Club History | Dunfermline Athletic Timeline

Key Dates in the History of Dunfermline Athletic Football Club

1874 Dunfermline Cricket Club form a football section and the first games are played at the Town Green.

1885 Dunfermline Athletic Football Club was formed at the Old Inn on 2nd June when the football members of the club decided to break away to form their own organisation.

1888 Won their first tournament, the Fife Cup, but were suspended from the Fife Football Association and turned junior.

1889 Dunfermline Athletic suffered their worst ever defeat, being beaten 11-1 by Hibernian in a Scottish Cup third round replay on 26th October. The first match at East End Park had ended as a 4-4 draw!

1899 On 24th July turned professional.

1903 Due to house building and drainage problems, the ground was moved further east to the present location.

1905 Played in the Scottish Cup proper for the first time

1910 Won the Central League Championship.

1911 Won the Scottish Qualifying Cup

1912 The club were admitted to the Scottish League and around this time seem to have adopted the nickname The Pars.

1919 The club severed connections with the Scottish League and were instrumental in establishing the very successful Central League.

1920 On 26 February Andy Wilson becomes the first Dunfermline player to be capped for Scotland.

1921 Following the huge success of the breakaway Central League, Dunfermline are among sixteen clubs who are invited on 14th May to form a Second Division of the Scottish League.

The club is formed into a public limited liability company.

1922 On 13th March the Board of Directors appoint William Knight as its first-ever manager.

The Supporters Association is formed, the first of its kind in Scotland, and the Directors become members.

1926 Dunfermline win the Second Division Championship and Bobby Skinner scores a club record of 53 league goals in the season.

1930 On 27th September, the club records its record league win - an 11-2 victory over Stenhousemuir.

1934 Dunfermline gain promotion to the First Division for the second time.

1939 Due to its proximity to military bases, Dunfermline was designated a `sensitive area` and the gathering of large crowds was prohibited. Later, these rules were relaxed and Dunfermline joined the north-eastern League, supported by a number of guests players including Liverpool`s legendary Billy Liddell.

1949 The club reach the Final of the Scottish League Cup, only to be beaten 3-0 by East Fife.

1955 Promotion is won under the guidance of manager Bobby Ancell, but relegation follows in 1957.

1958 The club wins promotion, scoring a record 120 league goals in the process.

1959 The club`s floodlights are turned on for the first time in a friendly match against Sheffield United.

1960 Mr Jock Stein is appointed Manager and wins six matches in a row to avoid relegation.

1961 The Scottish Cup is won for the first time, defeating Celtic 2-0 in the replay after the first game ended 0-0.

The first match in European competition sees Dunfermline defeat Irish side St Patrick`s Athletic 8-1 on aggregate.

Cammy Fraser becomes only second Pars player to receive a Scotland U23 cap v Wales in Wrexham

1962 The new Grandstand, which can seat over 3,000, is opened. Alex Edwards, at the age of 16 years and 5 days, became the youngest ever first team player for Dunfermline.

1965 in possibly the club`s finest season, Dunfermline lose out on the League title by one point and reach the Final of the Scottish Cup but are defeated 3-2 by Celtic.

1966 Alex Smith was transferred to Rangers for a fee of £51,000 - a record between Scottish clubs.

Alex Ferguson creates a new club record by scoring 31 goals in the First Division during season 1965/66.

1967 Alex Ferguson is capped on Scotland`s `unofficial` tour of Australia and New Zealand, and is transferred to Rangers for £65,000 - another record between two Scottish clubs.

1968 The Scottish Cup is won after Hearts are defeated 3-1. East End Park holds 27,816 for a League match against Celtic - a ground record.

1969 Dunfermline reach the semi-final of the European Cup Winners Cup, only to be defeated by eventual winners Slovan Bratislava.

1971 The club reveal losses of £58,338 during the year and take drastic action to avoid bankruptcy.

1973 Won promotion from Division Two with 95 goals - the highest goalscorers in Britain.

John Lunn, one of Dunfermline`s finest players of the 1960`s, died of leukaemia.

1979 The club win promotion to the First Division with a 1-1 draw against Falkirk in front of a record crowd for the new Second Division of 5,955.

1984 The club finish the season in 9th place in the Second Division - the lowest placing in the club`s history.

1986 The Second Division title is won, only the second major league title in the club`s history.

1987 History is created by winning promotion in successive seasons to reach the Premier Division for the first time.

1988 The club were relegated but, by way of compensation, won the Scottish BP Youth Cup.

1989 Won the First Division Championship, but lost the services of 22 year old centre half Gary Riddell who died tragically while running to raise money for the victims of the Hillsborough Disaster.

The club reaches the semi-final of the Scottish League Cup for only the second time, and in November, Dunfermline top the Premier League for the first time in the club`s history..

1990 Jim Leishman, after being unwilling to take up a non-football post, resigns after being the longest serving manager in one single spell with the club. Demonstrations by groups of fans fail to change the Board`s mind.

1991 Dunfermline reach the Final of the Scottish League Cup for only the second time in the club`s history but are beaten 2-0 by Hibernian.

1992 The club is relegated to the First Division with the lowest number of goals scored (22) in any season in the history of the club.

1993 Won the Scottish Reserve League (East), and narrowly fail to win promotion.

1994 Dunfermline Atheltic are the country`s top goal scoring team, beating the previous First Division record with 93 league goals. The team also amasses a record breaking 65 league points, but still fail to win promotion losing by one point to Falkirk.

1995 Dunfermline takes part in the first-ever play-off for a place in the Premier League after finishing runners-up in the First Division. They lose to Aberdeen, watched by almost 40,000 over the two legs.

1996 Dunfermline win the First Division title and re-join the Premier League. The club also reaches the semi-final of the League Cup competition.

1997 For the second successive season the semi-final of the League Cup is reached, and the club finish in fifth place in the Premier Division, the club`s highest standing since league reconstruction.

1998 Dunfermline is one of ten clubs to resign from the Scottish League to form a new League in Scotland for the first time in 108 years.

The club embarks upon the completion of an all-seated stadium at East End Park with the assistance of a £1.5 million grant. On 15th August the newly constructed East Stand is open for the first time, and on 26th September the West Stand, renamed the Norrie McCathie Stand was opened. The Norrie McCathie Stand incorporates new state-of-the-art changing facilities and management offices.

1999 The club is relegated to the first division but return to the Premier League in just one season under the helm of new manager Jimmy Calderwood.

2000 The directors agree on a refurbishment of the Main Stand which will see the creation of new bars, suites and corporate hospitality boxes.

2001 Against Poland in April, Barry Nicholson and Stevie Crawford become the first Dunfermline players in over 30 years to play in a full international for Scotland.

2003 Dunfermline becomes the first club in the UK to be authorised to use an artificial surface for first team games. UEFA provide a substantial grant for a two-year experiment to be monitored by the governing body. Dunfermline`s last game on grass took place on 9th August 2003 against Celtic, and the first match on the new surface took place on 20th September 2003 against Hibernian.

2004 Dunfermline achieve fourth place in the SPL and in the process reach their highest ever Premier League points total (53). The club also reaches their first Scottish Cup Final for 36 years, but were eventually beaten 3-1 by Celtic. Immediately after the match, manager Jimmy Calderwood resigns to take up the manager`s post at Aberdeen.

2005 Manager David Hay is sacked after failing to steer the club away from relegation. With just three games of the season to go, Jim Leishman is appointed as manager for the second time and works a miracle by keeping Dunfermline in the SPL. Despite appeals and an attempt to lay an improved artificial surface, Dunfermline are ordered by the SPL to replace the artificial surface with grass. The players accept a freeze on bonuses to help stave off financial problems.

2006 Dunfermline reach their seventh major national final but go down 3-0 to Celtic in the CIS Cup Final in March. After a disappointing start to the new season, manager Jim Leishman relinquishes the manager`s post in October to return to his previous post of Director of Football. The Board makes a surprise appointment, with Irishman Stephen Kenny becoming the club`s new manager.

2007 Poor league form put Dunfermline firmly at the foot of the table and despite a late rally were relegated. Despite that the club enjoyed a terrific Scottish Cup run to reach their third national final in three years. In the Final Dunfermline narrowly lost 1-0 to Celtic.

Dunfermline reached the Final of the Scottish League Challenge Cup only to lose 3-2 to St Johnstone. In December after continuing poor league form and the threat of further relegation, manager Stephen Kenny was dismissed to be replaced by Player-Manager Jim McIntyre.

2011 Dunfermline Athletic won the First Division Championship and returned to the SPL after an absence of three seasons.

2013 Club went into Interim Administration on 26th March and confirmed on 11th April.
Dunfermline U20s made the final of the SFA Youth Cup where they lost 3-1 to Celtic at Hampden. Lost play off final to Alloa Athletic and so were relegated from First Division.

2014 Lost Play off final to Cowdenbeath and destined for a second season in the third tier of Scottish football

2015 John Potter and Neil McCann take charge of the team after Jim Jefferies left in mid season. Dunfermline finished seventh in League One and Allan Johnston is appointed manager for 2015-2016.

2016 Dunfermline won League One on the last Saturday in March to secure the title with five more games to play. The club return to the second flight of Scottish football after a gap of three seasons.

Related Stories

• October 2013 - A New Beginning
• March 2013 Club enters administration
• 2015-2016 League One Champions
• 1995-96 First Division Champions