When discussing football in Scotland the conversation always revolves around Glasgow’s two giants. 

Between them they have won every league title in Scotland since 1985 & when both are playing in Scotland’s top tier you can be almost guaranteed the one who doesn’t win the league will be the runner-up. Add into the mix the occasional European adventure such as reaching the UEFA Cup finals of 2003 & 2008 or the odd European giant-killing (Celtic 2 - 1 Barcelona, 2012), it is easy to see why the conversation rarely shifts away from Celtic & Rangers.

For pure football fans who might be from slightly further afield than Scotland, you could forgive them for thinking that Glasgow is indeed the capital city of Scotland. Celtic & Rangers play there & the national stadium of Hampden Park is also located there.

But as the majority will know it is in fact Edinburgh that is the capital city of Scotland & it is the derby there that we are going to be examining here; Heart of Midlothian FC v Hibernian FC.

Christmas Day of 1875 was the date of the first meeting of the clubs commonly known today as Hearts & Hibs. The two had to wait 20 more years to meet in their first official league meeting in 1895, a 1-0 win for Hearts. In that twenty-year interval from 1875 to 1895 there were a handful of cup & friendly games between them. 

However, since 1895 the two have been virtually inseparable.

The History of Hearts

Heart of Midlothian FC were first to be formed in 1874. The origin of their name & their commonly known nickname “Hearts” is an interesting one. 

The Old Tolbooth on High Street in Edinburgh from 1660 - 1817 was a prison & was locally referred to as the “Heart of Midlothian”. Despite being demolished, since 1860 there has been a heart-shaped stone formation marking the old entrance of the prison. Upon the foundation of the football club, the founding members decided to name the club after the Heart of Midlothian.

Hearts joined the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1875 & were all set to begin life in the Scottish leagues.

Of Scotland’s three major club competitions Hearts have collected 4 First Division titles, 8 Scottish Cups & 4 Scottish League Cups. Two of their Scottish Cup successes in 1896 & 2012 saw them defeat bitter rivals Hibs, which we will revisit later.

Success has dried up a bit in recent times with Hearts only winning a Scottish Cup in 2006 & 2012 since the turn of the century. Since that 2012 Cup success things were to get a little bit tumultuous for Hearts.

The club suffered from serious financial troubles & entered administration in 2013. This meant they started the 2013/14 on -15 points, a deficit they never recovered from & were relegated from Scotland’s top-flight.

They secured an immediate return, winning the Scottish Championship in 2014/15. However disaster was to strike again in 2020. Following a very poor season as far as March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic spelled an end to the Scottish football season. The SFA decided to take an average points tally as far as that point to determine the final standings & Hearts were relegated once again.

Once again though the “Jambos” showed their resilience & bounced back at the first time of asking & took their place back in the Scottish Premiership for the 2021/22 season.

The History of Hibs

Then just a year on from the birth of Hearts, along came their new city neighbours Hibernian FC, commonly known as “Hibs”.

Hibs’ inception story is very similar to that of Celtic FC in Glasgow & Dundee United in Dundee in that the club’s foundation was heavily linked to the Irish immigrants in the city. The club originated in the poor Cowgate area of the city which at the time was heavily populated by Irish immigrants who had fled Ireland during the famine in the 1840s.

The word “Hibernia” is the Latin word for Ireland & Hibs’ strip has been green since the club was formed.

Within thirty years of their inception they won the Scottish Cup in 1887 & 1902, followed by a first ever First Division title the very next year in 1903.

Hibs also have the honour of being the first British to participate in the European Cup in 1955. Then throughout the 1960s Easter Road saw several famous European nights including ties against Barcelona, Real Madrid, Napoli & Juventus.

All in all Hibs have won 4 Scottish First Division titles, 3 Scottish Cups & 3 Scottish League Cups. Amazingly Hibs had to wait 114 years between their second & third Scottish Cup wins. Following their 2016 win around 150,000 Hibs fans lined the streets of the capital to greet the players & the trophy.

As with their city rivals the 21st century has also brought about relegation. Hibs were relegated following an 11th place finish in the 2013/14 season, but unlike the swift returns of Hearts, Hibs did not make it back to Scotland’s top tier until promotion following the 2016/17 season.

The History of the Edinburgh Derby

As previously mentioned Hearts & Hibs first met on Christmas Day 1875 and have been virtually inseparable since. They have met 326 times competitively across the main three domestic competitions, as well as four meetings in the Scottish Championship (Second Division in Scotland) in the 2014/2015 season. These four league games have been the only time they have met in the league outside of Scotland’s top division.

Hearts have most definitely had the upper-hand down the years with 144 wins, compared to Hibs’ 86 wins. Draws are also very common in this fixture with 96 of them down the years.

In terms of goalfests and crazy games there have been a few alright…

1893 - Hearts 10 Hibs 2. 

1935 - Hearts 8 Hibs 3. 

1973 - Hibs 7 Hearts 0.

2000 - Hibs 6 Hearts 2.

2003 - Hearts 4 Hibs 4.

Two games that stand out & are celebrated by Hearts fans are two particular cup finals, one a very long time ago & one in recent memory.

The two met in the 1896 & 2012 Scottish Cup Finals & on both occasions the trophy left with the Jambos back to Tynecastle.  The scoreline was 3-1 in 1896 and then in the 2012 edition Hearts delivered a hammer blow to Hibs beating them 5-1 in a cup final that is now fondly remembered by Hearts fans as a “demolition derby”.

A 2-2 draw at Tynecastle in the 2016 Scottish Cup might not seem anything out of the ordinary, but the events of the game & what transpired after made it all the more significant for Hibs fans.

Hearts were 2-0 up approaching the 80th minute & seemingly cruising into the next round. But a late Hibs rally earned them a memorable 2-2 draw & a replay back at Easter Road. Hibs went on to win that replay & as we all know now Hibs then went on to win the 2016 Scottish Cup, their first Scottish Cup win in 114 years.

That late fightback at Tynecastle earned that Hibees team a place in club history.

The Fans

Both Hearts & Hibs have a large set of passionate fans. Everyone is aware of the divide between Celtic and Rangers fans and the political & religious differences between them. While there are some of these similarities in the differences betweens Hearts & Hibs fans, it is not nearly as severe as the divide in Glasgow. Sometimes the media tends to blow it out of proportion…

Hibs were founded in the poorest part of the city by Irish immigrants so have generally identified with the poorer & working-class of Edinburgh, as well as with those with Irish ancestry.

While Hearts have been traditionally supported by more of the middle-class of Edinburgh & would generally be seen as “more British” than their city neighbours. For example, you are a lot more likely to see a Union Jack in the home end at Tynecastle than at Easter Road.

It is always a big occasion when one of the big two from Glasgow come to Edinburgh, but there is a little more spice when Rangers visit Easter Road & Celtic come to Tynecastle for the reasons just mentioned above.

Looking for a derby rich in history & culture, & that is more than capable of producing some crazy scorelines? Look no further than the Edinburgh derby.