Hampden Park (1873–83)


Hampden Park was a football ground in Glasgow, Scotland. The home ground of Queen's Park from 1873 until 1883, it was the first of three stadiums to bear the same name, and hosted the first-ever Scottish Cup final in 1874.

History

Hampden Park was built between the Queen's Park Recreation Ground and Hampden Terrace, taking its name from the road. The first enclosed stadium with turnstiles in the United Kingdom, it was opened on 25 October 1873 for Queen Park's first-ever competitive match, a Scottish Cup first round tie against Dumbreck, with Queen's Park winning 7–0. The ground later hosted the first Scottish Cup final, which saw Queen's Park beat Clydesdale 2–0. It was subsequently used to host the finals in 1875, 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880 and 1883.
Hampden was used to host several Scotland international matches; it was first used on 2 March 1878 for a 7–2 win against England, and a 9–0 win against Wales followed on 23 March. It hosted four more matches, the last being a 5–0 win over Wales on 25 March 1882.
In 1883 the club left Hampden Park due to plans by the Caledonian Railway to build the Cathcart branch across the site; they moved a few hundred metres east to a new ground, which they also named Hampden Park. However, it was not ready until 1884, until which home matches were played at the Titwood cricket ground owned by Clydesdale Cricket Club. In 1903 Queen's Park moved again to the current Hampden Park, with the second Hampden taken over by Third Lanark and renamed Cathkin Park.
The site of the first Hampden Park is now occupied by railway lines and a lawn bowling club named Hampden Bowling Club. In 2019, a mural was painted on the rear wall of the clubhouse on the theme of Scotland's 5–1 win over England in March 1882.