On this day – September 12th

Arbroath 36-0 Bon Accord

...is the result of a football match between Arbroath and Bon Accord which took place on 12 September 1885. It held the largest margin of victory in professional football in a properly contested match.

Arbroath were drawn against Bon Accord in the first round of the Scottish Cup which was played on 12 September 1885. Although Arbroath were only founded seven years earlier in 1878 they were already vastly more experienced than Bon Accord who were only a year old.

The name "Bon Accord" was used to commemorate the watchword that initiated the storming of the Castle of Aberdeen during the Wars of Scottish Independence. At the time, any Scottish-based team could enter the Cup without any previous experience

Bon Accord are said to have arrived for the match without any form of standard football kit, a portent of what was to follow. With the teams being so mismatched, it was likely that Arbroath would win easily, but even in those days when high scoring games were common the result was unprecedented.

Arbroath were 15-0 up by half time, and scored another 21 goals in the second half. The Scottish Athletic Journal at the time wrote "The leather was landed between the posts 41 times, but five of the times were disallowed. Here and there, enthusiasts would be seen scoring sheet and pencil in hand, taking note of the goals as one would score runs at a cricket match"

Referee Dave Stormont later claimed that had he taken a harder line with the Aberdeen team, Arbroath could have won 43-0. Stormont said: "My only regret was that I chalked off seven goals, for while they may have looked doubtful from an offside point of view, so quickly did the Maroons carry the ball from midfield, and so close and rapid was their passing, that it was very doubtful whether they could be offside".

It was claimed that Arbroath goalkeeper Jim Milne did not touch the ball in the entire game and spent some of the match sheltering from the rain under a spectator's umbrella.

The 18-year-old John Petrie scored 13 goals, still the record for most goals scored in a senior tournament, although it was equalled by Archie Thompson when Australia beat American Samoa 31-0 on 11 April 2001 in a qualifier for the 2002 World Cup.

The unfortunate Bon Accord goal keeper on the day was Andrew Lornie.

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