The 1888 Great Britain Tour was a series of association football matches played between a touring team from Canada organized by the Western Football Association, and several clubs from across the British Isles. The Canadian team finished their tour with 9 wins, 5 draws, and 9 losses in 60 days. [1] In 2003, the team was inducted into the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame for their accomplishments. [2]
WFA roster
| Name | Nation |
|---|---|
| Harry Bewell | 
CAN
|
| Harry P. Bingham |
CAN
|
| Walter W. Bowman |
CAN
|
| Solomon Brubacher |
CAN
|
| Dr. William Burnet |
CAN
|
| Alexander Noble Garrett |
CAN
|
| Alex Gibson |
CAN
|
| Tom Gibson |
CAN
|
| Dr. Edward Payson Gordon |
CAN
|
| Fred Killer |
CAN
|
| Charles (Carl) Kranz |
CAN
|
| Tom W. Murray |
CAN
|
| Dr Wilfred Pirt Mustard |
CAN
|
| Dr. Henry Hempton “Harry” Pirie |
CAN
|
| Dr. Walter Proudfoot Thomson ( c) |
CAN
|
| E.W. Webster |
CAN
|
| David Forsyth |
CAN / 
SCO
|
Results
Statistics
| Competition | First match | Last match | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
| Irish opponents | 1 September | 5 September | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 75.00 |
| Scottish opponents | 8 September | 18 September | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 20.00 |
| English opponents | 22 September | 30 October | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 22 | −1 | 35.71 |
| Total | 23 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 39 | 41 | −2 | 39.13 | ||
Last updated: 30 October 1888
Source:
Matches
Matches
All match records were retrieved from research done by Colin Jose. [1]
| 1 September 1 | County Antrim
 | 2–6 | WFA team | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
|
|
| 3 September 2 |
Distillery F.C.
| 3–2 | WFA team | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| 4 September 3 | Clarence Athletic Association
| 3–2 | WFA team | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| 5 September 4 | Y.M.C.A.
| 1–1 | WFA team | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| 8 September 5 |
Rangers
| 1–1 | WFA team | Govan, Scotland |
|
|
Stadium: Ibrox Park |
| 11 September 6 |
Queen's Park
| 3–1 | WFA team | Crosshill, Scotland |
|
|
Stadium: Hampden Park |
| 13 September 7 | Ayr
| 4–0 | WFA team | Ayr, Scotland |
|
| 15 September 8 |
Hearts
| 0–3 | WFA team | Edinburgh, Scotland |
|
Stadium: Tynecastle Park |
| 18 September 9 | Scotland XI
| 4–0 | WFA team | |
|
||||
| Note: The Scotland XI were not the national team. They were a team made up of Scottish league players from Cowlairs, Queens Park, Rangers, Renton, and Vale of Leven football clubs. | ||||
| 22 September 10 |
Sunderland
 | 0–3 | WFA team | |
|
| 26 September 11 |
Middlesbrough
| 2–3 | WFA team | |
|
| 29 September 12 |
Lincoln City
| 1–3 | WFA team | |
|
| 1 October 13 | Sheffield
| 1–1 | WFA team | |
| Note: It is unclear which particular Sheffield team played in this match (e.g. Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, etc.). | ||||
| 4 October 14 |
Notts County
| 2–0 | WFA team | Nottingham, England |
| Stadium: Trent Bridge Ground |
| 6 October 15 |
Newton Heath
| 0–2 | WFA team | |
|
| 8 October 16 |
Blackburn Rovers
| 4–1 | WFA team | |
|
| 13 October 17 |
Swifts
| 2–2 | WFA team | |
|
| 15 October 18 | Northampton County
| 2–3 | WFA team | Wellingboro, England |
| 17 October 19 |
Oxford University
| 1–1 | WFA team | |
|
| 20 October 20 |
Old Carthusians
| 1–0 | WFA team | |
|
| 22 October 21 |
Aston Villa
| 4–2 | WFA team | |
|
|
| 27 October 22 |
West Bromwich Albion
| 1–0 | WFA team | |
?  |
| 31 October 23 |
Swifts
| 1–0 | WFA team | London, England |
| Stadium: Kennington Oval |
References
- ^ a b Jose, Colin. "Overseas Tours by Canadian Teams: Great Britain Tour, 1888". Canadian Soccer History. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "Teams & Organisations of Distinction". Canada Soccer. Retrieved 5 June 2023.