The Football Association Challenge Cup, a model of a well-organised competition, had attracted but little attention from the football world in general. Considering the large number of clubs up and down the country playing association rules, the entry of only 37 clubs for the Cup in 1876/77 seems very small. The provincial clubs appeared to be quite indifferent but they, at least, could point to the expense of having to undertake long journeys in the fulfilment of cup-ties on a national scale as a reason for not competing, The London clubs not taking part must have had other reasons, one of which might have been the dislike of the competitive element, and another that the cup ties would interfere with an established fixture list. The watching public, too, seemed apathetic, none of the ties attracting large crowds.
As it was thought desirable that the later rounds of the FA Cup should be played off at Kennington Oval, some arrangement regarding the time of kick-off seemed necessary to accommodate two matches in one afternoon. A few short years before there appeared to be no reason why two ties should not take place simultaneously on the great expanse of the Oval, but that was before anybody had given a thought to the spectators. As soon as the value of the onlooker, both as a source of revenue and as part of the appreciation of the game, came to be realised, it was understood that he would have difficulty in watching two games at once with any degree of intelligence. Thus it came about that two ties in the third round, played on 20th January 1877 were played one after the other at the Oval, the first starting at the unusual hour of 20 minutes to two, with the kick-off for the other contest at 20 minutes past three.
On its inception, the Challenge Cup provided for few contingencies, its rules were of the simplest. It was soon seen, however, that the cup ties were something different from a series of friendly matches arranged as a competition, and that discrepancies which might be cheerfully overlooked in an ordinary club match could be regarded as positively unfair in a Cup game. Again, a club could pick and choose its opponents when compiling an ordinary fixture list of friendly matches, where as in the Cup ties the opposition had to be taken as the draw indicated; opponents whose conduct invoked disapproval would be taken off an ordinary fixture list, but in the Cup no such choice was permissible, As a consequence, regulations to counter possible abuses were inevitable.
It requires no effort of the imagination to understand two proposals put to the Cup Committee this season by Old Harrovians:
1) No club to be allowed to enter or compete whose rules do not restrict membership to those possessing a qualification, local or otherwise, and no player to take part unless so qualified;
2) That no-one be allowed to take part in any cup-tie unless he shall have been a duly elected member of, and has paid his subscription to, the club for which he desires to play at least one month previous to the date of the cup tie.
Compared with the lack of popularity attached to the English FA Cup, the Scottish Cup was a much more lively affair with a good entry and an interested public. The brilliant Queen's Park was almost invincible but there was no shortage of clubs willing to take them on. The Hampden men were acknowledged to be the best of all sides, but some of the others are quite useful; it was their bad luck that what should have been the palmy days for Vale of Leven, Rangers, Third Lanark Rifle Volunteers, Dumbarton, - all first-rate clubs, - were continually in the shadow of the great Queen's Park.
Except in the remoter parts of Scotland, the association game grew phenomenally, and nowhere more than in the Western districts where on any Saturday more than 150 teams were playing football.
The more important matches caused crowds to assemble in their thousands; when Vale of Leven played Third Lanark Rifle Volunteers, the North British Railway put on a special train to carry some of the enthusiastic multitudes.
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