Scottish Cup semi-final: St Johnstone v Celtic
Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Sunday 20 April Time: 15:00 BST
Coverage: Follow on BBC Sport website & app; listen on BBC Sounds or BBC Radio Scotland
What is it with Celtic and the Scottish Cup?
It was the first major trophy they won and, since that day on 9 April, 1892, they have continued a love affair with the competition that has seen them rack up record after record.
The Glasgow club will make yet another semi-final appearance on Sunday against St Johnstone as they look to lift the trophy for a third consecutive season.
Let us look at Celtic’s romance with the cup in numbers.
1 – It all began at Ibrox
Queen’s Park had won half of the first 18 Scottish Cup finals when they faced an emerging Celtic side on 12 March 1892.
The cup final was played at the home of city rivals Rangers, with new stands being erected at Ibrox to accommodate a then record crowd of 40,000.
With the pitch declared playable despite an inch and a half of snow covering the surface, Celtic emerged victorious thanks to a 60th-minute John Campbell goal.
However, following a joint protest from the two clubs to the Scottish FA, the match was declared void because of repeated crowd encroachment.
Campbell would find the net again in the replay in front of 26,000 a month later, with Alexander McMahon scoring a hat-trick and James Kelly grabbing Celtic’s other goal in a 5-1 win.
Celtic thus became the first club to complete the treble of Scottish Cup, Glasgow Cup and Glasgow Charity Cup.
2 – Rare defeats
Celtic head to Hampden on Sunday having won the Scottish Cup in the previous two seasons.
They defeated Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3-1 in the 2023 final and edged out Rangers 1-0 last May.
Two is also the number of times Celtic have failed to win a Scottish Cup tie in the last eight years – both against Rangers.
They lost 2-0 to their Old Firm rivals in the fourth round in April 2021 and 2-1 to the eventual cup winners after extra time in the semi-final a year later.
4 – Four in a row
Celtic hold the record for consecutive Scottish Cup final wins.
Aberdeen, Queen’s Park and Rangers have all won it three seasons in a row, but only Celtic have won it four times – between 2017 and 2020.
6 – Dominance established
Celtic have lifted the Scottish Cup six times in the last eight seasons, with only St Johnstone and Rangers breaking their grip on the trophy temporarily.
Indeed, they have won it seven times in the last 11.
6-1 – Hibs demolished
Celtic hold the record for the biggest Scottish Cup final victory.
Hibs travelled to Hampden in May 1972 full of confidence given their side contained lauded players such as John Brownlie, John Blackley, Alex Edwards, Pat Stanton, Arthur Duncan and Alan Gordon.
Celtic had suffered a shock 4-1 loss to Partick Thistle in the League Cup earlier in the season, but Jock Stein’s own star-studded side made no mistake this time, sweeping Eddie Turnbull’s team aside 6-1 in front of a crowd of 106,102.
Dixie Deans grabbed a hat-trick, Lou Macari a double and captain Billy McNeil the other as Gordon replied for Hibs.
8 – Trebles & Lennox
Celtic have won the domestic treble a record eight times and are on course for another, having already lifted the League Cup while leading the Premiership by 15 points. They last won the treble in 2022-23.
Eight is also the record number of Scottish Cup final appearances, held by legendary Celtic winger Bobby Lennox.
10 – Spiders caught
Celtic equalled Queen’s Park’s then record of 10 Scottish Cup final wins in March 1923.
Forward Joe Cassidy scored the only goal against Hibs in front of 82,000 at Hampden.
11 – New leaders
Two seasons after equalling Queen’s Park’s record, Celtic became the first club to surpass that total.
Patsy Gallacher and Jimmy McGrory scored the goals, with David McLean replying for Dundee in front of 75,317 at Hampden.
14 – Maley’s the boss
Legendary Celtic player and boss Willie Maley holds the record for the number of Scottish Cup final wins as a manager.
Born in Ireland but capped for Scotland, the former half-back first steered his side to a 2-0 victory against Rangers in 1899 and won it a 14th time 38 years later with a 2-1 win over Aberdeen in 1937 – the day before his 69th birthday.
31 – Leaving Rangers behind
Rangers have never again matched Celtic’s total of Scottish Cup final wins since they levelled the score at 31 each by defeating Dundee 1-0 at Hampden in 2003.
That was the first time they had been level since the Parkhead side beat their Ibrox rivals 3-2 to lift the trophy for a fourth time in 1904, and then lifted it for a fifth time three years later by defeating Hearts 3-0.
42 – Way out in front
Celtic have now lifted the Scottish Cup 42 times after last season’s 1-0 win over Rangers thanks to striker Adam Idah’s late winner.
That extended their lead over Rangers, who have won the trophy 34 times.
74 – McGrory goals
McGrory, who also played for Clydebank and went on to manage Celtic, holds the record for most Scottish Cup goals.
His 74 goals in the competition helped him create a British record of 550 in top-flight football and he remains Celtic’s all-time top scorer with 522 goals in 501 games – including a record 62 in one season.
94 – McNeill presence
Another club legend as both a player and manager, McNeill holds the record for the most Scottish Cup appearances.
McNeill, who captained the side to European Cup glory in 1967 and was team boss twice, played 94 times in the competition, winning it seven times.
147,365 – Packing Hampden
That aforementioned 2-1 win over Aberdeen in 1937 was watched by a record 147,365 fans packed into Hampden.
That is more than 11,000 more than the next highest attendance – in 1952 for Motherwell’s 4-0 win over Dundee.
