1950 British Home Championship

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1950 British Home Championship. The 1950 competition was one of the most significant competitions of the British Home Championship football tournament. This year saw the competition doubling up as Group 1 in the qualifying rounds for the 1950 FIFA World Cup. It was the first time that either England, Wales, Scotland or Ireland (IFA) had entered a World Cup competition ^[1]^[2]^[3]. It was also a significant moment in the history of Irish football as it was the last time that the (Northern) Irish Football Association entered a team featuring players born in both Northern Ireland and what is now the Republic of Ireland ^[4].

Both England and Scotland began well, the Scots beating Ireland 8-2 at Windsor Park while England beat Wales 4-1 in Cardiff. Both teams continued their dominance in the second round of matches, Scotland beating Wales 2-0 whilst Ireland were again heavily defeated, this time losing 9-2 to England. In the final round of games Ireland and Wales gained some consolation points with a goalless draw while − England took first place by beating Scotland 1-0 in a hard fought game in Glasgow.

1 World Cup qualifying
2 Last All-Ireland team
3 Table
4 Results
5 Team squads
6 See also
7 References

[edit] World Cup qualifying

FIFA offered two places at the 1950 FIFA World Cup to the winners and runners up of the competition. However Scotland insisted they would only enter if they won the championship outright and even though they finished second, the Scottish FA declined the opportunity to enter a team in the World Cup finals for the first time. FIFA subsequently offered their place to both France, the runners-up in Group 3 and Ireland (FAI) ^[5], the runners-up in Group 5. However both teams also declined the invitation. Despite winning the championship, England failed to impress at the World Cup. After defeating Chile 2-0 they then lost 1-0 to both the United States and Spain and failed to qualify for the second stage. ^[6]

[edit] Last All-Ireland team

Until 1950 there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Belfast-based IFA and the Dublin-based FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island. As a result several notable Irish players from this era played for both teams.

The game between the IFA XI and Wales at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham on March 8, 1950 marked the end of an era in Irish football history. The result was irrelevant, as both teams had lost their previous games and had nothing to play for but pride. However, the 0-0 draw saw the IFA XI field an all-Ireland team for the last time. The team included four players - Tom Aherne, Reg Ryan, Davy Walsh and the captain, Con Martin - who were born in what is now the Republic of Ireland. Since this game was also a qualifier for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, the situation led to controversy. All four players had previously played for the FAI XI in their qualifiers. Both Martin and Walsh had even scored for the FAI XI. As a result the four players actually played for two different associations in the same FIFA World Cup tournament.

FIFA intervened, after complaints from the FAI, and subsequently restricted players' eligibility based on the political border. In 1953 FIFA ruled neither team could be referred to as Ireland, decreeing that the FAI team be officially designated as the Republic of Ireland, while the IFA team was to become Northern Ireland. The IFA objected and in 1954 were permitted to continue using the name Ireland in the British Home Championship. This practice was discontinued in the late 1970s ^[7].

[edit] Table

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Final table														Home							Away
1.	England	3	3	0	0	14	3	+11	6	X	-	-	9:2	1	1	0	0	9	2	2	2	2	0	0	5	1	4
2.	Scotland	3	2	0	1	10	3	+7	4	0:1	X	2:0	-	2	1	0	1	2	1	2	1	1	0	0	8	2	2
3.	Wales	3	0	1	2	1	6	-5	1	1:4	-	X	0:0	2	0	1	1	1	4	1	1	0	0	1	0	2	0
3.	Ireland (IFA)	3	0	1	2	4	17	-13	1	-	2:8	-	X	1	0	0	1	2	8	0	2	0	1	1	2	9	1

The points system worked as follows:

2 points for a win
1 point for a draw

[edit] Results

October 1, 1949	Ireland	2–8	Scotland	Windsor Park, Belfast
	Samuel Smyth 2	(Summary)	Henry Morris 3, William Waddell 2, Billy Steel, Lawrence Reilly, Jimmy Mason	Windsor Park, Belfast

October 15, 1949	Wales	1–4	England	Ninian Park, Cardiff
	M. Griffiths	(Summary)	Jackie Milburn 3, Stan Mortensen	Ninian Park, Cardiff

November 9, 1949	Scotland	2–0	Wales	Hampden Park, Glasgow
	John McPhail, Alexander Linwood	(Summary)		Hampden Park, Glasgow

November 16, 1949	England	9–2	Ireland	Maine Road, Manchester
	Jack Rowley 4, Stan Mortensen 2, Stan Pearson 2, Jack Froggatt	(Summary)	Samuel Smyth, Bobby Brennan	Maine Road, Manchester

March 8, 1950	Wales	0–0	Ireland	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham
				Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

May 25, 1950	Scotland	0–1	England	Hampden Park, Glasgow
		(Summary)	Roy Bentley	Hampden Park, Glasgow

[edit] Team squads

[edit] England

Head coach: Walter Winterbottom

Pos.	Player	DoB	Games played	Goals	Minutes played				Club
DF	John Aston	Sep 3, 1921	3	0	270	90	90	90	Manchester United
FW	Roy Bentley	May 17, 1924	1	1	90	-	-	90	Chelsea F.C.
MF	Jimmy Dickinson	Apr 25, 1925	2	0	180	90	-	90	Portsmouth F.C.
FW	Tom Finney	Apr 5, 1922	3	0	270	90	90	90	/2^[8] Preston North End
DF	Neil Franklin	Jan 24, 1922	3	0	270	90	90	90	Stoke City
FW	Jack Froggatt	Nov 17, 1922	1	1	90	-	90	-	Portsmouth F.C.
FW	Johnny Hancocks	Apr 30, 1919	1	0	90	90	-	-	Wolverhampton Wanderers
FW	Bobby Langton	Sep 8, 1918	1	0	90	-	-	90	Bolton Wanderers
FW	Wilf Mannion	May 16, 1918	1	0	90	-	-	90	Middlesbrough F.C.
FW	Jackie Milburn	May 11, 1924	1	3	90	90	-	-	Newcastle United
FW	Stan Mortensen	May 26, 1921	3	3	270	90	90	90	Blackpool F.C.
DF	Bert Mozley	Sep 21, 1923	2	0	180	90	90	-	Derby County
FW	Stan Pearson	Jan 15, 1919	1	2	90	-	90	-	Manchester United
DF	Alf Ramsey	Jan 22, 1920	1	0	90	-	-	90	/2^[8] Tottenham Hotspur
FW	Jack Rowley	Oct 7, 1920	1	4	90	-	90	-	Manchester United
FW	Len Shackleton	May 3, 1922	1	0	90	90	-	-	Sunderland A.F.C.
GK	Bernard Streten	Jan 14, 1921	1	0	90	-	90	-	/2^[8] Luton Town
MF	Willie Watson	Mar 7, 1920	1	0	90	-	90	-	Sunderland A.F.C.
GK	Bert Williams	Jan 31, 1920	2	0	180	90	-	90	Wolverhampton Wanderers
MF	Billy Wright	Feb 6, 1924	3	0	270	90	90	90	Wolverhampton Wanderers

[edit] Scotland

Head coach: none, SFA Selection Committee

Pos.	Player	DoB	Games played	Goals	Minutes played				Club
MF	George Aitken	May 28, 1925	2	0	180	90	90	-	East Fife F.C.
FW	Willie Bauld	Jan 24, 1928	1	0	90	-	-	90	Heart of Midlothian F.C.
GK	Jimmy Cowan	Jun 16, 1926	3	0	270	90	90	90	/2^[8] Greenock Morton
DF	Sammy Cox	Apr 13, 1924	3	0	270	90	90	90	Rangers F.C.
MF	Bobby Evans	Jul 16, 1927	2	0	180	90	90	-	Celtic F.C.
MF	Alex Forbes	Jan 21, 1925	1	0	90	-	-	90	Arsenal F.C.
FW	Billy Liddell	Jan 10, 1922	2	0	180	-	90	90	Liverpool F.C.
FW	Alec Linwood	Mar 13, 1920	1	1	90	-	90	-	Clyde F.C.
FW	Jimmy Mason	Jun 18, 1919	1	1	90	90	-	-	Third Lanark
MF	Ian McColl	Jun 7, 1927	1	0	90	-	-	90	Rangers F.C.
FW	John McPhail	Dec 27, 1923	1	1	90	-	90	-	Celtic F.C.
FW	Willie Moir	Apr 19, 1922	1	0	90	-	-	90	Bolton Wanderers
FW	Henry Morris	Dec 17, 1919	1	3	90	90	-	-	East Fife F.C.
FW	Lawrie Reilly	Oct 28, 1928	2	1	180	90	90	-	Hibernian F.C.
FW	Billy Steel	May 1, 1923	3	1	270	90	90	90	Derby County
FW	William Waddell	Mar 7, 1921	2	2	180	90	-	90	Rangers F.C.
MF	Willie Woodburn	Aug 8, 1919	3	0	270	90	90	90	Rangers F.C.
DF	George Young	Oct 27, 1922	3	0	270	90	90	90	Rangers F.C.

[edit] Ireland (IFA)

Head coach: none, managed by a committee

Pos.	Player	DoB	Games played	Goals	Minutes played				Club
DF	Tom Aherne	Jan 26, 1919	1	0	90	-	-	90	/2^[8] Luton Town
MF	Danny Blanchflower	Feb 10, 1926	2	0	180	90	-	90	/2^[8] Barnsley F.C.
DF/MF	Gerry Bowler	Jun 8, 1919	3	0	270	90	90	90	/2^[8] Hull City
FW	Bobby Brennan	Mar 14, 1925	3	1	270	90	90	90	Birmingham City
FW	Davy Cochrane	Aug 14, 1920	2	0	180	90	90	-	/2^[8] Leeds United
FW	Eddie Crossan	Nov 17, 1925	1	0	90	90	-	-	/2^[8] Blackburn Rovers
MF	Ray Ferris	Sep 22, 1920	1	0	90	90	-	-	Birmingham City
DF	Jim Feeney	Jun 23, 1921	1	0	90	-	90	-	/2^[8] Swansea Town
GK	Hugh Kelly	Aug 17, 1919	2	0	180	-	-	90	Fulham F.C.
GK	Patrick Kelly	Apr 9, 1918	1	0	90	90	-	-	/2^[8] Barnsley F.C.
FW	Jimmy McCabe	Sep 17, 1918	1	0	90	-	90	-	/2^[8] Leeds United
FW	Johnny McKenna	Jun 6, 1926	3	0	270	90	90	90	Huddersfield Town
DF	Alf McMichael	Oct 1, 1927	2	0	180	90	90	-	Newcastle United
DF	Con Martin	Mar 20, 1923	1	0	90	-	-	90	Aston Villa
MF	Reg Ryan	Oct 30, 1925	1	0	90	-	-	90	West Bromwich Albion
FW	Sammy Smyth	Feb 25, 1925	3	3	270	90	90	90	Wolverhampton Wanderers
FW	Charlie Tully	Jul 11, 1924	1	0	90	-	90	-	Celtic F.C.
MF	Jackie Vernon	Sep 26, 1918	3	0	270	90	90	90	West Bromwich Albion
FW	Davy Walsh	Apr 28, 1923	1	0	90	-	-	90	West Bromwich Albion

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ www.rsssf.com
^ The World Encyclopedia of Football (2004): Tom Macdonald [1]
^ Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-851129-54-4.
^ The Boys In Green - The FAI International Story (1997): Sean Ryan [2]
^ www.independent.ie
^ The World Cup - The Complete History (2002): Terry Crouch
^ The Boys In Green - The FAI International Story (1997): Sean Ryan
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l The number indicates the league the team played in that year.