The Churchill Cup was an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

cup competition for clubs in the historic counties of

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has f ...

, and

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The competition was founded in 1881 and was last competed for in the 1894–95 season. Before the emergence of the

Southern Counties Cup The Southern Counties Cup is an association football cup competition for clubs in the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Wigtownshire, and Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. The competition was founded in 1891. Format The competition was a single-eli ...

, it was the most prestigious local tournament for clubs in the south of Scotland.

Format

The competition was a

knock-out tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

contested by the member clubs of the South of Scotland Football Association. The competition was the inspiration of the Rev. W. H. Churchill, who had played for

Cambridge University A.F.C. Cambridge University Association Football Club is an English football club representing the University of Cambridge. Official university publications have claimed that the club was formed in 1856,

in the 1870s, and after he had taken up a post in

Moffat Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. ...

, set up a football club there. On his leaving for a new post in

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earlie ...

, the Reverend proposed a trophy for the clubs of the three southern counties to play for, and the competition which ensued was named after him.

Initial entrants

* 5th K.R.V. *

Bladnoch Bladnoch may refer to: * Bladnoch, Wigtownshire * Bladnoch Distillery, and ''Bladnoch'' whisky * River Bladnoch The Bladnoch is a river in Wigtownshire in the Machars of Galloway in southwest Scotland. One of the earliest descriptions of it i ...

* Drumlanrig Rangers * Dumfries Herald * Dumfries Thistle * Gatehouse * Glenluce * Kirkcudbright Athletic *

* Newton Stewart Athletic * Queen of the South Wanderers *

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; gd, An t-Sròn Reamhar ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of L ...

* Thornhill * Vale o' Nith

History

The first competition, in 1881–82, ended in an unusual tie. After the 5th K.R.V. and Newton Stewart drew twice, and with employers of the players of both teams threatening players with dismissal because of the full day needed to travel and play, the competition committee declared the competition to be shared by both sides. The first winner outright, in 1882–83, was the

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

side Vale o' Nith, to the surprise of even the Vale players themselves. The local association expressed some concern that the supporters of other Dumfries clubs had been too vigorous in their support of the Vale against the out-of-towners Newton Stewart. The competition was affected by a professionalism scandal in 1889–90. Members of the Queen of the South Wanderers had been involved in an acrimonious legal dispute with regard to the payment of off-book expenses. The evidence presented in court suggested that the Wanderers had been paying players in breach of

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...

rules. After the Wanderers beat Moffat 3–1 in the first round of the Churchill Cup on 16 November 1889, Moffat raised a protest that the club was employing professionals; after three secret sittings inside a week, the Scottish FA expelled the Wanderers for professionalism, along with the entire committee and two players. The region was known for extravagant scoring; the 5th K.R.V. and the QoS Wanderers shared a 7–7 draw in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Mid-Annandale beating a moribund Vale o' Nith 19–1 in 1888–89, but other outlandish scores include the 5th K.R.V. winning 12–6 at Annan Our Boys in 1889–90, and

beating Rising Thistle of

Lochmaben Lochmaben ( Gaelic: ''Loch Mhabain'') is a small town and civil parish in Scotland, and site of a castle. It lies west of Lockerbie, in Dumfries and Galloway. By the 12th century the Bruce family had become the local landowners and, in the 14th ...

17–0 in 1890–91. Rising Thistle played twice more in the tournament, losing 13–0 at home to the 5th K.R.V. in 1891–92 and 14–0 at home to Mid-Annandale in 1892–93. The introduction of the

in 1891 involved many of the same teams, and it gradually took over from the Churchill Cup as the primary local tournament. At the start of the 1895–96 season, the Rev. Churchill, advised that the amateur game was "practically dead" in the region, withdrew the Cup from competition.

Finals

The second Queen of the South Wanderers was a club founded as Dumfries Wanderers in 1890, which changed its name to that of the now-defunct original club in 1891.

External links

Results

References

{{Regional football cups in Scotland Football cup competitions in Scotland Defunct football cup competitions in Scotland Queen of the South F.C. Recurring sporting events established in 1881 1881 establishments in Scotland 1895 disestablishments in Scotland Sport in Dumfries