Aberdeen goalkeeper Harry Blackwell played in a waterproof coat and spent most of the club’s record 13-0 victory over Peterhead under an umbrella.
The Scottish Cup tie on February 10 1923 was hit by bad weather.
Blackwell, with nothing much to do, sheltered under an umbrella for long periods.
Peterhead were competing in the Aberdeenshire League when they progressed to the third round of the Scottish Cup following victories against Beith and Galston.
The Blue Toon were drawn at home to Aberdeen and it was even mentioned at the time that the Dons did not fancy their chances against a strong-going Peterhead team.
Money was in short supply after the First World War and Peterhead’s committee were never quite sure whether they were on the verge of a windfall or a catastrophe.
The players refused to play the game
But, knowing all about Peterhead’s financial woes, Aberdeen offered the Peterhead committee £300 to switch the game to Pittodrie.
The players were not happy and eight players walked out in protest after unsuccessfully demanding £10 a man to play which left the committee to patch together a team.
Including some players who were already cup-tied and ineligible to play!
Aberdeen winger Walter Grant led the slaughter with the opening goal and added three more in the second half as the Dons routed Peterhead by 13 goals without reply.
Vic Milne and Doug Thomson also claimed hat-tricks.
Rankine, Middleton and Smith made up the list of scorers at Pittodrie.
The Sunday Post reported: “The cup tie at Aberdeen was an absolute farce in more than one sense. Prior to the kick off, Peterhead were in difficulties about their team.
“Earlier in the week, the Peterhead players demanded £10 per man to play, win, draw or lose. The club officials refused the concession then but offered £10 for a win or draw or £5 in the event of defeat.
“The consequence was that eight regular Peterhead players did not take the field and substitutes had to be found.
“Amongst the players who assisted the Buchan team were, Hume, the ex-Aberdeen back, and Wiseman and Murray, both of Aberdeen University.
“The last two players have already committed themselves in a qualifying cup tie for the university against Peterhead.
“It was also found that their names were missing from the official lines handed to the referee.
“It is understood that the Aberdeen club are to report the matter to the Scottish Association, as the Peterhead officials were bound to know that both Wiseman and Murray were ineligible.
“Had Aberdeen been in danger of defeat it is understood that MacLachlan, the captain, received instructions to launch a protest before the finish.
“This, however was not necessary.
“Very little requires to be said about the game, which was played in a hurricane, while the pitch was in a wretched condition. With the wind in their favour, Aberdeen put on five goals in the first half, when against the gale in the second period.”
A bad day all round for everyone
The final score was the worst result in Peterhead FC’s history.
But, because of the weather, the expected large crowd never materialised and only 3,241 hardy souls attended the game.
With only £181 taken in gate money, Aberdeen were well out of pocket and were left with a deficit of nearly £120 after paying Peterhead their £300 guarantee.
So it was a bad day all round for everybody concerned.
The missing players, who had effectively gone on strike, subsequently left the club, formed another local team called The Wanderers and went back to The Links to play their games in front of decent crowds.
Former player, manager and chairman Colin Grant documented the 13-0 defeat at Pittodrie in 1923 in his handbook on the history of Peterhead FC in 2021.
He said: “I know there is a contradictory version of events in some Aberdeen FC records, which argues that it was actually Peterhead who requested the change of venue first and appealed to Aberdeen with finance in mind.
“But, whatever the truth of the matter, and much to the consternation of the local footballing fraternity, the Peterhead committee agreed to the switch and the players were incandescent with rage.
“As you can imagine, it was no-contest. Aberdeen were three goals up inside the first 10 minutes of the game and were 5-0 ahead at half-time.
“The match was played on February 10 1923, in torrential rain on a cold afternoon and it was reported that two Peterhead players left the field halfway through the second half, because they were suffering from exposure.”
Aberdeen are no stranger to racking up big scores like they did in 1923.
Aberdeen’s biggest friendly win on record was a 17-0 thrashing of FC Reginna during a tour of Canada in 1956.
The scorers were Harry Yorston (4), Graham Leggat (4), Johnny Allan (3), Paddy Buckley (2), Bob Wishart (2), Ken Brownlee and Jackie Hather.
Other notable friendly wins included a 9-1 scoreline against Wisla Krakow (Poland) in May 1911 and 11-2 v Drafn Drammen (Norway) in May 1929.
Raith Rovers suffered a 9-0 thrashing at Pittodrie in a League Cup tie in August 1983.
Eric Black bagged four, Billy Stark claimed a hat-trick while Ian Porteous and John Hewitt also scored.
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