Hampden Park
Hampden Park has been the home of Scottish football for generations of football fans, a field of dreams shared by the masses. There was a time when Hampden was the biggest and best football stadium in the world. For the better part of a century, the world's greats have turned up at Mount Florida, amazed by the crowds on the terraces, with such passion and affection for their clubs and country.
Origin of the name
Hampden Park is the oldest international football stadium in the world. The name comes from the English Parliamentarian and Civil War soldier John Hampden, who fought on the side of the Roundheads (Puritans) in the 17th century. The terrace of houses, dubbed Hampden, looks down onto the holiday parks next to Victoria Hospital.
Popularity of the stadium
The popularity of football and the primacy of the Royal Park allowed the committee to correctly anticipate the success of what the stadium could bring. In 1903, Royal Park bought land in Mount Florida and built a new fort. The Scottish Cup final was held at Queen's Park as early as 1904. Of the 132 Scottish Cup finals, 89 have been played at Hampden Park. The tournaments have produced great finals such as Rangers v Dundee in 1964 and Motherwell's extra-time win over Dundee United in 1991.
Hampden breaks records
In 1937, Hampden Park set two records that have never been surpassed. On 17 April 1937, Scotland's first sold-out match attracted a crowd of 149,415, a UK record for any match, which saw Scotland defeat England by three to one. A week later, in the Scottish Cup final, a crowd of 146,433 - a European record for a club match - watched Celtic beat Aberdeen 2-1 with some 20,000 fans trapped outside.
Stadium in the 21st century
The spectacular matches and moments continue into the 21st century, not just from footballers, but also from music stars, boxers, Scottish claymores and fantastic athletes competing in the athletics competition held at Hampden Park during the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games year. Scotland have yet to achieve major victories in this new century, but despite this, Hampden Park brings joy, passion and roars from Scotland fans.
