundee Hibernian and Celtic.
Brother Walfrid regularly invited Hibs to play in Glasgow before Celtic were formed.Origins of Hibernian - 9 , Hibernian official site This included a match against Renton that drew a crowd of over 12,000. Glasgow had a far greater Irish population than Edinburgh. Brother Walfrid realised that a Glasgow club could do a lot more to help the Irish population in that city than relying on charity from an Edinburgh club. This led in November 1887 to the formation of Celtic, who played their first match in May 1888 with players mostly borrowed from Hibs.
The real danger to Hibs came from John Glass, who was the financial backer for Celtic. He had observed the coming of professionalism in England and correctly surmised that the same would happen in Scotland. Celtic signed several of the Hibs players through offering financial inducements to the amateur Hibs players. This effectively left Hibs without the team who had been highly successful in the preceding years. Celtic went on to win four league championships in the 1890s, while dissident members of their board who wanted an amateur, all-Catholic ethos failed in an attempt to have Leith's Hibs move to Glasgow to bolster a new rival club, and their copycat Glasgow Hibernian experiment failed after a year.Irish: The Remarkable Saga of a Nation and a City, John Burrowes; Random House, 2011, Vain Games of No Value?: A Social History of Association Football in Britain During Its First Long Century, Terry Morris; AuthorHouse, 2016, James Quillan: The Celtic Founder Who Defected & Formed A Rival Club, The Celtic Star, 12 April 2020
Mismanagement over the next few years led to the demise of Hibernians. The club inexplicably failed to attend a meeting which led to the formation of the Scottish Football League in 1890. This meant that Hibs did not participate in the league, while Edinburgh rivals Hearts and St Bernard's were founder members.Origins of Hibernian: Weakened , Hibernian official site Not participating in the league meant that Hibs found friendly match opponents harder to come by, while the lease on Hibernian Park expired.Origins of Hibernian: Need to move , Hibernian official site Hibs became homeless and the club effectively ceased operations during 1891, which meant that the remaining star players (including captain James McGhee and forward Sandy McMahon) moved to Celtic.
Reformation (1892–1945)
The club was reconstituted in 1892, and the club acquired a lease on a site that was to become known as Easter Road.Origins of Hibernian - New Beginnings Hibernian official site A significant change at the time of the reformation of Hibs was that players no longer had to be members of the Catholic Young Men's Society. On 4 February 1893, the club played its first match at Easter Road.
The club belatedly entered the Scottish Football League during the 1893–94 season, winning the inaugural Division Two championship. Bizarrely, Hibs were refused admission to Division One for the 1894–95 season and Clyde were promoted instead.Origins of Hibernian - Championship Destiny , Hibernian official site Undeterred, Hibs won the Division Two championship for a second time in 1894–95. Hibs winning Division Two formed part of what was known as the Edinburgh Slam, as Hearts won Division One and St Bernard's won the Scottish Cup. Hibs canvassed sufficient support amongst the Division One clubs to ensure that they were promoted to Division One for the 1895–96 season.Origins of Hibernian: Justice , Hibernian official site
In their first year in Division One, Hibs finished in a creditable third place.Origins of Hibernian: Another Cup Tilt , Hibernian official site The club also reached the Scottish Cup final, where they were to meet Hearts. This raised the issue of where the match should be played, as the cup final is traditionally played in Glasgow. The Scottish Football Association decided that an Edinburgh venue would make more sense, and decided upon New Logie Green, the home of St Bernard's. Hearts won 3–1 before a crowd of 17,000. The following season a victory over Hearts in their final League match could have given them the league championship, but a 1–0 defeat allowed Hearts to go on claim the title instead.
Over the next decade, Hibs were to have a relatively successful period. The club finished fourth or higher in every season until 1901, before winning the Scottish Cup in 1902 and the league championship in 1903. After this, however, Hibs had a very barren period of nearly forty years either side of World War I, as the Old Firm started their dominance of Scottish football. The club only finished third or higher on one occasion (1925) in the league, and was eventually relegated for the first time in 1931. Hibs reached three Scottish Cup finals in this period, two of them in consecutive years in the mid-1920s.
The Famous Five (1945–1955)
Hibs' most successful era by far was in the decade following the end of the Second World War. The Famous Five forward line of Gordon Smith, Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Eddie Turnbull and Willie Ormond led Hibs to league championships in 1948, 1951 and 1952. The championship of 1952 is the last time to this day that Hibs were Scottish football champions. Hibs also finished second to Rangers in 1953 on goal average and second to Rangers by a point in 1950.
The team was less successful in cup competitions. Their only Scottish Cup final appearance in this period was in 1947, where they lost 2–1 to Aberdeen. Hibs reached the final of the Coronation Cup in 1953 by winning against Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, but lost 2–0 to Celtic in the final.Coronation Cup in Glasgow 1953, rsssf.org The Coronation Cup was a competition played between the best teams in England and Scotland to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth.
It was due to this successful period that Hibs were invited to play in the inaugural European Cup in the 1955–56 season,, www.europeancuphistory.com even though the club had only finished in 5th place in 1955, 15 points behind champions Aberdeen. The club reached the semi-finals of the European Cup, losing to Stade Reims.
The north stand at Easter Road was named in honour of the Famous FiveSeating plan of the Famous Five stand , Hibernian official site when it was rebuilt in 1995.
1960s In 1963 Hibs, battling to come out of a slump, paid £7,500 for Neil Martin from Queen of the South. Martin's goals helped add impetus to the club, and on 1 April 1964, Jock Stein was appointed manager of Hibernian. Within months of becoming manager he led them to Summer Cup success. The testimony of his contemporaries was that he was already "miles" ahead of everyone else in his understanding of the game, and in studying how the investment of energy could be tailored to maximum effect. Stein was immersing himself in the structure of the game while the rest simply went out and played.
Hibs, having failed to qualify for Europe, played Real Madrid in a challenge match at Easter Road and handed their guests a 2–0 defeat. Stein departed on 9 March 1965 to manage Celtic, but Martin scored 29 goals and Hibs finished 4th in the 1964–65 league season. They finished ahead of both halves of the Old Firm and knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup, but they lost in the semi-final to Dunfermline.