Historical Football Kits

 

Dundee

Formed 1893

Elected to Scottish League 1893

Withdrew from Scottish Division One 1917. Reinstated 1919

Kit History

 

 

 

East End

 

1877

1877-1886 n

1886-1888 n

1888-1889 n

1889-1890 n

1890-1893 n

 

 

 

Our Boys

 

1877

1877-1882 n

1882-1886 n

1886-1887 n

1887-1893 n

 

 

 

Dundee

 

1893

 

Formed by the merger of Our Boys and East End.

1893-1896 a n

1896-1901 n

1901-1902 a n

1902-1909 a n

1909-1914 a n

1919-1921 a n

1921-early1923 n

late1923-1925 n

dundee fc 1925-26

1925-1926 a n

1926-1928 n

dundee fc 1927-28 away kit

1927-1928 away n

1928-1933 n

dundee fc 1928-29 away kit

1928-1929 away n

1933-1934 a n

1934-1936 n

Oct1936-1945 a b n

1945-1946 n

1946-1952 a j n

1952-1954 a n

1955-1956 n

1956-1965 a n

1961-64 alt b e n

1965-1966 a

1966-1970 a n

1970-1971 n

1971-1972 n

1972-1973 q

1973-1976 a b n

Admiral

1976-1980 b d l n

Umbro

1980-1983 c l

Umbro

1984-1985 l

Umbro

1985-1987 l

Admiral

1987-1989 l m q

Matchwinner

1989-1990 m q

Matchwinner

1990-1991 l q

Matchwinner

1991-1992 l q

Asics
dundee fc 1992-93

1992-1993 l q

Asics
dundee fc 1993

1993-1994 q

Matchwinner

1994-1995 l q

Matchwinner

1995-1996 l q

Avec

1996-1998 l q

Avec

1998-1999 o

Xara

1999-2000 i q

Xara

2000-2001 i j q

Xara

2001-2002 f q

360

2002-2003 g i r

Xara

2003-2004 i k q

Xara

2004-2005 g j

Xara

2005-2006 g

Bukta

2006-2007 h q

Bukta

2007-2008 h

Bukta

2008-2009 h p

 

Background

our boys fc of dundee In the late-eighteenth century, two clubs were dominant in the city of Dundee. East End and Our Boys were both formed in 1877 played in the Northern League between 1891 and 1893, sharing the title in 1892.

In May 1893 East End FC and Our Boys FC merged to form Dundee FC with the intention of making an application to join the Scottish Football League. The new club was duly elected the following month to what would become the First Division with the formation of a Second Division. They had to apply for re-election in 1894, 1895 and again in 1899 (this was before automatic promotion and relegation) but their fortunes improved in 1903 when they finished as runners-up in both League and Cup.

In 1909 they finished one point behind champions Celtic and the following year they won their first senior honour, beating Clyde in the Scottish Cup final. They played no fewer than ten ties and five replays in this campaign as well as replaying the final.

In 1917 Dundee, Raith Rovers and Aberdeen withdrew from the Scottish First Division due to the difficulty of travelling during wartime. They returned in 1919 and had a strong run of success (finishing fourth three times in succession and reaching the Scottish Cup final in 1925) but during the 1930s they began to struggle and in 1939, Dundee were relegated to the Scottish Second Division.

After the Second World War, Dundee started out in the new Division B (second tier), winning the championship at the first time of asking. In 1949 they became within a whisker of winning Division A, finishing one point behind Rangers after a 1-4 defeat by Falkirk cost them the title. They did, however, win the League Cup in both 1951 and 1952.

The Dark Blue’s greatest triumph came in 1962 when they finally won the First Division title and Scottish League Champion’s flag was at last flown over Dens Park. The following season they reached the semi-final of the European Cup where they were knocked out by AC Milan, who went on to win the competition. During the 1967-68 season they reached the League Cup final once again but were beaten by Celtic and were knocked out of the Inter City Fairs Cup (the forerunner of the UEFA Cup) by Leeds United in the semi-final.

The Seventies was a decade of disappointment. They reached the Scottish FA Cup semi-finals five times only to be beaten by Celtic on every occasion and while they always finished in the top third of the table, they were not quite good enough to challenge for the title. They did, however, win another League Cup in 1973-74, ironically beating Celtic in the final. The restructuring of 1975 exposed Dundee's weakness and in 1976 they finished level on points with neighbours Dundee United and Aberdeen and were relegated because of their inferior goal average. In 1979 they returned as Division One champions, were immediately relegated and promoted once again the following season.

The Dees have struggled to keep their Premier Division status, enduring three spells in the First Division. The Dees have struggled to keep their Premier Division status, enduring three spells in the First Division. The last of these spells witnessed the Dees appearing in another League Cup final, losing out to Aberdeen in a 2-0 reverse in 1995/96. A solid league campaign 1997/98 brought promotion to the newly formed Scottish Premier League. Dundee FC recorded their highest league position in 30 years, finishing fifth. This was the first time that Dundee FC had finished above their nearest rivals, Dundee United since the inception of the Premier Division in Scottish football in 1975.

The new millenium signalled the arrival of the colourful Italian, Ivano Bonetti and a host of big name stars, including Argentinian World Cup star, Claudio Caniggia. An appearance in the Scottish Cup final in 2003, where they lost out to Rangers 1-0 and qualification for the UEFA Cup after an absence of almost 30 years were the reward. The policy of signing exciting foreign talent proved unsustainable, however, and in 2003 Dundee FC went into financial administration. They survived, in part due to the fund-raising efforts of the supporters but a disastrous 2004-05 campaign end took them back into the Scottish First Division.

Famously, Dundee’s Dens Park is right next door to Dundee United’s Tannadice. While a ground sharing arrangement would allow one or both clubs to sell their valuable city centre real-estate seems logical, tradition and pride make it unlikely this will ever happen.

With thanks to Dave Glen.

Sources