SHRINE XMAS BREAK

Time for me to have a wee winter break now.
Will return early in the New Year.
Let's hope the club are still with us!
Merry Christmas.

CHRISTMAS WITH BOBBY

It's festive time again, and here's a great image of Bobby Cox celebrating Christmas in 1962. Looks like a real Bobby-dazzler of a party too!!
If you want to use this image for yourself, feel free to download it and run off a few Xmas cards, or anything else you can think of.
Remember and click on the image to get the large version for a better quality copy. Just right click and do the "Save Picture As.." routine.

DUNDEE ON SCORCHER COVER - 1972

Dundee made the cover of Scorcher and Score in April 1972.
The small inserts of info beside the drawings touch on subjects like the club's high profile transfers to teams down South, the 1910 Scottish Cup victory and the Dees performance in the 72 season.
Click onto the cover if you want to read the large version.

IAN SCOTT - FORWARD - EARLY 70'S

Ian Scott joined Dundee in 1971. Although he was a striker, he wasn't exactly a prolific goal scorer for us. Then again, he was competing with Wallace, Duncan & J.Scott in the forward line at the time, so it was a difficult task I suppose. In his 82 games he played for the club, he managed to grab a total of 19 goals.
His final appearance in Dee colours was in April 1975.
The photo of him was taken in 1971.
When he hung up his boots, he went on to be a policeman and is now retired.

DAVE JOHNSTON IN THE 70'S

Dundee's left back, Dave (Biffo) Johnston, was well known for having a power-blaster of a shot. So what you DIDN'T want to be doing was standing in the way of one of his shots.
Unfortunately, Alex Ingram of Ayr United didn't heed this warning, and took the full force of one of Biffo's thunderbolts, right in the kisser!
You can see on the footage below from 1975 how, despite appearing to have his left eye half shut from the impact, Ingram not only stayed on his feet, but he didn't even flinch!
The picture above of Davie at Dens was taken circa 1970.

JIM EASTON - MIDFIELDER - 1964-1971

Jim Easton is a name I can remember from when I first started going up to Dens in the late 60's when I was a primary schoolboy.
He had been with the club a few years before my visits however, from 1964 in fact, and kept going till 1971.
He notched up a total of 202 games in the centre-half position for the Dee, so he is actually one of Dundee's longer serving players.
The photo was taken around 1969.

LAWRIE SMITH - PHYSIO - EARLY 60'S

Here's physio, Lawrie Smith, tending to Dee player Bobby Seith, probably around the 1961/62 period.
Lawrie joined the club in 1959, leaving Arbroath Infirmary to take on the Dens job.
That's coach Sammy Kean in white keeping an eye on things!

MAURICE FRIEL - PHYSIO - EARLY 70'S

Not sure how many years exactly Maurice Friel was Dundee Physio, but he was definitely with the club during the 1969 to 71 period, this photo taken in 1970.
It just occurred to me when I saw this image that this round DFC crest he has on, has never been resurrected like other crests from the past have. This simple design is my favourite too but has only been used on the shirts circa 1970-73. There was a blue version and a red version I remember. This was the one worn when we beat AC Milan at Dens in 71, so maybe time to reintroduce it again for newer generations to get acquainted with.

BOBBY ANCELL AS MANAGER - MID 60'S

Here's a photo of Bobby Ancell when he was DFC manager, the image taken around 1967.
Bobby was boss from 1965 to 68 during which saw the Dee play in a Scottish League Cup final and reach the semi's of the Fairs Cup.
A couple of decades earlier, Bobby played left-back for Dundee, and as a defender (1944 to 50) he notched up a total of 134 games.
He was involved in one of the clubs quirkier moments in history, Bobby being in the team which in 1947, won 2 League games 10-0... 2 weeks on the trot!
While in his playing days at Dens he also achieved 2 Scotland caps.
Bobby Ancell died in 1987.

REVIVE AND SURVIVE

If you think you can put this graphic to good use, click onto the image to get the large, better quality version, and feel free to download it.
Keep the passion burning and get creative!

SFL CLAMP DOWN ON THE DEE!

WHEEL BE BACK..!!

RODDY GEORGESON - FORWARD - 1967-70

Despite his Scandinavian looks, Roddy Georgeson was born in Egypt. However, Dundee signed him from a slightly less exotic location, Port Vale, in 1967.
His time at Dens was pretty much as a fringe player, notching up only 13 full games in the 3 seasons he was with the club. He did pop in 4 goals mind you, so at least what skills he had were of some use.
After 1970, he went on to play for a number of smaller Scottish clubs well into the 80's.

JIM STEELE IN THE 60'S

I already have a couple of items up about Jim Steele's playing career at Dens, so no need to go into detail again, but I just thought I'd put up this pre-curly top image of him as a young lad.
The photo was taken around 1967 when Jim had not been at the club very long and was still a couple of years away from making his first team debut.
When Jim moved to Southampton in 1972, he was a top player by then, and I remember that same year when I was 14, I wrote asking for a signed photo of him wearing his Saints strip. However, not having a clue of the postal address of Southampton's ground, all I could muster was the name of it, so I ended up just putting - Jim Steele, The Dell, Southampton - on the envelope!
It was no surprise that I received no reply, as I suspect my letter never reached him in the first place!

MIKE HEWITT - GOALKEEPER - 1970-74

Dundee were fortunate to have 3 great keepers on the go around the same era, however, this wasn't such good fortune for Mike Hewitt who found himself in the middle of, firstly, competing with Ally Donaldson in 1970 & 71, then going straight into battle for position with Thomson Allan in 1973 & 74.
Hewitt's best season was 1971/72 when he became the dominant keeper wearing the #1 jersey.
All together he played a total of 55 games in the 4 seasons he was with the Dee.
He then left Dens in 75 to play in the United States.
Not sure if he ever returned?!

DAVIE SWAN - LEFT BACK - 1966-70

Here's a young looking Davie Swan with an unfamiliar crew cut, the picture taken in the late 60's.
Davie played left back for Dundee, debuting in 1966.
Although he was with the club for a few years, he only participated in 44 full games, his final outing in dark blue being in March 1970.
One of his career highlights was playing in the semi final of the Fairs Cup against Leeds in 1968, with a 24,000 crowd at Dens roaring them on.
He later opted for a sensible side parting!

A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE

The present team got penance - the past teams got pennants!
This colourful little corner of the Dens boardroom goes back to the early 60's.
I've managed to identify most of the teams on the pennants, so we have - Unione Sportiva Palermo (Italy) - Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) - Uhrik Truckers Philadelphia (USA) - SSV Reutlingen (Germany) - Arsenal - Club Deportivo Guadalajara (Mexico) - KR Reykyavik (Iceland) - Legia Warsaw (Poland) - FC Saarbrucken (Germany).
Sitting on the sideboard along with the League Championship trophy are a Lisbon Lion, a photo of the 1962 champions team and a golden Portuguese Caravel in a glass case.

BOTTOM OF THE TABLE

CRUMBS..!!

A WEE REMINDER...

The doors at Dens haven't been padlocked yet...so here's some useful advice below!

CRESTFALLEN

Recently, the club shop's bestseller..!!

IN DISTRESS

When the turnstiles stop revolving...Deeterioration!!

DENSE PARK

DFC are told to go stand in the corner while the SFL discuss the punishment for going into administration!

DUNDEE'S HAM-FISTED ACCOUNTING

Now that those who were running the club made a complete pig's ear of the dosh, here's an appropriate new club badge design for them to wear on their ties and blazers!

DUNDEE DEBT

PASS THE BUCK!

DFC IN AUTUMN 2010

The Dundee laurel is not so hardy!

THE DEEFIBRILLATOR

...beep...beep....beeeep.......beeeeeep............

APT ANAGRAM

Who'd have thought...?!!

THE TAYTANIC

THE TAYTANIC - CONTROLLED BY EXPERTS!

LET THE FUNDRAISING COMMENCE

PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY..!!!!!!

I R GELLATLY - DFC CHAIRMAN - 1986

Another one of the Gellatly clan - this time it's Chairman Ian Gellatly, the picture taken at the start of 1986/87 season. For some reason the photographer managed to persuade IG to pose without his shades on. Quite a rare sight!!
I don't know how many Gellatly's there have been in total at the club, but I know the family have been connected with Dundee FC since at least 1944.
I'm not so sure either if their positions as Chairmen & Directors also included "owning" the club, but they have been on the board for many decades in the past.

GELLATLY WITH THE GOODS

This is DFC Chairman, James Gellatly, keeping a close eye on the Scottish League Championship trophy in 1962.
Wonder how much the club spent on Duraglit that year?!

DEE FANS OFF TO BRUSSELS - 1963

Here's a bus load of Dee supporters on their way to Brussels in 1963 to watch Dundee bang in 4 against Anderlecht! It's not often games like this crop up with us, so dosh well spent I reckon!
Dickson's who ran the football specials were based in Reform Street.

CHAAAAAAAAAAARGE!!!

Here's a couple of great shots of jubilant Dee fans invading the pitch.

The happy occasion took place at East Stirling on 2nd May 1981 when Dundee won promotion back to the SPL with a 1-0 victory.

The dark blues had around 5000 at the game, most of which ended up on the pitch by the look of it!

The invasion was caught on tv too, so here below is the commotion after the final whistle.

Looking forward to a repeat of it this season!!

Big thanks to JG

BILLY STEEL IN TARTAN - 1953

I isolated the Billy Steel image from the 1982-83 handbook and tidied it up a bit, because this is the only photo I have of him "in action" wearing the DFC tartan shirt. The picture would have been taken on Dundee's tour of South Africa in 1953.
Don't know if it's just a trick of the light, but when I was cleaning the photo I noticed it looked like Billy was wearing tartan/argyle socks too. If it is, then that's a piece of Dee strip trivia I never knew!

DUNDEE FC HANDBOOK - 1982-83

Here's another DFC Handbook, this time brought out for the 1982-83 season.
The reason there are 3 "old" pictures on the cover is because all 3 died during the course of the previous season, and so this was a wee tribute.
Top - Billy Steel, Bottom Left - Bert Juliussen, Bottom Right - Bob Shankly.
The publication itself has the same kind of content as the other handbooks, club history, player profiles, quiz and so on.

JIM DUFFY TESTIMONIAL PROGRAMME - 1987

This is the programme for Jim Duffy's Testimonial that took place on 6th December 1987 at Dens.
It was actually supposed to be a game in aid of, what was thought at the time, the end of Jim's playing career after a horrendous knee injury against Rangers in September 87, but as everyone knows, he came bouncing back in 1990!
Charlie Nicholas was in Dundee's team for this game, and in fact scored one of the goals which saw the Dee come out on top over a Premier League Select side. DFC winning 5-3 to be precise.

THE BATTLE OF COLOGNE - 1962

Here's a detailed account of the (in)famous "Battle Of Cologne" which took place in September 1962 between FC Cologne and Dundee FC.

Although it's chocolate coloured, once you click onto the images to get the large versions, you can read it clearly enough when you zoom in.

It was quite a nasty match but there are some amusing moments in it too.

The article comes from an early 70's weekly magazine called "Book of Football" which built up into a multi volumed encyclopedia.

DUNDEE SQUAD - 1975

Another squad photo for the collection. This time from a 1975 Shoot magazine. It has quite a few reserve players in it alongside the more well known faces, although in the names listed, it has Ian Gordon when it should be Alan Gordon!
Click on the image to view the large version.

DFC HISTORY IN THE MAKING

If anyone wants to put this graphic to good use, t-shirt, mug or whatever, feel free to download it.
Remember and click onto it to get the better quality large version.

DFC GOALS v AC MILAN - 1963

I've put a few items up on the Shrine relating to Dundee's games against AC Milan in the 1963 European Cup semi final, so I won't bother going over the match details again.
Instead I thought it was about time to show the Dees goals.
First is the Cousin goal in the San Siro ; followed by Gilzean's goal at Dens.
Lap it up!!

BILLY SEMPLE - 1972 & 73

Here's Billy Semple, before and after the mouser!

Although he played for Rangers before moving to Dens, he only ended up taking part in a handful of games for the Dees in the 1972 & 73 seasons.

SPRUCING UP DENS - 1989

A bit of restoration to the main stand, some repairs, a few licks of paint, and a wee bit of ground work, all going towards making sure everything is shipshape for the 1989/90 season to commence.
If you knew any construction workers, joiners, painter & decorators who worked on Dens back then, you may even be lucky enough to spot them on the footage below!

CANIGGIA IN THE RAIN - 2001

I can't help laugh at this picture!
Here he is, Argentinian glamour guy & soccer superstar, Claudio Caniggia, stuck at the side of a training pitch, in the pissin' rain, in Dundee, wondering what the hell he has got himself into!!

TOMMY GEMMELL - MANAGER - 1977-80

Tommy Gemmell was already a legend by the time he came to Dundee because of his playing days at Celtic and with Scotland, but he also became a bit of an instant hero at Dens when he signed in 1973 and promptly lead the team to League Cup success as captain that year.
When he hung up his boots in 1977, he got the job as Dee boss. His managerial highlight was probably getting Dundee promoted to the SPL in 78/79, but it was swiftly followed by relegation the following season, and so ended his time in charge.
Before he departed, he did manage to squeeze out a famous victory against his former team, Celtic. A 5-1 drubbing at Dens. However, even this amazing scoreline, with just 2 games remaining in the 79/80 season, wasn't enough to keep the Dee in top flight football, and down we went!
Below, are the goals from the game, which took place on 19 April 1980. It is then followed by an interview with big Tam after the match.

SOLAR DEECLIPSE

Astronomers at Mills Observatory in Dundee recently captured the first ever total Deeclipse of the sun.
The remarkable footage below contains the actual time-lapse photography the moment the magical event occurred!

JOHN BROWN GOAL - 1986

John Brown expresses his satisfaction after banging in a goal against Aberdeen in the Quarter Final of the Scottish Cup played at Dens on 8th March 1986.
Over 13,000 were there to see the 2-2 draw, with Graham Harvey being the Dees other scorer.

DFC JERSEY - 1998/99

This is the shirt Dundee wore for the 1998/99 season.

With sponsors Scottish Hydro-Electric on the front...and a reminder of who the team is on the back!