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169 vs. Wales
170
171 vs. Germany

Saturday, 5 April 1930
Home International Championship 1929-30 (42nd) Match

England 5 Scotland 2 [4-0]
 

Empire Stadium, Wembley Park, Wembley, Middlesex
Attendance: 87,375; a new record high for England at the stadium
Kick-off: 3.00pm GMT
No live broadcast, but George F. Allison did provide a 15 minute 'eye-witness account' at 6pm.

England - Vic Watson (a swerving shot placed between Harkness and the post 12, headed in from a Crooks cross 28), Ellis Rimmer (headed the ball past Harkness from another Crooks' cross 30, left-footed drive after a Bradford pass 54), David Jack (a low hard shot from a Crooks' corner 33)
Scotland - James Fleming (a good goal from a centre by Morton 49, headed through another capital Morton cross 62)
Match Summary
England Party

Scotland Party
Results 1919-30

? won the toss, ? kicked-off.

 

Match Summary

Officials

England

Type

Scotland

Referee - William McLean
Ireland

Linesmen - W.J. Lewington, Surrey and not known
 
Attended by HRH The Duke of Gloucester and the Prime Minister Ramsey Macdonald.  They teams were presented to the Duke.

  Goal Attempts  
  Attempts on Target  
  Hit Bar/Post  
  Corner Kicks Won  
  Offside Calls Against  
  Fouls Conceded  
  Possession  

England Team

 

Rank:

No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 9th to 7th
Colours: The 1923 uniform - White collared jerseys and dark club shorts
Capt: David Jack, first captaincy Selectors: The fourteen-man FA International Selection Committee, following the trial match, on Monday, 31 March 1930.
137th match, W 89 - D 25 - L 23 - F 421 - A 151.
England Lineup
  Hibbs, E. Henry 23 27 May 1906 G Birmingham FC 2 2 GA
  Goodall, F. Roy 27 31 December 1902 RB Huddersfield Town FC 10 0
  Blenkinsop, Ernest 27 20 April 1902 LB Sheffield Wednesday FC 11 0
  Strange, Alfred H. 30 2 April 1900 RH Sheffield Wednesday FC 1 0
  Webster, Maurice 30 13 November 1899 CH Middlesbrough FC 1 0
  Marsden, William 28 10 November 1901 LH Sheffield Wednesday FC 2 0
  Crooks, Samuel D. 22 16 January 1908 OR Derby County FC 1 0
Jack, David B.N. 32 3 April 1898 IR Arsenal FC 5 2
Watson, Victor M. 32 10 November 1897 CF West Ham United FC 3 4
  Bradford, Joseph 29 22 January 1901 IL Birmingham FC 9 1
Rimmer, Ellis J. 23 2 January 1907 OL Sheffield Wednesday FC 1 2

reserves:

Freddie Ewer (Corinthians FC) and Bob Kelly (Huddersfield Town AFC)

team notes:

On deciding the team, the ISC stated that the thirteen players named must not take part in any other game prior to this match. This statute directly affects Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday. They will play Liverpool and Sunderland respectively on the Wednesday.
 
2-3-5 Hibbs -
Goodall, Blenkinsop -
Strange, Webster, Marsden -
Crooks, Jack, Watson, Bradford, Rimmer

Averages:

Age 27.5 Appearances/Goals 4.2 0.3

England teams v. Scotland:

1929:

Hacking Cooper Blenkinsop Edwards Seddon Nuttall Bruton Brown Dean Wainscoat Ruffell

1930:

Hibbs Goodall Blenkinsop Strange Webster Marsden Crooks Jack Watson Bradford Rimmer

 

Scotland Team

 

Rank:

No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 2nd
Colours: Dark blue shirts with white collars, white shorts
Capt: Davie Meiklejohn Selectors:
Trainer: J. Kerr (Rangers FC)
The Scottish Football Association Selection Committee, of seven members, chosen, following the inter-league match, on Wednesday, 26 March 1930.
Scotland Lineup
  Harkness, John D. 22 27 September 1907 G Heart of Midlothian FC 8 15 GA
  Gray, Douglas H. 25 4 April 1905 RB Rangers FC 7 0
  Law, Thomas 21 1 April 1908 LB Chelsea FC, England 2 0
  Buchanan, John 31 15 March 1899 RH Rangers FC 2 0
  Meiklejohn, David D. 29 12 December 1900 CH Rangers FC 11 2
  Craig, Thomas 34 18 July 1895 LH Rangers FC 8 1
  Jackson, Alexander S. 24 12 May 1905 OR Huddersfield Town FC, England 16 8
  James, Alexander W. 28 14 September 1901 IR Arsenal FC, England 7 3
Fleming, James W. 28 5 December 1901 CF Rangers FC 3 3
  Stevenson, George 25 4 April 1905 IL Motherwell FC 4 1
  Morton, Alan L. 36 24 April 1893 OL Rangers FC 25 5

reserves:

Originally the traveling reserves were Buchanan and Fleming, but after they were drafted into the starting XI, then it was Alex Cheyne (Aberdeen FC) and William King (Queen's Park FC).
Also Robert Middleton (Cowdenbeath FC), Daniel Blair (Clyde FC), William Wiseman (Queen's Park FC, Jock McDougall (Sunderland AFC), Jimmy McDougall (Liverpool FC), Alexander Archibald (Rangers FC), George Gibson (Bolton Wanderers FC) and James Connor (St. Mirren FC)

team notes:

John Buchanan and James Fleming replaced Aston Villa FC's Jimmy Gibson and Newcastle United FC's Hughie Gallacher.
 
2-3-5 Harkness -
Gray, Law -
Gibson, Meiklejohn, Craig -
Jackson, James, Gallacher, Stevenson, Morton.

Averages:

Age 27.5 Appearances/Goals 8.5 1.9

 

    Match Report by Glen Isherwood

For the first time Wembley was to decide the winners of the British Championship as both England and reigning champions Scotland had won both their previous matches. England had not won the championship outright since 1913 but Scotland had won, or shared it, seven times in the previous ten years.

England took the lead when Vic Watson took a pass from Jack and shot past Harkness. Then, in a five-minute spell, towards the end of the first half England scored three goals to destroy Scotland's resistance. Sammy Crooks created them all. First he crossed for Watson to head his second. Then, a cross to the far post found Ellis Rimmer's head. Following this, a corner by Crooks was neatly converted by David Jack and Scotland were four goals down at the interval.

To their credit, they did not give up. In the second half, Hibbs failed to hold a long shot from Craig and the ball bounced out for Jimmy Fleming to net the rebound. England soon quelled the revival when Rimmer took a pass from Bradford and shot past Harkness without breaking stride. Scotland managed a second with 28 minutes remaining. Morton's cross was converted by Fleming, but Scotland had suffered their heaviest defeat since losing 3-0 to England at Goodison Park in 1895.

This was the first of three successive British Championships for England, although they had to share it with Scotland the following year.

"There were fears of a riot just before the start of the game, when thousands who were unable to gain admission attempted to storm the gates. Many ticket-holders were considerably inconvenienced by the occurrence and did not get into their seats until after play had started." -
Glasgow Herald, Monday, 7 April 1930.

   Club Versus Country Row

F.A. CLUBS AND INTERNATIONAL MATCHES

   "Decisions which may have far-reaching effect on the future of international matches were reached at a meeting of representatives of First and Second Division League Clubs, held at Connaught Rooms, London, [4 April 1930].
   "Mr F. Brook-Hirst, chairman of the Huddersfield Town Club, was voted to the chair, and at the conclusion of the meeting, to which representatives of the press were not admitted, said that the following resolutions were passed:-
   "1. That at the next annual meeting of the Football League, the First and Second Division clubs shall vote in favour of the following proposal- "That Rule 2 of the League Rules shall commence ' A club shall not release any player for international games except at the call of the Association of which the club is a member or which the player is registered.'"
   "2.  That the First and Second Division clubs give notice to the Football Association to alter Rule 41 to add after the word " Association " on the third line of Rule 41 the words " on any day other than a Saturday or public holiday. "
   "If these two proposals are eventually incorporated in the rules of the League and the Football Association the result will be that clubs will not be called upon to release players for international matches except in mid-week." -
The Glasgow Herald, Saturday, 5 April 1930

    Football League

Football League Division One
5 April 1930
Team P Pts
Sheffield Wednesday 32 46
Derby County 36 45
Manchester City 36 44
Aston Villa 36 40
Blackburn Rovers 37 40
Liverpool 37 40
Huddersfield Town 36 39
Leicester City 37 38
Leeds United 35 37
West Ham United 37 37
Portsmouth 36 36
Bolton Wanderers 37 36
Birmingham 35 34
Arsenal 35 33
Sheffield United 37 33
Sunderland 34 33
Manchester United 36 33
Middlesbrough 36 32
Burnley 38 32
Newcastle United 35 29
Grimsby Town 36 27
Everton 36 26

 

Division One matches played on 5 April 1930:

BIRMINGHAM 2-4 DERBY COUNTY
Briggs, Robinson (Bedford 3, Barclay)

13,609 (St Andrew's, Birmingham)

Birmingham were without Bradford and Hibbs (in goal), who were playing against Scotland at Wembley, whilst Derby were without Sammy Crooks, who was making his international debut, against Scotland.

BLACKBURN ROVERS 2-0 ASTON VILLA
J.Bruton, L.Bruton
14,138
(Ewood Park, Blackburn)

GRIMSBY TOWN 1-1 BOLTON WANDERERS
Robson (Milsom)

12,081 (Blundell Park, Cleethorpes)

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 1-1 MANCHESTER CITY
Smailes (Busby)
14,180
(Leeds Road, Huddersfield)

Huddersfield were without Goodall, who was playing against Scotland at Wembley, Kelly, who was a reserve against Scotland, and Jackson, who was playing for Scotland.

LEICESTER CITY 5-4 EVERTON
Chandler 3, Lochhead, Barry (Martin 2, Johnson, Critchley)

13,897 (
Filbert Street, Leicester)

LIVERPOOL 1-3 SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY
Hodgson (Allen, Hooper, Burgess)
35,563 (
Anfield, Liverpool)

Liverpool were without Jimmy McDougall, who was a reserve for Scotland against England at Wembley, whilst Wednesday were without Blenkinsop, Marsden, Rimmer (who scored twice) and Strange (making his international debut), who were playing against Scotland.

MANCHESTER UNITED 2-1 SUNDERLAND
McLenahan 2 (Gurney)

13,230 (Old Trafford, Manchester)

Sunderland were without Jock McDougall, who was a reserve for Scotland against England at Wembley.

MIDDLESBROUGH 1-1 LEEDS UNITED
Camsell (Keetley)
14,136 (Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough)

Middlesbrough were without Maurice Webster, who was making his international debut, against Scotland at Wembley.

NEWCASTLE UNITED 1-1 ARSENAL
Devine (Halliday)

36,309 (St James' Park, Newcastle)

Arsenal goalkeeper, Dan Lewis went off injured with twenty minutes left and Bill Johnstone went in goal, conceding Newcastle's equaliser, five minutes from the end. They were without Jack, the captain who scored against Scotland at Wembley, and James, who was playing for Scotland.

SHEFFIELD UNITED 2-3 PORTSMOUTH
Tunstall, Radford (Thackeray, Weddle, Easson)

17,800 (Bramall Lane, Sheffield)

WEST HAM UNITED 1-0 BURNLEY
Barrett
12,092 (Upton Park, London)

West Ham were without Vic Watson, who scored the first two goals against Scotland at Wembley.

Though they were only a point ahead, Sheffield Wednesday had four games in hand and went on to celebrate clinching their second successive title by putting six goals past Derby at Hillsborough.

Football League Division Two
5 April 19
30
Team P Pts
Oldham Athletic 36 49
Chelsea 36 49
Blackpool 36 49
Bradford 36 41
Bury 35 40
Southampton 36 39
Cardiff City 36 39
Nottingham Forest 36 38
Tottenham Hotspur 36 37
Stoke City 37 36
Wolverhampton Wanderers 36 36
West Bromwich Albion 36 35
Charlton Athletic 35 35
Notts County 36 32
Millwall 36 31
Reading 37 31
Barnsley 36 30
Preston North End 36 30
Hull City 34 30
Swansea Town 37 29
Bradford City 36 29
Bristol City 35 25

 

Division Two matches played on 5 April 1930:

BARNSLEY 3-0 HULL CITY
Gibbs, Eaton 2 pens.
6,243
(Oakwell, Barnsley)

BLACKPOOL 0-2 STOKE CITY
(Sellars, Kirkham)

13,679
(Bloomfield Road, Blackpool)

BRADFORD 4-0 CHARLTON ATHLETIC
Harwood 2, Scott, Davis
8,523
(Park Avenue, Bradford)

BURY 3-1 WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Robbie, Smith, Chambers (Hetherington)
6,854
(Gigg Lane, Bury)

CHELSEA 3-2 BRADFORD CITY
Wilson 2, 1 pen., Pearson (
Partridge, Randall)
26,068
(Stamford Bridge, London)

Chelsea were without Tommy Law, who was playing for Scotland against England at Wembley.

MILLWALL 2-0 PRESTON NORTH END
Cock, Horton
14,746
(The Den, London)

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 1-0 SWANSEA TOWN
Burton
6,604
(City Ground, Nottingham)

OLDHAM ATHLETIC 4-1 CARDIFF CITY
Littlewood, Gray, Taylor, Adlam (Robbins)
18,596 (Boundary Park, Oldham)

Oldham had a penalty saved by Tom Farquharson.

SOUTHAMPTON 3-0 BRISTOL CITY
Jepson, Dougall, Haines

9,788 (The Dell, Southampton)

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2-0 NOTTS COUNTY
Bellamy, Cook

17,848 (White Hart Lane, London)

WEST BROMWICH ALBION 1-0 READING
Edwards

6,676 (The Hawthorns, West Bromwich)

Chelsea and Oldham took advantage of Blackpool's surprise home defeat, with three teams now level on points with six games left, but it was Oldham who were to miss out on promotion.

Division Three on 5 April 1930:

Port Vale led the northern section on goal average from Stockport County, but had a game in hand. They would hold out to win their first ever promotion. Plymouth Argyle led the southern section by a point from Brentford and also had a game in hand. Brentford would win all 21 of their home games, but they could not catch Plymouth, who finally secured that elusive promotion, following six successive runners-up placings in the past decade.

IN OTHER NEWS...

It was on 5 April 1930 that the verdict on the death of the twenty-year-old West End chorus girl, Nita Foy, was returned as "accidental". Whilst filming a musical called 'Spanish Eyes' at Twickenham Studios she had leaned over a radiator in a dressing room and her dress caught fire. She died in hospital on the following day.

Source Notes

As well as the 1900 'Rosebery' team of Scottish Internationalists, sponsored by Bob McColl, with the exclusion of Nick Smith, who had died in 1905, the match was attended by various dignitaries, including the Prime Minister and his daughter, Ishbel MacDonald, Mr and Mrs Arthur Henderson, the Egyptian Prime Minister and four delegates to the Egyptian Conference, Mr C.F. Adams and Mr Dwight Morrow, of the American Delegation,  Signor Grandi, Admiral Takarabe, Mr C.T. Te Water, Professor T.A. Smiddy, representing the Irish Free State and Mr T.M. Wilford, representing New Zealand, all from the Naval Conference.

DELIGHTFUL PLAYERS

   "The English team was so delighted with its victory, that after the game the players asked for gold medals as souvenirs instead of the usual playing fee of £6.
   "The English players also marked the occasion by presenting each other with autographed match programmes.
   "All players in international games are awarded a 'cap', and it is the practice to be content with this for a souvenir and to take the £6 fee. The request that the money be used to purchase the medals is probably without precedent."

Scottish Football Association
Scotland - The Complete International Record: Richard Keir
London Hearts
Glen Isherwood's Wembley: The Complete Record (SportsBooks Limited, Cheltenham, U.K., 2006)

original newspaper reports
FA Yearbooks 1950-60
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CG