# 1953–54 in Scottish football

The 1953–54 season was the 81st season of competitive football in Scotland and the 57th season of the Scottish Football League.

## Scottish League Division A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Celtic | 30 | 20 | 3 | 7 | 72 | 29 | +43 | 43 |
| 2 | Heart of Midlothian | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 70 | 45 | +25 | 38 |
| 3 | Partick Thistle | 30 | 17 | 1 | 12 | 76 | 54 | +22 | 35 |
| 4 | Rangers | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 56 | 35 | +21 | 34 |
| 5 | Hibernian | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 72 | 51 | +21 | 34 |
| 6 | East Fife | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 55 | 45 | +10 | 34 |
| 7 | Dundee | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 46 | 47 | −1 | 34 |
| 8 | Clyde | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 64 | 67 | −3 | 34 |
| 9 | Aberdeen | 30 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 66 | 51 | +15 | 33 |
| 10 | Queen of the South | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 72 | 58 | +14 | 32 |
| 11 | St Mirren | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 28 |
| 12 | Raith Rovers | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 56 | 60 | −4 | 26 |
| 13 | Falkirk | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 47 | 61 | −14 | 25 |
| 14 | Stirling Albion | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 39 | 62 | −23 | 24 |
| 15 | Airdrieonians | 30 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 41 | 92 | −51 | 15 |
| 16 | Hamilton Academical | 30 | 4 | 3 | 23 | 29 | 94 | −65 | 11 |
Champions: Celtic Relegated: Airdrieonians, Hamilton Academical

## Scottish League Division B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Motherwell | 30 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 109 | 43 | +66 | 45 | Promotion to the 1954–55 Division A |
| 2 | Kilmarnock | 30 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 71 | 39 | +32 | 42 | Promotion to the 1954–55 Division A |
| 3 | Third Lanark | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 78 | 48 | +30 | 36 | |
| 4 | Stenhousemuir | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 66 | 58 | +8 | 36 | |
| 5 | Morton | 30 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 85 | 65 | +20 | 33 | |
| 6 | St Johnstone | 30 | 14 | 3 | 13 | 80 | 71 | +9 | 31 | |
| 7 | Albion Rovers | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 55 | 63 | −8 | 31 | |
| 8 | Dunfermline Athletic | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 31 | |
| 9 | Ayr United | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 30 | |
| 10 | Queen's Park | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 56 | 51 | +5 | 27 | |
| 11 | Alloa Athletic | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 50 | 72 | −22 | 24 | |
| 12 | Forfar Athletic | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 38 | 69 | −31 | 24 | |
| 13 | Cowdenbeath | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 67 | 81 | −14 | 23 | |
| 14 | Arbroath | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 53 | 67 | −14 | 23 | |
| 15 | Dundee United | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 54 | 79 | −25 | 22 | |
| 16 | Dumbarton | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 51 | 92 | −41 | 22 | Relegated to the 1954–55 Division C |
Promoted: Motherwell, Kilmarnock Relegated: Dumbarton

## Scottish League Division C

| Section | Winner | Runner-up |
| South-West | Rangers 'A' | Partick Thistle 'A' |
| North-East | Brechin City | Aberdeen 'A' |
Promoted: Brechin City

## Cup honours

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Scottish Cup | Celtic | 2–1 | Aberdeen |
| League Cup | East Fife | 3–2 | Partick Thistle |
| Junior Cup | Sunnybank | 2–1 | Lochee Harp |

## Other Honours
### County

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Aberdeenshire Cup | Buckie Thistle | | |
| Ayrshire Cup | Kilmarnock | 5 – 1 * | Ayr United |
| East of Scotland Shield | Hearts | 1 – 0 | Hibernian |
| Fife Cup | East Fife | 2 – 2 | Raith Rovers |
| Forfarshire Cup | Dundee United | 3 – 1 | Arbroath |
| Glasgow Cup | Rangers | 3 – 0 | Third Lanark |
| Lanarkshire Cup | Motherwell | 3 – 0 | Hamilton |
| Renfrewshire Cup | Babcock & Wilcox | 3 – 3 | Morton |
| Stirlingshire Cup | Stirling Albion | 2 – 1 | Stenhousemuir |
* * - aggregate over two legs

### Highland League

Top Three :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Buckie Thistle | 28 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 93 | 38 | +55 | 46 |
| 2 | Elgin City | 28 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 77 | 49 | +28 | 38 |
| 3 | Inverness Caledonian | 28 | 15 | 4 | 9 | 79 | 64 | +15 | 34 |

## Scotland national team

Scotland qualified for their first ever World Cup in 1954 which was held in Switzerland.
| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Competition | Scotland scorer(s) |
| 3 October 1953 | Windsor Park, Belfast (A) | Northern Ireland | 3–1 | BHC / WCQG3 | Charlie Fleming (2), Jackie Henderson |
| 4 November 1953 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Wales | 3–3 | BHC / WCQG3 | Allan Brown, Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly |
| 3 April 1954 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | England | 2–4 | BHC / WCQG3 | Lawrie Reilly (2) |
| 5 May 1954 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Norway | 1–0 | Friendly | George Hamilton |
| 19 May 1954 | Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo (A) | Norway | 1–1 | Friendly | John Mackenzie |
| 25 May 1954 | Olympic Stadium, Helsinki (A) | Finland | 2–1 | Friendly | Willie Ormond, Bobby Johnstone |
| 1954 World Cup ||||||
| 16 June 1954 | Sportplatz Hardturm, Zurich (N) | Austria | 0–1 | WCG3 | |
| 19 June 1954 | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel (N) | Uruguay | 0–7 | WCG3 | |
Key:
* (H) = Home match
* (A) = Away match
* BHC = British Home Championship
* WCQG3 = World Cup qualifying – Group 3
* WCG3 = World Cup – Group 3