Teams with Most Wins in Prestigious Beighton Cup
Beighton Cup is India’s oldest hockey tournament – instituted in 1895, this prestigious domestic hockey tourney was initially organized by the Indian Football Association, until the Bengal Hockey Association took over in 1905. Named after its donor late T D Beighton, Legal remembrance to the Government of West Bengal, this tournament was initially held on natural grass at the Mohan Bagan Ground in Kolkata before the championship was shifted to the Astroturf at the Sports Authority of India (SAI complex. The championship is now organised by Hockey Bengal.
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The Beighton Cup has earned the respect of all and sundry – even hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand rates the 1933 Beighton Cup final between Jhansi Heroes and Calcutta Customs AC the most memorable match of his career in his autobiography ‘Goal’. “If anybody asked me which was the best match that I played in, I will unhesitatingly say that it was the 1933 Beighton Cup final between Calcutta Customs and Jhansi Heroes. Calcutta Customs was a great side those days,” he says in his book. Major Dhyan Chand suffered a serious bout of dysentery, even as his team had to play five matches in four days, but despite ill-health because he played all the matches, including the final and was instrumental in Jhansi Heroes cornering glory.
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Calcutta Naval Volunteers A.C. won the inaugural Beighton Cup in 1895 as well as in the subsequent years. Mohun Bagan have won the Beighton Cup on most occasions – 14 times. Interestingly, all their triumphs came in the fifties, sixties, and seventies. For four decades, Mohun Bagan have not won the Beighton Cup. Kolkata Customs have won the Beighton Cup 14 times. Calcutta Naval Volunteers A.C later renamed Kolkata Rangers have won the Beighton Cup 9 times. Indian Oil is the next successful team with 7 title wins while Society for the Promotion of Gospel (SPG), Ranchi, Bengal-Nagpur Railway, Kharagpur and Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB), Jallandhar have won the Beighton Cup six times each. Punjab Police and Punjab & Sind Bank have won the Beighton Cup 5 times.
| Team | Number of Times Won |
| Mohun Bagan | 14 (1952, 1958, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979) |
| Kolkata Customs | 12 (1908, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1925, 1926, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1935, 1938, 1965) |
| Calcutta Naval Volunteers A.C/ Kolkata Rangers | 9 (1895, 1896, 1899, 1911, 1913, 1915, 1917, 1934, 1942) |
| Indian Oil | 7 (2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019) |
| Society for the Promotion of Gospel (SPG), Ranchi | 6 (1897, 1898, 1902, 1903, 1906, 1907) |
| Bengal-Nagpur Railway, Kharagpur | 6 (1937, 1939, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1987) |
| Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB), Jallandhar | 6 (1971, 1972, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2005) |
| Punjab Police | 5 (1966, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2008) |
| Punjab & Sind Bank | 5 (1999, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008) |
| Army Service Corps, Bangalore | 4 (1976, 1979, 1989, 1991) |
| Tata Sports Club, Mumbai | 4 (1949, 1950, 1953, 1954) |
| East Bengal, Kolkata | 4 (1957, 1962, 1964, 1967) |
| Electrical & Mechanical Engineers (EME) Jallandhar | 3 (1982, 1983, 1990) |
| Army XI, Jallandhar | 3 (1992, 1993, 1994) |
| Bengali Youngmen Association, Lucknow | 3 (1916, 1918, 1923) |
| Railway Recreation Club, Asansol | 3 (1920, 1929, 1982) |
