The 1928 British Home Championship was an international football tournament played between the British Home Nations, and the tournament in which the hobbled together yet sensational Scotland team known as “The Wizards of Wembley” would make their mark by crushing a highly fancied England squad 5-1 on their own turf. 
Scotland and England had both failed to win either of their first two games in the championship, and England’s record against the Scots at that time was rather poor. Earlier though, a Scottish Football league XI had lost 6-2 to an English Football League XI at Hampden Park, therefore England was finally the favourite to get one up over the Scots and the match was highly anticipated. So much so, that a large crowd gathered outside the headquarters of the Scottish FA just to hear the official team announcement.

 

They were left confused and concerned when Scotland mainstays Meiklejohn, McGrory, McPhail and McStay were left out. Newcomer Tom Bradshaw was given the unenviable task of marking Dixie Dean, the legendary and prolific Everton forward and one of the greatest players of all time who was in the midst of his famous 60-goal season, and four of England’s team played for Huddersfield, one of the strongest teams in the league at that time. Hughie Gallacher was also picked for Scotland, even though he hadn’t played for two months. The Scottish press were not happy, stating that the team were “simply not a great side”. In addition, Scotland’s players lacked the physical power of England’s. Everyone resigned themselves to the fact that England would win this time. The night before the game, Scotland’s captain Jimmy McMullan told his team mates to go to their beds and pray for rain, which would mean a heavy pitch that better suited the small Scottish forwards. Their prayers were answered when London woke up to heavy rain the following day. 

The game itself was just as dramatic. England hit the post in the first attack and Scotland responded when Alex Jackson headed in the opener after just 3 minutes. He and Morton on the wings made life difficult for the English defenders, forcing them wide and leaving plenty of space for Dunn, Gallacher and Alex James to play with. For most of the remainder of the half, England managed to keep Scotland at bay until a left-footed shot from James beat England’s keeper. 

The following half was possibly the most memorable 45 minutes in Scottish football history. Somehow, Scotland began to dominate the play. A precision cross by Morton resulted in another headed goal from Jackson, and moments later James was assisted my Gallacher to make it 4-0. Five minutes from full time Jackson struck again to score his hat-trick and make it 5-0. To England’s credit, they didn’t give up despite being well beaten. They finally scored with just a minute left to give the rain soaked home crowd at Wembley Stadium some ray of happiness. 

The aftermath of this historic game cannot be understated. Newspapers back in Scotland piled praise on their underdog no-hopers. The Scottish skipper gentlemanly commented that they were able to win by such a margin due to England’s poor choice of tactics which ended up placing themselves at the mercy of an underrated Scottish attack. For more than 30 years, football writer Ivan Sharpe kept the opinion that England were not just beaten, they were bewildered and made to look utterly inferior and added that he had never seen a performance to match Scotland’s in his entire life. 

Bizarrely, Tom Bradshaw never played another game for Scotland despite marking Dixie Dean out of the game, and the rest of The Wizards were never selected to play together again. 

Achievements: British Home Championship x1

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Star Player: Alex James DOB 14 September 1901, Mossend, Scotland

James is mostly noted for his time as a member of Herbert Chapman’s 1930’s Arsenal team, with whom he won 6 trophies. His usual role was that of a deep-lying creative midfielder, acting as a link between defence and attack, and he has been compared with Dennis Bergkhamp for his still of play, perhaps showing how far ahead of his time he in fact was. James suffered from rheumatism, and wore long johns while playing for warmth. To conceal these, he wore a baggy uniform, which became his trademark look. James joined started his professional career with Raith Rovers, and while he was there, they achieved their best ever league finish. After three seasons, preston North End forked out £3,000 for his services. He made 147 appearances for the Deepdale club while being paid the maximum amount allowed - £8 a week. He joined Arsenal in 1929 for £8,750, and made his Gunners debut two weeks before his 28th birthday. Arsenal weren’t allowed to directly pay James more than £8, so they supplemented his income by securing him a £250 a year job as a “sports demonstrator” at Selfridges department store. He played in Arsenal’s 1930 FA Cup win against Huddersfield. James played very deep in the midfield and subsequently only socred 27 goals, but he created many times that number, supplying ammunition to the likes of Hume, Jack, Bastin and Lambert. James only played 8 times for Scotland, including the famous 1928 Wembley Wizards game. 6 of these were alongside his good friend Hughie Gallacher. Scotland won every game the pair played together. During WWII, James served in the Royal Artillery. Afterwards, he became a journalist and ran a football pools competition. James died from cancer aged 51.