Dumbarton

Kit History

Dumbarton

1872-1889

1872-1887 b n

1887 n

1888-1889 b n

Dumbarton Athletic

1881-1889

1881-1885 p

1885-1887 p

1887-1889 p

Dumbarton

1889

Formed by the merger of Dumbarton and Dumbarton Athletic.

1889-1897 b n

1897-1904 n

1907-1908 n

1909-1911 n

1912-1913 d

1913-1914 n

1914-1916 n

1916-early 1919 n

late 1919-1920 n

1920-1921 n

1921-1922 n

1922-1924 n

1924-1925 i n

1928-1929 n

Corroboration needed

1927-29 away n

1936-1937 c1 n

1937-1938 n

1942-1957 n

1957-1958 n

Last season's shirts worn in cold weather

1960-1961 n

1961-1962 n

1962-1964 n

1965-1967 n

1967-1969 n

1969-1973 c4 n

1973-1974 c3 i

1974-1977 n

Admiral

early 1977-1978 n

Admiral

mid 1977-1978 c2 n

Umbro

1979-1983 n o p

1984-1985 i

Umbro

1985-1986 m p

Umbro

1986-1987 p

1987-1988 p

1988-1989 p

circa 1990 h

Spall

1991-1993 k m

Diadora

1993-1994 d m

Diadora

1995-1996 m

Xara

2000-2002 m

Xara

2002-2004 e f m

Vandanel

2004-2006 g m

Vandanel

2006-2007 a

Vandanel

2007-2008 a

Surridge

2008-2009 a

Background

dumbarton fc 1936 In 1872 a group of young men from Dumbarton resolved to form a football club after watching a match between Queen's Park and neighbouring Vale of Leven. A year later Dumbarton FC registered with the Scottish FA and in 1879 they moved into the unattractively named Boghead Park. For five years they remained unbeaten at home, establishing themselves as one of the leading clubs in the West of Scotland. They appeared in six Scottish FA Cup finals, winning the tournament in 1883. They then went on to thrash English FA Cup holders Blackburn Rovers 6-1 to be hailed as unofficial champions of Great Britain. Dumbarton competed regularly in the English FA Cup until 1887 when the Scottish FA ruled that Scottish clubs could no longer take part in the English competition.

In 1884 the Dunbartonshire FA Cup was inaugurated and over the next 50 years Dumbarton FC won the competition no fewer than 23 times.

In 1889 the club merged with neighbours Dumbarton Athletic; the new team continued to play as Dumbarton and to wear that team's black and gold colours.

In 1890 Dumbarton helped form the Scottish Football League and tied with Rangers on points for the title. Since no mechanism had been agreed to separate clubs that finished level on points, a play-off was arranged. After this match was drawn, the two clubs shared the championship. The following season Dumbarton won the competition outright, two points ahead of Celtic.

In 1893 the Scottish FA belatedly recognised professionalism but Dumbarton continued to hold fast to amateur principles. This proved a costly decision as most of their best players moved to clubs where they could earn a wage. In 1895 and 1896 they finished last and had to apply for re-election. They were unsuccessful in 1896 and were relegated to Scottish Division Two. After finishing in last place in 1897 the club resigned.

After several seasons in the non-league wilderness when they almost went out of existence, Dumbarton were elected back into the Scottish Second Division in 1906. In 1911 they won the Second Division championship but failed to be elected to the First Division. In 1913 it was decided to increase the First Division by two members to 20 clubs: despite having finished in sixth place, Dumbarton were elected to fill one of the vacancies along with champions Ayr United. They continued to compete in the First Division throughout the Great War but in 1922 they were relegated to the newly reinstated Scottish Second Division.

During the inter-war period the club generally finished in the top half of the Second Division apart from 1936 when they took the wooden spoon.

After the Second World War, Dumbarton resumed their career in Division B (second tier) and in 1954 they were relegated to Division C, made up largely of reserve teams. Once again the club was on the verge of closing before a new board was appointed to keep the team alive. In 1955 the C divisions were scrapped and Dumbarton returned to an enlarged Second Division.

The club continued to languish in the Second Division and survived yet another financial crisis in the 1960s before going through something of a resurgence. In 1970 they took Celtic to extra-time in a League Cup semi-final before going down 3-4. In 1972 they won the Second Division championship in a dramatic finale by beating Berwick Rangers in the last game of the season. After narrowly surviving their first season back at the highest level for 50 years, Dumbarton found themselves back in the second tier when the Scottish League was restructured in 1975 with the formation of the Premier Division. Although they reached the Scottish Cup semi-final stage in 1976, it would be a long struggle to improve their status.

In 1984 Dumbarton were promoted to the Premier Division. Completely out of their depth, they were relegated the following season. Instability on and off the field contributed to further relegations and in 1997-98, Dumbarton were playing in the Scottish Third Division (fourth tier).

In recent years the club has undergone something of a revival. The club left their dilapidated Boghead Park in 2000 to move into the all-seat Strathclyde Homes Stadium and won promotion to the third tier in 2002. Their new ground nestles beneath Dumbarton rock, a spectacular volcanic mass rising 240' (73 metres) above the River Clyde. They are known as "The Sons" from "The Sons of the Rock."

Historical Football Kits

Kit History

Background

Sources