Archives | Leonard Jack 1970-1971
Leonard Jack had become an integral part of the tremendous success enjoyed by the Pars during the 1960s, accompanying the team on its many European adventures before becoming Chairman in 1970. Jack`s first act as Chairman was to terminate manager George Farm`s contract.
A native of Inverness, and by the late 1950s a leading local solicitor in Dunfermline, Leonard Jack first came to prominence with Dunfermline Athletic in early 1958 when the Pars Board, under the guidance of new Chairman David Thomson, were looking to take tighter control over decision-making at East End Park.
In the post-war period up to that point, every shareholder had a single vote, regardless of how many shares they owned, and this had led to a series of squabbles and resignations, and a lack of stability. The Board set about reducing the number of directors, increasing the guarantee that each Director had to provide, and determining that future voting would be based on the number of shares held.
At the Extraordinary General Meeting held on 10th April 1958, Leonard Jack, as the senior partner of the Dunfermline law firm Malcolm, Jack & Matheson, was introduced as the club`s Legal Adviser, and all of the proposed changes were approved. It was to be the start of a hugely successful period for the club, during which Leonard played a pivotal role.
Leonard was still not a member of the DAFC Board by the time that manager Andy Dickson resigned in February 1960, but he was to play a huge part in deciding on his successor. Former Celtic player Jock Stein was eager to start a managerial career but despite the vacancy being advertised in the national press, he didn`t apply for the post. Instead, he asked the influential Daily Record journalist Jim Rodger, to put in a good word for him with Athletic Chairman David Thomson.
As a result, Jock was invited to an interview for the manager`s post which was held in Leonard Jack`s office on Sunday, 13th March along with only one other candidate, Berwick Rangers manager and former East Fife player Danny McLennan. Perhaps mindful of the discrimination that was compelling him to leave Celtic to further his career, Stein reacted fiercely to a question which he wrongly assumed had been asked to determine his religious beliefs.
Given a voucher for a meal in the High Street`s Carousel Restaurant, he headed off thinking he had blown his chance. Thomson and Jack, however, had been impressed by a man whose ambition for the club matched his own and, on his return, a surprised Jock was offered the job. Leonard Jack`s influence was increasing, and on 3rd May 1960, the Board unanimously agreed to invite Leonard to join the Board of Directors.
Leonard became an integral part of the tremendous success enjoyed by the Pars during the 1960s, accompanying the team on its many European adventures. The success of the Sixties had been built by developing good young players signed from the junior ranks or from other senior clubs at bargain prices, ensuring a talented side as well as substantial profits if they ended up being transferred, which many of them were.
East End Park, too, was transformed thanks to the money brought in and the club was able to attract and keep better players due to wages and bonuses the equal of what Celtic and Rangers were paying. The club also enjoyed and benefited from European football but the trips, often awkward and expensive, had to be subsidised as they were never the earner that many thought.
As the Pars strived to maintain their status in the late 1960s, the flow of young talent began to evaporate and ever-larger sums were spent on players on whom the club was never likely to recoup their investment, either on the pitch or in transfer fees. In the year ending July 1970, Dunfermline lost £13,015, and alarm bells started to ring.
Dunfermline can rarely have had a worse start to a season than that suffered in 1970/71. The problems began before a ball had even been kicked. Alex Edwards and Barrie Mitchell rejected the new terms on offer and failed to turn up for pre-season training while Jim Fraser and Willie Callaghan submitted transfer requests. Willie Renton, who had signed only a monthly contract, was released when that expired.
It wasn`t just on the field that stress was taking its toll - on 30th September 1970, Chairman Andrew Watson tendered his resignation with immediate effect as he was suffering serious ill health. However, due to the club`s financial difficulties he agreed to remain on the Board while Leonard Jack took over as Chairman.
Jack`s first act as Chairman was to terminate George Farm`s contract with immediate effect the following day. The new Chairman refused to divulge his reasons but the fractured relationship between Farm and his senior players was as much a factor as the team`s poor form.
Former St. Mirren manager Alex Wright was appointed as Farm`s successor three weeks later with the Pars languishing at the bottom of the First Division. Wright turned to experienced professionals such as Jim Thomson and Hugh Robertson and, with Edwards back in the fold, the team took on a more familiar appearance.
Despite a marked improvement, the fans had to endure a run of sixteen league games without a win before Airdrie were beaten 4-2 on 19th December. This was the first of five straight home victories, the most crucial being a 1-0 defeat of St. Mirren which enabled the Pars to leapfrog their relegation rivals. Under Wright`s guidance the team lost just two of their thirteen league matches at East End, and subsequently survived relegation by the skin of their teeth.
Unfortunately, what was happening on the park was only a small part of the club`s problems `“ with dwindling crowds, the Pars were enveloped in a financial crisis during the summer of 1971 as they announced a loss of over £58,000 during the year. Leonard Jack, who was convalescing from illness in the Cotswolds, returned to oversee an appeal for financial help. Facing the same fate as Third Lanark four years earlier, the club pleaded for support from local businessmen while supporters did everything they could to assist.
A Patrons` Loans scheme met with a good response with £18,500 raised within a couple of weeks, even though the club was due to repay a £10,000 sum raised in 1962 to help pay for the Main Stand. This, together with the appointment of two new directors in Mel Rennie and Bill Jamieson and money raised by other means, was enough to assure the immediate survival of the club. Two highly publicised takeover bids from businessmen based outside Fife were considered and rejected.
Disaster was averted but the pressure over eleven difficult months took a heavy toll on the 58-year-old Chairman. On Sunday, 29th August 1971, a heart attack claimed the life of Leonard Jack, who had been Chairman for less than a year. His death was a terrible blow for Dunfermline Athletic - the club were relegated the following season, and in truth it took around fifteen years before a full recovery was made.
Hugely influential and respected throughout the game for his administrative ability and sound judgment, Jack helped re-structure the Boardroom on to a business footing and was instrumental in the success the club enjoyed throughout the 1960s. He was largely responsible for organising a new youth set-up which he saw as a solution to the problem of keeping a provincial club such as Dunfermline Athletic at the pinnacle of Scottish football.
A real character, he was to be badly missed around East End Park.
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