Queen of the South Football Club is a Scottish professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club formed in 1919 in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

. The club plays in Scottish League One, the third tier of Scottish football. They are traditionally nicknamed the '' Doonhamers'' but are more usually referred to as ''Queens'' or ''QOS''. Their home ground is Palmerston Park. The club won the Division B Championship in 1950–51, the Second Division Championship in 2001–02 and

2012–13 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. I ...

, and the

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,2002–03 and 2012–13. Queens led Scotland's top division until New Year in the 1953–54 season: their highest finish in Scotland's top division was fourth in 1933–34. The club reached their first major cup final in 2008 when they reached the final of the Scottish Cup, where they were runners-up to

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

. The club's manager is

Marvin Bartley Marvin Clement Bartley (born 4 July 1986) is an English professional football coach and former player, who is currently the manager of Scottish League One club Queen of the South. Early in his career, Bartley played for English non-league clubs ...

History

Stadium

Palmerston Park is located on Terregles Street in

. The club has played there since 1919.

South of Scotland League The South of Scotland Football League (SoSFL) is a senior football league based in south-west Scotland. The league sits at level 6 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Founded in 1946, it i ...

club Heston Rovers have shared Palmerston since 2013. The stadium has a capacity of of which 3,377 are seats.

Supporters and culture

Robbie Neilson, the current manager of Hearts, said about Queens from his loan period at the club in 2002: "It's a well-run club and a real family club with a good spirit about the place." Marc Horne wrote in '' The Scotsman'' following Queens appearance in the 2008 Scottish Cup Final: "In the Palmerston Park club's songbook, it is clear there is no room for songs which feature religion, violent vendettas or centuries-old battles that took place in other lands." QueenOfTheSouthFC_League Performance

In the 2008 UEFA Cup qualifying trip to Denmark Queen of the South fans were hailed as "a great credit both to their club and to Scotland" by Danish police. About 850 supporters of the Dumfries club travelled to Denmark to watch the UEFA Cup clash with FC Nordsjælland. Even though their team was eliminated, local police said their behaviour was impressive. Insp. Rune Hamann said: "It was a pleasure hosting such a visit by Queen of the South whose supporters were extremely well behaved and a great credit both to their club and to Scotland. Copenhagen was particularly busy in the build up to and after the match with a carnival, party atmosphere being evident. I look forward to welcoming Queen of the South and their terrific supporters back in Denmark in the future." Ch Insp Mickey Collins from Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary said the fans were a "pleasure to work along with". He added: "Despite the huge numbers of supporters who travelled to Denmark there were no arrests, incidents or issues of any concern. Great praise should be passed on to those fortunate enough to be at the match." A notable Queen of the South supporter is the DJ and producer

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...

, who grew up in Dumfries. He considered writing a song to celebrate the team reaching the 2008 Scottish Cup Final, but the idea was scrapped due to the time constraints of recording his 2009 album '' Ready for the Weekend''. Bill Drummond, musician, producer, and former member of The KLF, is a supporter as well due to their proximity to his hometown of Newton Stewart.

Mascot

The club mascot is 'Dougie Doonhamer', a human-sized border collie dog. The character has been played for many years by local supermarket worker Brian Harkness. On 25 August 2017, Dougie Doonhamer won the Ladbrokes SPFL mascot race at Hamilton Park, having been runner-up the previous year. On 31 August 2018, Dougie Doonhamer won the Ladbrokes SPFL mascot race at Hamilton Park for the second consecutive year.

Biblical references

Queen of the South are often humorously cited as the only league club in the United Kingdom to be mentioned in the Bible. Luke 11:31 states "The Queen of the South shall rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them..." Queen of the South is similarly quoted under Matthew 12:42. In the biblical quote the "Queen of the South" is considered to be the Queen of Sheba. In 2005, the issue was investigated by '' The Guardian'' website in their series "The Knowledge", which also found full references to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, Bury and Reading, as well as partial references to " hearts", " wolves", " forest", "

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

", " spurs" and " man's field".

Anthem

"The Only Team in the Bible" by Neil Grant is always played at Palmerston Park before the teams appear from the tunnel. During August 2019, in an edition of the BBC's popular

Off the Ball Off the ball (or OTB) is a term used in football (soccer), football in the United Kingdom, usually associated with a player's action when not in possession of the ball, such as a fight or a late challenge. If a referee does not see an OTB incide ...

Stuart Cosgrove Stuart John Francis Cosgrove (born 12 November 1952) is a Scottish journalist, broadcaster and television executive. As a journalist Cosgrove served on the ''NME'' (Media Editor) and '' The Face'' during the 1980s, before joining Channel 4 in 19 ...

and Tam Cowan challenged the songwriter to recreate the song and it has since become a hit with the club's supporters.

Honours

National League Competitions Division 2 – Champions 1950–51, 2001–02, 2012–13; Runners-up 1932–33, 1961–62, 1974–75, 1980–81, 1985–86 Division 3 – Runners-up 1924–25 National Cup Competitions Scottish League Challenge Cup – Winners 2002–03, 2012–13; Runners-up 1997–98, 2010–11 Scottish Qualifying Cup – Winners 1923–24 Scottish Cup – Runners-up 2007–08 B.P. Youth Cup – Runners-up 1985–86 Invitational Tournaments 1936 Algiers Invitational Tournament – Winners Border Cup – Winners 1991–92, 1992–93 Scottish Brewers Cup – Winners 2000–01, 2001–02, 2006–07 Regional League Competitions Scottish League South and West (Wartime League) – Runners-up 1939–40 Western League – Champions 1922–23 Southern Counties League – Winners 1996–97 Regional Cup Competitions (Competed for and won by the reserve team) Southern Counties Charity Cup – Winners 1920–24, 1926, 1930–32, 1934, 1937 Southern Counties Cup – Winners 1921, 1924, 1935, 1936, 1962, 1966, 1972, 1976, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1997, 2003, 2004 Southern Counties League Cup – Winners 1996–97 Southern Counties Consolation Cup – Winners 1922 Potts Cup – Winners 1921, 1960, 1961 Individual Awards PFA Scotland Manager of the Year Award – Allan Johnston 2012–13 PFA Second Division Player of the Year Award – Jimmy Robertson 1980–81, Andy Thomson 1991–92, 1993–94, John O'Neill 2001–02, Nicky Clark 2012–13 Bell's SFL Fan of the Season Award – Ian Black 2003–04 SFL Phenomenal Achievement Awards Recognition of Queens' remarkable Scottish Cup run – Gordon Chisholm 2007–08 Second Division Player of the Year Award – Nicky Clark 2012–13 SFL Goalkeeper of the Season Award – Lee Robinson 2012–13 SFL Second Division Manager of the Year Award – John Connolly 2001–02, Allan Johnston 2012–13 Ginger Boot Award – Nicky Clark 2012–13 Bell's SFL Angels Award – 2003–04 SFL Team of the Season Award – 2012–13

Records

Record victory: 11–1 versus

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; gd, An t-Sròn Reamhar ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of L ...

; Scottish Cup; 16 January 1932
A 10–0 win over

Bo'ness F.C. Bo'ness Football Club was a football club based in Bo'ness, Scotland. The club was a member of the Scottish Football League from 1921 to November 1932, and played at Newtown Park. Their home kit consisted of royal blue shirts and white shorts. ...

in the 1932–33 season was struck from the record books when Bo'ness were expelled from the League. Record defeat: 10-2 versus

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

at Dens Park; Scottish First Division; 1 December 1962. Queens played for 78 minutes with 10 men after goalkeeper George Farm was injured in the 12th minute and was carried off. Dundee's Alan Gilzean scored 7 of the goals. Dundee were the reigning Division One Champions and would make the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

semi-finals that season where they lost to the eventual winners AC Milan. Record home attendance: 26,552 versus Heart of Midlothian; Scottish Cup 3rd Round; 23 February 1952; Queens 1 Hearts 3 Record home league attendance: 21,142 versus Rangers; 6 October 1962; Queens 0 Rangers 4 Record attendance (any venue): 58,975; 5 April 1950; Hampden Park; 3–0 Scottish Cup semi-final replay defeat to Rangers; 52,924 watched the 1–1 draw with Rangers four days earlier, also at Hampden Park. Most league points (2 points for a win system): 55; Scottish Division 2; 1985–86 Most league points (3 points for a win system): 92; Scottish Division 2;

First ever Scottish League Match under floodlights: Rangers versus Queen of the South; Ibrox Park; 7 March 1956; Rangers 8 Queens 0; Rangers player

Don Kitchenbrand Don Kitchenbrand (also Kichenbrand; born 13 August 1933) is a retired South African football player who played in Britain for Rangers and Sunderland in the mid to late 1950s. Nicknamed ''The Rhino'' by the club's fans, Kitchenbrand was one of v ...

scored five goals in this match. Highest free standing floodlights in Scottish football: Queens floodlights were first used on 29 October 1958 and at high they are the tallest in Scotland. To mark the occasion

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

sent a team north for a friendly match. Highest terrace in Scottish football: Following the trend towards all seater stadia, the height differential between the lowest and highest step on the Portland Drive terrace, records this as the highest remaining terrace in Scottish football.

Individuals

As of 10 January 2023 Longest serving player: Iain McChesney – 1960 to 1981 (615 appearances and scored 79 goals) Record league scorer in a season: Alexander "Jimmy" Gray – 37 goals in the 1927-28 season Record scorer (all competitions) in a season:

Stephen Dobbie Stephen Dobbie (born 5 December 1982) is a Scottish former professional footballer. He is Senior Professional Development Phase coach at his former club Blackpool. Dobbie is Queen of the South's second-highest goalscorer of all time (166 goa ...

- 43 goals in the 2018-19 season Most capped player: Billy Houliston (3 caps; 1948–49 season; 3–2 v Northern Ireland at Hampden (scoring two goals on his debut in the 30th & 89th minute), 3–1 v England at Wembley and 2–0 v France at Hampden. 43 Andy Aitken

First Queens players to earn four senior Scottish football medals while playing for the club: Jim Thomson and Andy Aitken (winners of the 2001–02 Second Division and 2002–03 Scottish Challenge Cup; runners up in the 1997–98 Scottish Challenge Cup and 2007–08 Scottish Cup). Most decorated Queens player with four winners medals: Derek Lyle (2001–02 & 2012–13 Second Division; 2002–03 & 2012–13 Scottish Challenge Cup) Record transfer fee received: Andy Thomson; £250,000; Southend United; 1994 Fastest hat-trick: Tommy Bryce; 1 minute 46 seconds '' Guinness World Records'' in the 6–0 win versus

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

on 18 December 1993. Bryce's hat-trick was recorded in the 8th, 9th & 10th minutes by the match referee Louis Thow. Bryce also scored a fourth goal in this match. Longest distance goal by an outfield player: Ryan McCann – in the Scottish Cup Quarter Final 2–0 win versus Dundee on 8 March 2008. First player to collect the complete set of four senior Scottish football winners medals: Andy Goram when he played in the 2002–03 Scottish Challenge Cup Final 2–0 win for Queens versus Brechin City, to add to his medals haul gathered elsewhere. Oldest player to play for the club:

Ally MacLeod Alistair Reid "Ally" MacLeod (26 February 1931 – 1 February 2004) was a Scottish professional football player and manager. He is perhaps best known for his time as the Scotland national football team manager, including their appearance at t ...

versus St Mirren in the Reserve League West in April 1992. With Queens short of players the manager named himself as a trialist and played the whole 90 minutes. During the second half Queens were awarded a penalty and the former Scotland manager converted the spot kick. The final score was 7–1 to St Mirren and MacLeod received a standing ovation from the small crowd at the end of the game. MacLeod was 61 years old at the time.

European record

UEFA Cup/ Europa League:

Players

Current squad

On loan

*''For recent transfers, see 2022–23 Queen of the South F.C. season.''

Notable players

*''For all former Queen of the South players with a Wikipedia article, see :Queen of the South F.C. players.'' The following players were inducted into Queen of the South's Hall of Fame on 29 October 2011, 19 January 2013 and 24 October 2015 respectively. The following players were inducted into Queen of the South's Hall of Fame on 23 March 2019. The following players are listed on the club's official website as 'Queens Legends':

Managers

''P/C = Player-Coach P/M = Player-Manager'' ² Second Spell

Staff

Board of directors

*Chairman: Billy Hewitson *Vice-Chairman: Craig Paterson *Director: Mark Blount *Honorary Directors:

Norman Blount Norman Blount is the Scottish former chairman of Queen of the South football club. Blount was instrumental as the new broom that swept through the Dumfries club in the mid and late 90s replacing the previous regime under which the club had gone ...

and

Davie Rae David 'Davie' Rae is a former Scottish chair of Queen of the South in Dumfries. Rae was the third of three chairmen to rebuild and revitalise the Dumfries club from the mid-1990s, replacing the previous regime under Harkness, when the club had g ...

Coaching staff

*Manager:

*Assistant Manager: Grant Murray *First Team Goalkeeping Coach: Gordon Marshall *Consultant Sport Scientist and Head of Fitness: Robert Kielty *Physiotherapists: Jim Law, Scott Walker *Club Doctor: Dr Guy Beaumont *Groundsman: Kevin McCormick *Kitmen: Graeme Dalgleish, Kevin McCormick *Community Development and Commercial Manager: Daniel Armstrong *Head of Youth: Andy Irving *Youth Goalkeeping Coach: David Byers *Youth Coaches: Stuart Douglas, Darren Malin,

David Mathieson David Mathieson (born 18 January 1978 in Dumfries, Scotland) is a retired Scottish professional association footballer. A goalkeeper. Mathieson played for Queen of the South and Gretna and made three appearances for Scotland under-21s. Quee ...

, Neil Murray, Ross Newlands

References

External links

*
National Library of Scotland: SCOTTISH SCREEN ARCHIVE
(archive films of Queen of the South F.C.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Queen Of The South F.C. Football clubs in Scotland Association football clubs established in 1919 Football clubs in Dumfries and Galloway 1919 establishments in Scotland Scottish Football League teams Scottish Challenge Cup winners South of Scotland Football League teams Scottish Professional Football League teams Sport in Dumfries