Title Success and Europe (1960-1975)

The last few months of the fifties brought about some notable changes at the club. Bob Shankly was appointed as manager, beating out his younger brother Bill who also applied for the Dens Park post. 

The transfer to Everton of Jimmy Gabriel, saw Dens Park getting a much-needed facelift with the installation of floodlights, adding to the newly built, 10,000 capacity South Enclosure. 

Bill Shankly had, by now, moved to Liverpool and he brought the Anfield side to Dens to commemorate the switching on of the floodlights, Dundee won 1-0 thanks to a Hugh Robertson goal. In domestic affairs the Dark Blues finished a credible fourth place in the League in Bob Shankly’s first season.

The close season gave the new manager time to assess the squad of players he had inherited and he identified a nucleus of a team, but Shankly knew there were areas to be strengthened. Bobby Seith, captain of English First Division league winning Burnley, came in to bolster the Dark Blue defence. There was, an ultimately, failed bid to sign Gordon Smith from Hearts. 

Although Dundee sauntered through the League Cup section games, winning their group undefeated, they succumbed to Glasgow Rangers in a two leg 3-5 aggregate defeat in the quarter finals. Dundee finished a disappointing tenth in the League Championship with two bad injuries to Andy Penman and George McGeachie, both leg breaks, hampering the cause.

The close season of 1961 saw Dundee undertake a successful three game tour of Iceland but fans were greeted with the unfortunate news that stalwart Doug Cowie was a casualty of Shankly’s vision for the club. As one experienced player headed for the exit another came in through the entrance as, title winner with both Hibs and Hearts, Gordon Smith finally arrived at the club.  

The 61-62 League Cup campaign failed to deliver as the Dark Blues recorded two wins, two draws and two defeats. The League campaign was more positive as Dundee suffered just the one league reverse until February. A memorable sequence of results in the autumn saw a Glasgow treble with defeats handed out to Partick Thistle, Celtic and then Rangers in quick succession. Along with victories at home Raith Rovers and an away win at Easter Road this placed Dundee firmly at the top of the League. Could this squad of players go one better than the team that finished runners-up in the 1948-49 season? 

After a defeat to St Mirren in the Scottish Cup, Dundee didn’t get a win in the next five League games. Suddenly the title was on the line. Dundee regrouped and after a win at Starks Park, the results started to ebb back to Dundee’s charge. The penultimate game of the season was at Dens against our Scottish Cup conquerors St Mirren and with the game finely balanced Pat Liney pulled off a penalty save which secured a 2-0 win. The crowd that Wednesday evening stayed behind to hear the score from Pittodrie. When the 1-0 victory for Aberdeen over Rangers was announced the Dark Blue supporters knew that a point at Muirton would secure the title. On Saturday the 28^th of April over 20,000 Dundee supporters travelled to Perth to witness a 3-0 win –  the title was secured! In now iconic scenes, jubilant supporters took to the field to celebrate with the players. Only fifteen players were used that season, Liney, Hamilton, Cox, Seith, Ure, Wishart, Smith, Penman, Cousin, Gilzean, Robertson, Brown, McGeachie, Stuart and Waddell.

Success in the League Championship meant access to Europe’s elite competition – the European Champions’ Cup. During the pre-season Dundee took part in the New York tourney. Normally reserved for league runners-up, Dundee were nominated for the competition during their ‘wobble’ in the early Spring of ’62 as the destination of the title was thought to be heading towards Ibrox. Although it ended with one win, two draws and two defeats, the experience of playing against foreign teams and tactics would assist the club against the best teams in Europe.

With only one league game played Dundee were plunged straight into European action as they were drawn against the West German champions, and one of the favourites to win the competition, FC Köln. With the first leg at Dens Park, few in the ground were expecting an 8-1 victory in the first of two contentious matches. In the second leg Dundee travelled to Cologne and although they lost 4-0 in a bruising encounter, Dundee safely progressed to the next round. Lying in wait was Sporting Clube de Portugal. It was another tricky tie as the Lisbon side were good enough to beat their legendary, Eusebio-inspired city rivals to the previous season’s championship. After a 0-1 defeat away in the first leg, an Alan Gilzean hat trick at Dens emphatically secured a 4-1 win and a place in the quarter finals. 

Next up in Europe were Belgium champions R.S.C. Anderlecht – Dundee’s introduction to European football was a real baptism of fire. The Belgians had earlier knocked out Real Madrid and, in doing so, became only the second club to knock Alfredo Di Stefano’s side out of Europe over two legs. 

The quarter final first leg was at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels and a record crowd of 64,073 witnessed a rampant Dundee who continued their free scoring ways by recording a 4-1 win. Such was the superiority of the away team, the Anderlecht supporters gave the Dundee team a standing ovation as they left the field. With a 2-1 home win in the return game supplementing the stunning first leg victory the Dark Blues marched on to the semi-finals and joined Feyenoord, AC Milan and Benfica in the hat. 

The task to reach the Wembley final was always going to be difficult, but almost fittingly given the standard of opponents thus far, Dundee were handed the most difficult draw when they were paired with the Italian Champions. Milan’s squad included the likes of Cesare Maldini, Giovanni Trapattoni; Gianni Rivera and Jose Altafini. The Dens Park outfit must surely be contenders for having faced the most difficult European Cup era run ever. 

AC Milan, boasting nine internationalists in their squad, proved too strong for the Dundee team over two legs. The first leg being a 5-1 defeat in the San Siro, albeit with accusations of bias towards the Milan team by the Spanish referee and a visiting side notable by the absence of the injured Bobby Cox. Dundee still however mustered the energy to defeat AC Milan 1-0 at home. In the match programme the chairman bemoaned Dens Park’s limited capacity (then 40,000) as it handicapped the Dark Blues when competing with the cream of European football. The European adventure had come to an end and another disappointing league finish meant the club would have to wait for another crack at a continental cup. 

The price of success naturally alerted many English clubs to the talent within the Dundee squad and at the start of the 63-64 season, centre half Ian Ure was transferred to Arsenal. The 1963-64 season was a relatively successful one, with a quarter final appearance in the League Cup, a sixth place finish in the League campaign and a final in the Scottish Cup against Rangers. This final – named the “Slater final” by Dundee fans, after the Dundee goalkeeper’s heroics- was balanced at 1-1 until the final minutes. Dundee unfortunately lost two goals, but a consolation of the defeat was that European football would be back at Dens Park in the form of the Cup Winners Cup as Rangers would be taking part in the European Cup.

After a bye in the first round, Dundee were paired against Real Zaragoza of Spain but a 2-2 draw at Dens and a 2-1 defeat in Spain meant that the European campaign was over. Alan Gilzean had been watched by numerous top clubs and in-between the two legs of the European tie with Real Zaragoza and “Gillie” was eventually transferred to Tottenham Hotspur. Charlie Cooke was signed from Aberdeen and he was to link up with a young 16-year-old called John Scott, who had started the season well.

Unhappy of the loss of Gilzean, a dispirited Bob Shankly resigned two weeks after a Scottish Cup defeat to St Johnstone. Sammy Kean would take over as temporary manager until April when Bobby Ancell, a former Dundee right back from the post war years, would take charge.

The breakup of the Championship team and full squad rebuild resulted in the next two seasons Dundee finishing ninth, not managing to qualify from the group stage of the League Cup and not venturing past the second round of the Scottish Cup. More disappointment came the Dundee fans way when, after only sixteen months and only 24 hours after being awarded the Player of the Year, Charlie Cooke was sold to Chelsea.

Off field improvements to Dens Park came with the announcement of the erection of a covered enclosure at the west end of the ground. 

In the close season, Dundee undertook a tour of North America, this was to be a successful tour with an unbeaten 11 games, including notable victories over English Champions Manchester United and FA Cup winners Chelsea.

Ancell had slowly built a new team and he was rewarded in the 1967-68 season with a League Cup run to a Hampden final against current European Champions Celtic and in a highly entertaining final Dundee lost 5-3. This season saw Dundee compete in the Inter Cities Fairs Cup at the expense of Clyde. The unique rules of the competition meant that only one team per city could be represented and unfortunately for Clyde, another Glasgow team finished higher in the league and claimed Glasgow’s spot. Dundee, who actually finished outside the European placings, were the beneficiaries. 

Dundee’s qualification for Europe may have been fortuitous but the Dark Blues made the most of it. Success over DWS Amsterdam, Royal Liege and FC Zurich saw Dundee into their second European semi-final in five years where they were drawn against English cracks Leeds United. A hard fought 1-1 draw at Dens Park in the first leg gave Dundee a tough task at Elland Road in the second leg. A solitary goal from Eddie Gray nine minutes from time ended Dundee’s run, Leeds United would go on to win the final 1-0 on aggregate over Ferencvaros of Hungary.

In September 1968 Bobby Ancell resigned and he was succeeded by the person he recommended- John Prentice. A good League Cup campaign came to an end in the semi-final against Hibernian, managed by former Dundee manager Bob Shankly. A first round Scottish Cup defeat and a ninth-place finish in the League with only 47 goals scored, the lowest recorded in sixteen years pointed to where the team required strengthening.

Not emerging from the League cup section, a poor start to the League campaign and a shortage of goals, Prentice was on the lookout for a proven goal scorer. Scotland’s Player of the Year in 1968 was Raith Rovers marksman Gordon Wallace and in mid-September Wallace signed for the Dee. By the turn of the year Gordon had already scored nine goals and would go on to be the be top scorer with 23 in total.  A sixth-place finish in the League and a Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Celtic was a welcome improvement and hopes were high that this would continue.

The 1970-71 season saw Dundee compete in the Texaco Cup, a competition between clubs that had missed out on European football. Teams from Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Ireland competed on a two-leg basis. Dundee drew Wolverhampton Wanderers and went out at the first time of asking 1-2 on aggregate. Both domestic cup campaigns lasted as far as the quarter finals with Celtic and Hibernian the conquerors in the League and Scottish Cups respectively. The strike force of Wallace, Jocky Scott and John Duncan, amassing 50 goals between them, helping Dundee to finish fifth in the League thus qualifying for the following season’s UEFA Cup.

At the end of the season Dundee took part in a mini tournament in Lisbon Portugal. Defeats from host club Sporting Club of Lisbon and English opponents Norwich City put paid to the tourney, but a victory against Atlético de Madrid in the final game gave some crumbs of comfort.

Prior to the new season Dundee embarked on more travels touring Northern France and Belgium. Four wins from all four games gave Dundee heart going into the new season.

Losing out to Falkirk in the League Cup section, Dundee within a couple of weeks were in UEFA action against AB Copenhagen. Winning both legs, Dundee were then drawn against old foes FC Köln. 

After a 2-1 first leg win in Germany and after going into a 2-1 lead at Dens, Köln looked like they were about to exact revenge on their Scottish hosts. With only 30 mins remaining Dundee were 4-2 down on aggregate. What happened next entered into Dundee folklore as the Dark Blues famously, and thrillingly fought back, with two from John Duncan and a last gasp winner from Bobby Wilson. Dundee’s opponents suffered yet another Dens Park trauma to add to their dismantling at the same venue only a few years earlier. 

In the next round we were again drawn against familiar European opponents, AC Milan. Another heavy defeat in the San Siro – this time a 0-3 reverse- was too much of a hill to climb for the Dee. Hopes were raised when Dundee went into a 2-0 lead but it was just too much to ask to overturn the deficit. 

The end of the season meant another tour and indeed another continent. Dundee managed an unbeaten seven game visit to Australia and New Zealand, scoring 53 goals and conceding just six.

Although last season’s fifth place finish was not enough for European football, in season 1972-73 the club had good runs in both Cup competitions going out in the League Cup Quarter final and the Scottish Cup semi-final, both to replays and both to Celtic. The club finished fifth for the third season in a row and were undefeated in the League at Dens. John Duncan was top scorer with 40 goals and another 36 goals from the Wallace/Scott combination gave supporters the feeling that the Club were on the brink of achieving some silverware.

The squad was bolstered at the start of the 1973-74 season with the free signing from Nottingham Forest of Lisbon lion Tommy Gemmell. The manager saw him as the catalyst in Dundee’s chances of winning a major trophy. Dundee took part in the Drybrough Cup for the first time going out in the semi-final to old adversaries, Celtic. 

Dundee sailed unbeaten through the League Cup section, dispatched Dunfermline and Clyde before the semi final meeting with Kilmarnock. The evening kick off was in jeopardy as the country was in the middle of a miners dispute and generators were brought in to power the floodlights. A low crowd of under 5,000 saw Dundee come out victors 1-0 with a Tommy Gemmell goal.  

Earlier in the season Dundee once again competed in the UEFA Cup and after being drawn against Dutch team FC Twente Enschede, Dundee went out 7-3 on aggregate. Although Dundee had been having a very good season they were no match for the Dutch and the new concept of “total football”.

The League Cup final on December 15^th was preceded by several days of blizzard conditions and with the 1:30 pm kick off time many Dundee supporters were turned back on route to Hampden due to a possible postponement. However the game went ahead in front of the lowest attendance at a League Cup final of 27,974. With 14 minutes to play, on a bone hard pitch that turned to mud and slush as the rain fell continuously, a Bobby Wilson free kick fell to Gordon Wallace. With his back to the goal he brought the ball down on his chest and in one move swivelled and shot past the Celtic goalkeeper to open the scoring. Although Celtic threw everything at Dundee they held on for a famous victory and won the League Cup for the third time.

At the reception dinner in the Angus Hotel a few of the players left early to visit Jim McLean who they felt was instrumental in their development, this did not go down well with the Dens Park hierarchy and the offending players were duly fined.

In the second half of the season amid the continuing disputes, and three-day weeks, Sunday football was introduced. Dundee drew Aberdeen away in the Scottish Cup and came away with a 2-0 victory.  Successive Sunday League wins against Partick Thistle and Celtic followed prior to the Scottish Cup tie at Ibrox. Again another super Sunday display ensued as Dundee romped to a 3-0 win. The reward was yet another tricky tie with Hibernian at Easter Road for the Quarter Final

In a seesaw of a game, that ended 3-3, Scotland boss Willie Ormond was to say, “Dundee are currently the best team in Scotland”. The replay at Dens Park, played on a Monday evening drew just under 31,000 with Dundee coming out 3-0 victors.

Awaiting in the semi-final was Celtic yet again who got their revenge for the League Cup final defeat by recording a 1-0 win. As the season played out, Dundee finished fifth again with the League Cup win ensuring qualification for the for the next seasons UEFA Cup.

1974-75 started off badly with Gordon Wallace breaking a leg in preseason training and Dundee’s hold on the League Cup faltered at the group section stage. Yet again Dundee would be thwarted by Celtic in another semi-final, this time the Drybrough Cup.

Dundee faced Belgian team RWD Molenbeek, which contained nine internationals from Belgium, Holland and Denmark. Dundee were no match losing 5-2 on aggregate. 

Worse was yet to come when, 10 years after Alan Gilzean left Dundee for Spurs, star striker John Duncan signed for the London team for a new Dens record fee of £140,000.

It was a blow for Dundee, but with Gordon Wallace back at the start of the New Year, Dundee started to get back on track. A 3-2 quarter final replay win at Dens against Hearst saw Dundee once again drawn against Celtic who once more edged out the Dundonians 1-0 at Hampden to end the Scottish Cup dreams.

Significant changes to Scottish football were about to unfold in the new 10 team Premier League. The large leagues had become unpopular in Scotland with more games between Scotland’s largest clubs seen as more attractive.  Thus far the 1970’s had been good to Dundee with regular sojourns in Europe, consistent performances in the cups despite difficult draws. It was felt that Dundee would be well equipped to thrive in the new set-up. Regrettably, that eventuality never quite transpired.