Club History | Season 1959-1960
Dunfermline finished 13th, 7 points clear of second bottom club Stirling Albion. Top scorer was Charlie Dickson with a remarkable 29 goals. Jock Stein`s team were not only unbeaten but had won every game under his charge.
This was the first season for which I kept any sort of records. At nearly ten years of age, I had been to games with my father and grandfather, but started to go to more games. I did not know that by the end of the season a revolution would take place which shook The Pars out of their bumbling existence. During the close season a row had broken out between the Supporters Club and the board, which resulted in the Supporters Club being evicted from their space at East End Park. They found new premises in St Margaret Street at Jubilee House. New signings arriving were Cammy Fraser from Gairdoch, George Miller from Royal Albert, Davie Thomson from Bo`ness. Leaving were Jimmy Watson, who became a coach and George Duthie. Ian Bain became Player/Coach.
The season began, as usual, with the League Cup. Clyde, St Mirren and Third Lanark made up the section. Shawfield was the first port of call and 0-0 the result. The first home match was against St. Mirren who were soundly beaten 3-0. Two goals for George Peebles and one for Charlie Dickson. The halfway stage brought a shocking 6-1 defeat away to Third Lanark. As was the norm, in those days, the opening League game was next and Motherwell were thrashed 6-0 at East End Park, in front of a crowd of 12,741. Back to the League Cup and Clyde won 4-1 at East End. A good 2-1 win at Love Street was not sustained and both the month of August and the League Cup campaign finished with a 3-2 defeat, at home to Third Lanark.
After such a good start to the League season, September got off to a disappointing start when Athletic lost the Fife derby 3-2 at Starks Park. Aberdeen were next to visit and returned north with a 3-1 win. Hearts continued the misery, winning 3-1 at Tynecastle. It was not until the end of the month that some comfort was felt, when Third Lanark were beaten 3-1 at East End Park. Rangers won 4-1 at Ibrox to get The Pars off to a losing start in October but after a midweek friendly win 3-2 away to Inverness Caley, Arbroath were thrashed 5-1 at East End Park. No chance to celebrate as the following week it was Athletic who were cuffed 7-4 away to Hibs. A 3-3 draw away to Ayr United was followed by the inauguration of the floodlights in a special match against Sheffield United. Unfortunately an entertaining match, ended in defeat 3-4. The month finished with a 3-3 draw at home to Partick Thistle. With only 8 points from 10 games, Dunfermline paid £2,000 to Hearts for Jimmy Wardhaugh, who had starred for them throughout the 50`s but was nearing the end of his career.
November`s fixtures began at Dens Park, with a 3-2 defeat. The Penman Cup was still played for in those days and Raith Rovers were defeated 2-0 at East End Park. Jimmy Wardhaugh scored in the 4-2 defeat at Celtic Park and again in the 2-1 win at home to St. Mirren. Another floodlit friendly was next on the agenda, in which Birmingham City were well beaten 5-2 but the month ended with a narrow 3-2 defeat at Rugby Park.
December arrived with yet another defeat, this time 6-3 away to Airdrie and although both Charlie Dickson and Jimmy Wardhaugh scored two goals, Athletic still managed to lose 5-4 at home to Clyde. A tough 1-1 draw at home to Stirling Albion was followed, on Boxing Day, with another 1-1 draw, this time at Fir Park. It was rumoured that The Pars were trying to sign Blackpool keeper George Farm. His time at East End would come later. What would a new year and new decade bring? Ne-er Day arrived with a 2-0 home defeat from Raith Rovers. The following day Dunfermline returned from Pittodrie with a 1-1 draw. A tough match at home to Hearts finished 2-2 but things started to go wrong again with a 2-0 defeat away to Third Lanark. Rangers were the next visitors and handed out a 5-0 thrashing. The month ended with a home cup tie against St. Johnstone but it ended in stalemate 1-1.
The month of February got off to a flier when The Pars won the cup replay 4-1 in Perth. They followed this with a 2-2 draw away to Arbroath but slumped to a home defeat in the next round of the Cup, losing 3-2 to Stenhousemuir. £3,000 was paid to Raith Rovers to bring in striker Jim Kerray. He scored in the 2-2 draw at home to Hibernian which brought the month to an end. Jim Kerray scored again in the first game in March, which was at home to Ayr United, but the team contrived to lose 4-3. A 2-0 defeat at Firhill maintained the misery and with a 2-2 draw at home to Dundee, Andy Dickson`s reign came to an end. Could anyone save the desperate situation?
On 13th March 1960, the Dunfermline Athletic board made a decision which would change things forever. Celtic coach Jock Stein, who had recently turned down Partick Thistle, was appointed manager of The Pars. He had just a few days to prepare his team for the next home match, ironically against Celtic. Jock`s first team selection was Eddie Connachan, Cammy Fraser, John Sweeney, Jimmy Wardhaugh, Jimmy Stevenson, Ron Mailer, George Peebles, Alex Smith, Charlie Dickson, Jim Kerray and Harry Melrose. Within a minute, Charlie Dickson had put The Pars ahead and although Celtic equalised, two goals, soon after the interval, from Harry Melrose had Athletic fans in dreamland. The Hoops pulled another goal back but the homesters held on for a precious victory. Jock`s motivational and coaching skills had changed the team beyond recognition and the next game brought a splendid 2-0 win at Love Street.
The first game in April was a tough one, at home to Kilmarnock. Killie were were on a run of 21 games without defeat, were challenging for the League title and had reached the Cup Final. A superb 40-yarder from Ron Mailer won the game for The Pars. Airdrie at home was next and a Charlie Dickson goal divided the teams. Jock was building an unbeaten run of his own. Not bad for a team threatened with relegation. When Clyde were beaten 3-1 at Shawfield, the fans really started to believe. Jim Kerray and an Alex Smith hat-trick brought a 4-1 win back from Annfield to keep the run going and complete the League season.
Dunfermline finished 13th, 7 points clear of second bottom club Stirling Albion. As usual, the top scorer was Charlie Dickson with a remarkable 29 goals. Jock Stein`s team were not only unbeaten but had won every game under his charge. We did not know then, but it was only the beginning.
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