# 1948–49 in Scottish football

The 1948–49 season was the 76th season of competitive football in Scotland and the 52nd season of the Scottish Football League. Rangers became the first team to win the Scottish domestic treble. At the end of the season, Scottish Division C was split into two regional sections. It would be 26 years before a set-up with three national divisions would be in place again.

## Scottish League Division A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Rangers | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 63 | 32 | +31 | 46 |
| 2 | Dundee | 30 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 71 | 48 | +23 | 45 |
| 3 | Hibernian | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 75 | 52 | +23 | 39 |
| 4 | East Fife | 30 | 16 | 3 | 11 | 64 | 46 | +18 | 35 |
| 5 | Falkirk | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 70 | 54 | +16 | 32 |
| 6 | Celtic | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 31 |
| 7 | Third Lanark | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 56 | 52 | +4 | 31 |
| 8 | Heart of Midlothian | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 64 | 54 | +10 | 30 |
| 9 | St Mirren | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 51 | 47 | +4 | 30 |
| 10 | Queen of the South | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 47 | 53 | −6 | 30 |
| 11 | Partick Thistle | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 50 | 63 | −13 | 27 |
| 12 | Motherwell | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 44 | 49 | −5 | 25 |
| 13 | Aberdeen | 30 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 39 | 48 | −9 | 25 |
| 14 | Clyde | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 50 | 67 | −17 | 24 |
| 15 | Morton | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 22 |
| 16 | Albion Rovers | 30 | 3 | 2 | 25 | 30 | 105 | −75 | 8 |
Champions: Rangers
Relegated: Greenock Morton, Albion Rovers

## Scottish League Division B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Raith Rovers | 30 | 20 | 2 | 8 | 80 | 44 | +36 | 42 | Promotion to the 1949–50 Division A |
| 2 | Stirling Albion | 30 | 20 | 2 | 8 | 71 | 47 | +24 | 42 | Promotion to the 1949–50 Division A |
| 3 | Airdrieonians | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 76 | 42 | +34 | 41 | |
| 4 | Dunfermline Athletic | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 80 | 58 | +22 | 41 | |
| 5 | Queen's Park | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 66 | 49 | +17 | 35 | |
| 6 | St Johnstone | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 58 | 51 | +7 | 32 | |
| 7 | Arbroath | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 62 | 56 | +6 | 32 | |
| 8 | Dundee United | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 60 | 67 | −7 | 27 | |
| 9 | Ayr United | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 51 | 70 | −19 | 27 | |
| 10 | Hamilton Academical | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 26 | |
| 11 | Kilmarnock | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 58 | 61 | −3 | 25 | |
| 12 | Stenhousemuir | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 50 | 54 | −4 | 24 | |
| 13 | Cowdenbeath | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 53 | 58 | −5 | 23 | |
| 14 | Alloa Athletic | 30 | 10 | 3 | 17 | 42 | 85 | −43 | 23 | |
| 15 | Dumbarton | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 52 | 79 | −27 | 22 | |
| 16 | East Stirlingshire | 30 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 38 | 67 | −29 | 18 | Relegated to the 1949–50 Division C |
Champions: Raith Rovers, Stirling Albion Relegated: East Stirlingshire

## Scottish League Division C

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Forfar Athletic | 22 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 80 | 37 | +43 | 35 | Promotion to the 1949–50 Division B |
| 2 | Leith Athletic | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 76 | 29 | +47 | 33 | |
| 3 | Brechin City | 22 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 67 | 40 | +27 | 30 | |
| 4 | Montrose | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 59 | 50 | +9 | 25 | |
| 5 | Queen's Park II | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 52 | 52 | 0 | 24 | |
| 6 | Airdrieonians II | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 66 | 66 | 0 | 22 | |
| 7 | St. Johnstone II | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 42 | 44 | −2 | 22 | |
| 8 | Dundee United II | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 58 | 67 | −9 | 22 | |
| 9 | Raith Rovers II | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 56 | 60 | −4 | 19 | |
| 10 | Kilmarnock II | 22 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 41 | 54 | −13 | 13 | |
| 11 | Dunfermline Athletic II | 22 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 43 | 84 | −41 | 11 | |
| 12 | Edinburgh City | 22 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 28 | 85 | −57 | 8 | |
Source: RSSSF

## Cup honours

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Scottish Cup 1948–49 | Rangers | 4 – 1 | Clyde |
| League Cup 1948–49 | Rangers | 2 – 0 | Raith Rovers |
| Junior Cup | Auchinleck Talbot | 3 – 2 | Petershill |

## Other Honours
### National

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| B Division Supplementary Cup | St Johnstone | 4 – 1 * | Raith Rovers |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup - North | Inverness Caledonian | 3 – 0 | Clachnacuddin |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup - South | Leith Athletic | 5 – 2 | Brechin City |

### County

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Aberdeenshire Cup | Peterhead | 5 – 4 * | Deveronvale |
| East of Scotland Shield | Hibernian | 2 – 1 | Hearts |
| Forfarshire Cup | Dundee | 2 – 1 † | Arbroath |
| Glasgow Cup | Celtic | 3 – 1 | Third Lanark |
| Lanarkshire Cup | Albion Rovers | 2 – 1 | Airdrie |
| Renfrewshire Cup | Morton | 3 – 1 | St Mirren |
| Southern Counties Cup | Newton Stewart | | |
* * - aggregate over two legs
* † - replay

### Highland League

Top Three :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Peterhead | 30 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 120 | 35 | +85 | 51 |
| 2 | Clachnacuddin | 30 | 20 | 3 | 7 | 80 | 39 | +41 | 43 |
| 3 | Elgin City | 30 | 20 | 3 | 7 | 101 | 55 | +46 | 43 |

## Scotland national team

| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Competition | Scotland scorer(s) |
| 23 October 1948 | Ninian Park, Cardiff (A) | Wales | 3–1 | BHC | Willie Waddell (2), Lawrie Reilly |
| 17 November 1948 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Northern Ireland | 3–2 | BHC | Billy Houliston (2), Jimmy Mason |
| 9 April 1949 | Wembley Stadium, London (A) | England | 3–1 | BHC | Jimmy Mason, Billy Steel, Lawrie Reilly |
| 27 April 1949 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | France | 2–0 | Friendly | Billy Steel (2) |
Scotland were winners of the 1949 British Home Championship.
Key:
* (H) = Home match
* (A) = Away match
* BHC = British Home Championship