Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as cinch League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League One was ...

after being relegated from the

2021–22 Scottish Championship The 2021–22 Scottish Championship (known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the Scottish Championship, the second tier of Scottish football. The season began on 31 July. Ten teams contested the league: A ...

. Dunfermline play at

East End Park East End Park, currently named KDM Group East End Park for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium situated in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland with a seating capacity of . The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Championship ...

, are nicknamed The Pars and are currently managed by

James McPake James McPake (born 24 June 1984) is a professional football coach and former player, who is currently the manager of Dunfermline Athletic. McPake played for Livingston, Greenock Morton, Coventry City, Hibernian and Dundee. He mainly played a ...

. The Pars' most successful period was in the 1960s, when the side won the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

and

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

under the management of

Jock Stein John "Jock" Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967. Stein also guided Celtic to nine successive Scottish ...

and

George Farm George Neil Farm (13 July 1924 – 18 July 2004) was a Scottish professional football goalkeeper and manager. Born in Slateford, a suburb of Edinburgh, Farm represented his country on ten occasions, the last three of which occurred after a g ...

respectively. The club regularly played

European football UEFA competitions (french: competitions de l'UEFA), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur asso ...

in this period, reaching the semi-finals of the

1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup was the ninth season of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup, a club association football, football competition organised by UEFA for the cup winners from each of its member associations. The ...

under Farm. The club have played at

since their formation in 1885; however, the pitch they initially played at – also known as East End Park – was slightly west of the present stadium. After a period of relative success in the 2000s marked by appearances in three major finals (the

2004 Scottish Cup Final The 2004 Scottish Cup Final was played on 22 May 2004 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 118th Scottish Cup. The final was contested by Dunfermline Athletic and Celtic. Celtic came from behind to win the match 3–1. Match det ...

, the 2006 Scottish League Cup Final and the 2007 Scottish Cup Final), all of which were lost against Celtic. Dunfermline were relegated to the First Division in 2007. The club then encountered financial problems and, in April 2013, applied for and was granted full administration at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, and in October 2013, the fan group Pars United assumed control of the club.

History

Beginning (1885–1959)

Dunfermline Athletic FC League Performance

Dunfermline Football Club was formed in 1874, when members of Dunfermline Cricket Club decided to establish a football section, with the intention of maintaining fitness during the winter. A dispute over club membership caused some members to split away from Dunfermline Cricket Club, which resulted in the creation of Dunfermline Athletic Football Club on 2 June 1885. The club became the principal football club in Dunfermline and their first twenty-five years saw them compete primarily as an amateur team, until they turned professional in 1899. The club first entered into the Scottish Football League in 1912 where they took part in the

Scottish Division Two The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...

. The fifty years following the club's admittance to the SFL saw little success, with the side most frequently playing in the second tier, with occasional appearances in the

top flight Top Flight (April 15, 1929 – 1949) was an American U.S. Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at two and three years of age. Background Bred in Kentucky by the very prominent horseman Harry ...

Stein and Farm (1960–1970)

Dunfermline's finest period came during the sixties. After being appointed manager on 14 March 1960 and saving the club from relegation to

– in his first managerial appointment – guided the Pars to their first major piece of silverware, winning the

after just thirteen months in charge. The years which followed saw Dunfermline consistently competing in European competitions, reaching the semi-finals of the

under

. Although they lost by one goal on aggregate to eventual winners Slovan Bratislava, it remains the greatest achievement in Dunfermline's history. This followed Farm managing Dunfermline to their second Scottish Cup victory, winning the competition in

Since 1970

After a period of decline during the 1970s and much of the 1980s, the club returned to the top tier in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

under club legend Jim Leishman, although they were subsequently relegated after just one season. The following years saw a similar pattern, with a handful of promotions and relegations throughout the 1990s. It was during this period that the club were rocked by the loss of club captain Norrie McCathie, who died on 8 January 1996 by

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simple ...

poisoning. The appointment of John Yorkston as chairman and the involvement of Gavin Masterton in 1999 saw the club enter a period of resurgence, with two

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2004 and 2007, a

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

final in 2006, as well as two short-lived excursions in the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

in 2004 and 2007. In 2012 it emerged that the club had a number of outstanding tax bills with

HMRC , patch = , patchcaption = , logo = HM Revenue & Customs.svg , logocaption = , badge = , badgecaption = , flag = , flagcaption = , image_size = , co ...

following the financial mismanagement of the football club by Yorkston and Masterton. The club were put into administration on 11 April 2013 and after a points deduction, were relegated to the third tier for the first time since

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

. The club were then taken over by the fans group Pars United, and after three years in the League One, eventually won promotion back to the

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...

under manager

Allan Johnston Allan Johnston (born 14 December 1973) is a Scottish football player and coach, who was most recently the manager of Queen of the South. Johnston started his professional playing career with Heart of Midlothian and then followed on to Frenc ...

. Former striker

Stevie Crawford Stephen Crawford (born 9 January 1974) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. Crawford started his career with Raith Rovers, with whom he won the 1994 Scottish League Cup final and played in the UEFA Cup. This earned him ...

was appointed head coach at the beginning of 2019, following a restructure that introduced

Jackie McNamara Jackie McNamara (born 24 October 1973) is a Scottish professional football agent, and former player, manager and executive. He won 33 international caps playing for Scotland, and filled a variety of defensive roles in his career. McNamara beg ...

as technical consultant and

Greg Shields Greg Shields (born 21 August 1976) is a Scottish football player and coach, who is currently Head of Academy - Football with Dunfermline Athletic. His playing career was most closely associated with Dunfermline Athletic, as he played for the cl ...

as assistant head coach. The club launched its Hall of Fame in 2004, initially with nine inductees. 50 individuals (ranging from players and managers to kit managers and the club historian) and two team groups (the 1960s cup winners) were members as of 2019.

Colours and badge

For much of Dunfermline's history their home colours have been black and white striped shirts, with black shorts and black socks, though recently they have worn white shorts and white socks. From the club's formation in 1885 until 1901, the club's home colours were a plain maroon shirt with either navy or white shorts and either maroon, white or grey socks. The club then went through a period between 1901 and 1909 when their kits were blue. The club first wore their now well-known black-and-white-striped shirts in 1909 and have worn these colours every year apart from the 1971–72 season, when they wore all white, the 2004–05 season, when they wore a white shirt with a single black stripe running down the left side of the shirt and during the 2007–08 season, in which they wore an all-white shirt with black shorts and white socks. For the 2008–09 season, the Pars reverted to their well-known black-and-white stripes resembling the kit they wore for the 1997–98 and 1998–99 seasons. Conversely, there has been no consistent colour or design of the club's away strips. Since the start of the new

millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

, the club have most regularly had red kits of varying design; for example, the 2004–2005 away strip consisted of vertical red and black lines, whereas the 2016–17 kit was mostly red, with four horizontal lines of red, white and black across the chest. However, away kit designs have not been exclusively red, with the club having also had kits of purple, blue and yellow, as well as black, as was the case during the 2005–06 season. The current Dunfermline Athletic club badge design was created in 1957 by Colin Dymock, an art teacher at Dunfermline High School. It was allegedly inspired by one of Dymock's mysterious nightmares. The "DAFC" represents the initials of the club, Dunfermline Athletic Football Club, whilst the tower is a representation of Malcolm Canmore's Tower. The tower was adopted by the town of Dunfermline to be used for the Burgh Arms and old seals.

Malcolm Canmore Malcolm III ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh; died 13 November 1093) was King of Scotland from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" ("ceann mòr", Gaelic, literally "big head" ...

was King of Scotland from 1057 to 1093, and made his residence in Dunfermline within what is now Pittencrieff Park. The park is represented by the stormy, ghostly blue and black night scene behind the tower, including the park's infamous hanging tree. The green area at the bottom of the crest is meant to represent the club's stadium,

. Whilst the badge has been in use since the 1950s, it has undergone a number of alterations since its original incarnation, with the most recent adjustments in 2011 altering the outlines, font and colours of the logo.

Nickname

According to ''Black and White Magic'', a 1984 book about the club by Jim Paterson and Douglas Scott, there are numerous theories as to the origin of the club's nickname, the Pars. The authors wrote: "''Most tend to confirm the more common belief that the name arose from the team's parallel striped shirts, their drinking habits or their style of play. The latter were both described as "paralytic". The earliest theory claims that in the early days when the Football Club was closely connected with the Cricket Club, the footballers were renowned for their performances at the bar and so were called the "Paralytics".'' ''However, in the early 1900s it is known that Athletic's nickname was the "Dumps" – shortened from Dunfermline – and this is said to have been coined by English sailors visiting East End Park when their ship docked at

Rosyth Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440. The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...

. After World War I they were known as the Pars and some believe the parallel black and white stripes to be the reason.'' ''Another school of thought involves English workers who came to work at the armaments depot at Crombie and at Rosyth Dockyard; they kept their association with their local team by forming the Plymouth Argyle (Rosyth) Supporters Club and it is said that the Dunfermline nickname comes from the banners in evidence around the ground.''" Another view, which holds water with the older supporters is that the name derives from the word 'Parr' which is a juvenile salmon with dark vertical markings.

Club culture

Songs

Like other football clubs, Dunfermline has a number of songs and anthems. A popular song, and the anthem to which the team runs out is "Into The Valley" by local band "

The Skids Skids are a Scottish punk rock and new wave band, formed in Dunfermline in 1977 by Stuart Adamson (guitar, keyboards, percussion and backing vocals), William Simpson (bass guitar and backing vocals), Thomas Kellichan (drums) and Richard Jo ...

". Since the 1950s the crowd have left the ground after the game to the tune of "The Bluebell Polka" by

Jimmy Shand Sir James Shand (28 January 1908 – 23 December 2000) was a Scottish musician who played traditional Scottish dance music on the accordion. His signature tune was "The Bluebell Polka". Life and career James Shand was born in East Wemyss ...

and his band. After Dunfermline score a goal at

, the chorus of

The Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark served as the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964 they had their first UK top ten sin ...

Glad All Over "Glad All Over" is a song written by Dave Clark and Mike Smith and recorded by The Dave Clark Five. Overview "Glad All Over" featured Smith leading unison group vocals, often in call and response style, a saxophone line used not for solo decor ...

is played.

Rivalries

Dunfermline Athletic have traditional rivalries with local sides

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 189 ...

and

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leagu ...

as well as contesting the Kincardine Derby with near neighbours, Falkirk. They have also participated regularly in the

Fife Cup The Fife Cup is a Scottish regional football competition for clubs in the historic county of Fife. The competition was founded by the Fifeshire Football Association in 1882. The competition was originally known as the "Fifeshire Cup" from 1882� ...

since their formation in 1885, winning the competition more than thirty times, most recently during the 2006–07 season.

In popular culture

In the STV television detective drama

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 Septembe ...

, the writer and Dunfermline fan, Stuart Hepburn used the names of the 1968 Scottish cup winning side for the characters in a 2003 episode.

Notable managers and players

Managers

;

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

winner in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

with Blackpool;

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

international goalkeeper who managed Dunfermline to their highest achievement, the semi-finals of the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

during the 1968–69 season. * Jim Leishman; former player and manager for the club, currently

Provost of Fife The Provost of Fife is the ceremonial head of Fife Council, a Scottish unitary authority covering the historic county of Fife. Along with the duties of an ordinary councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government c ...

. *

; former manager of the club and former manager of Celtic and the Scotland national team.

Players

Owen Coyle Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Scottish Championship club Queen's Park. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one ...

; former player, former manager of Bolton Wanderers,

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

, Houston Dynamo and

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

. * Alex Ferguson; former player and former manager of Manchester United. * Norrie McCathie; club captain who had played for Dunfermline Athletic for 15 years. Died whilst with the club and has a stand at

stadium named after him. * David Moyes; former player, former manager of Everton, Manchester United, Real Sociedad, Sunderland, and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

Players

First team squad

On loan

Club captains since 1985

: Fordyce was initially appointed club captain for the 2015–16 season, however, after suffering a severe leg-break in September 2015, Andy Geggan was given the captain's armband for the remainder of the season. The two are considered co-captains for the season, with both having lifted the Scottish League One trophy together at the end of the season.

Management

Club officials

Backroom staff

Board of directors

Managers

Achievements

Honours

Major honours

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1960–61, 1967–68 **Runners-up (3): 1964–65, 2003–04, 2006–07 *

: **Runners-up (3): 1949–50, 1991–92, 2005–06

Minor honours

, second tier: **Champions (4): 1925–26, 1988–89, 1995–96,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

**Runners-up (9): 1912–13, 1933–34, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1972–73, 1986–87, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1999–2000 *

, third tier: **Champions (2): 1985–86, 2015–16 **Runners-up (2): 1978–79, 2013–14 * Scottish Challenge Cup: **Runners-up (1): 2007–08

Club records

*Highest home

attendance Attendance is the concept of people, individually or as a group, appearing at a location for a previously scheduled event. Measuring attendance is a significant concern for many organizations, which can use such information to gauge the effectiven ...

: 27,816 vs Celtic, 30 April 1968 *Highest home European attendance: 26,000 vs West Brom, European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals, 15 January 1969 *Biggest league win: 11–2 vs. Stenhousemuir, 1930 *Biggest league defeat: 10–0 vs. Dundee, 22 March 1947 *Biggest all-time defeat: 17–2 vs.

Clackmannan Clackmannan ( ; gd, Clach Mhanainn, perhaps meaning "Stone of Manau"), is a small town and civil parish set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated within the Forth Valley, Clackmannan is south-east of Alloa and south of Tillicoultry. ...

, Midland League, 1891 *Most capped player:

Andrius Skerla Andrius Skerla (born 29 April 1977) is a Lithuanian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He began his career in Lithuania with Žalgiris Vilnius, where his performances drew the attention of Dutch club PSV. After making on ...

, 84 for Lithuania 2000–2005 *Most appearances: Norrie McCathie, 576 (497 league), 1981–1996 *Most career goals: Charlie Dickson, 212 (154 league), 1955–1964 *Record transfer fee paid: £540,000 to Girondins de Bordeaux for Istvan Kozma, 9 August 1989 *Record transfer fee received: £650,000 from Celtic for

, 4 October 1995

European record

References

External links

Official Club websiteDunfermline Athletic BBC My Club page
{{Football in Fife Football clubs in Scotland Association football clubs established in 1885 Scottish Premier League teams 1885 establishments in Scotland Scottish Football League teams Scottish Cup winners Scottish Professional Football League teams Football clubs in Fife Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom

History

Beginning (1885–1959)

Stein and Farm (1960–1970)

Since 1970

Colours and badge

Nickname

Club culture

Songs

Rivalries

In popular culture

Notable managers and players

Managers

Players

Players

First team squad

On loan

Club captains since 1985

Management

Club officials

Backroom staff

Board of directors

Managers

Achievements

Honours

Major honours

Minor honours

Club records

European record

See also

References

External links