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Below are pictured some of the greatest players ever to wear the Dark Blue
Dundee played in front of a crowd of 120,982 against Glasgow Rangers in the Scottish cup final of 1963 - 64 and were beaten 3 - 1 with Kenny Cameron scoring Dundee's consolation goal.The average home gate at Dens that season was 14,900, Dundee finished 6th in division 1 that season and were also quarter finalists in the League Cup.
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Right is pictured Gilzean in action
Alan Gilzean or Gillie as he was affectionately known by the Dundee support is Dundee's all time top scorer with 165 goals scored over a period of the seven years he was at Dens Park. Gillie terrorised all the Europen defenders he was up against in Dundee's great European Cup run of 1962 - 63 helping Dundee to a Semi Final Spot Against the mighty AC MILAN, in the away game Dundee were cheated by a blatantly biased referee. Gillie made 22 appearances in the Dark Blue of Scotland, 5 as a Dundee player and 17 while at Tottenham In season 1963 - 64 he scored a total of 52 goals
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Pictured right is Ian Ure
Ian Ure the Scottish international pivot was a colossus in The Dundee defence.Ian was born in Ayr, Scotland, on 7th December, 1939. He played for non-league Ayr Albion and Daltry Thistle before signing for Dundee in 1958, with whom he won the Scottish Championship in 1962, In 1963, he joined Arsenal, manager Billy Wright paying £62,000 for him, Ian played over 200 games at Highbury A sometimes fiery individual, Ian twice broke his jaw and was sent off four times, once for fighting with future Manchester United and Scotland teammate Denis Law! ,In 1969, Wilf McGuinness, struggling to pull a declining Manchester United side together, paid Arsenal £80,000 for Ian. He would be McGuinness's only signing during the latter's short tenure in charge, joining the team in a stop-gap measure to strengthen the defence. After just three years and 47 League games, Ian returned to St Mirren on a free transfer - replacing Gordon McQueen, who would eventually end up at Manchester United! Ian played 11 times for Scotland, and in 1974 replaced Alex Ferguson (now Manchester United manager) as manager of East Stirling. In season 62 - 63 while at Dundee he only missed 3 games all season and will probably be remembered as one of, if not the best defender Dundee ever had.Ian Ure now works as a social worker at Low Moss prison after finishing a course at Jordanhill, in 1983 he did a short spell in Barlinnie (working),Ian is no longer involved in the game. Dundee finished 9th in division 1 that season being put out the League Cup in the qualifying stages, they reached the Quarter Final of the Scottish Cup. But the most memorable result for Dundee that season was beating Cologne 8 - 1 on September 5th in front of a home crowd of 25,000 with Gillie scoring a hat trick. Dundee went all the way to the quarter final of the European Cup in 62 - 63 beating Cologne 8 -5 on aggregate, Sporting Lisbon 4 - 2 on aggregate, then Anderlecht 6 -2 in the quarter final before being beaten by AC Milan 5 -1 away and winning 1 - 0 at home. Some say the referee took a bribe in the away leg because of all the dubious decisions that were made.
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In the centre of the photograph below is Billy Steel
Dundee F.C's new record signing , Billy Steel , in the centre of the picture above seen here on his debut at Dens Park in September 1950 turning out against Aberdeen where he went on to make a scoring debut, in front of Billy is Stan Williams with Jimmy Andews bringing up the rear.
Billy was already a Scottish international when Dundee manager Gordon Anderson paid Derby County a Scottish record fee of £23,500, Billy had previously played in Scotland with brief spells at St. Mirren and Morton.
The Dens faithfull loved Billy so much so that a crowd of 34,000 turned out to watch him on his debut, it was estimated that Billy added approximately 8,000 on the gates of every away match that he played in, his time at Dens park in the four seasons he was there saw him wear the jersey 31 times scoring 45 goals, he was also capped 30 times for Scotland.
Billy helped the Dees win two league cups and almost win a Scottish Cup but they were severly beaten 4 - 0 by Motherwell in a final that saw a crowd of 135,000 plus turn out. Billy Steel attracted the biggest gate ever at Dens when in 1953 a crowd of 43,024 packed in to see Dundee versus Rangers in the Scottish Cup with a record gate takings of £3,270. Sadly both Billy Steel and then Dundee manager Bob Shankly both passed away in the same week of May 1982.
When Billy decided that his time was up at Dens in 1954 nothing could change his mind and there was a long stand off between player and club but he was eventually allowed to leave going to play in America for Los Angeles Danes.
Billy Steel will always be remembered at Dens Park and the hospitality lounge is named after him with many photos of the great man adorning the walls there.
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The Penalty King Andy Penman is pictured above
In the picture above Andy Penman is seen leaving Rangers keeper Billy Ritchie helpless as he scores against them from the spot in the Scottish Cup quarter final which ended 1-1, Dundee eventually lost out at Ibrox Park before a crowd of 82,000 in the second leg on April 3rd 1963 going down 3 - 2 with Gilzean netting both Dundee goals. Andy Penman was a genius with a football and he joined Everton straight from school in Rosyth where he made his debut in a non league match at the ripe old age of 15 against Liverpool, Andy's talent never went unnoticed and it was the then Dens manager, Willie Thorton, who brought Andy back to Scotland where he joined Dundee as an amateur at the age of 15 years in 1958.
Two games in the reserves was all it took for the Dundee management to know they had a player of real talent and Andy made his debut against Hearts in the Scottish league on February 7th 1959, a game which they lost 1 - 0 away, Andy played shortly before his 16th birthday which made him one of the youngest players ever to play in the Scottish League.
Andy played in what I think the best ever Dundee team alongside such greats as Alan Gilzean (a painter from Couper Angus), Gordon Smith (an ageing winger who had already won 4 league championship medals with Hibs and Hearts), Ian Ure (who played rugby most of his school life), Alex Hamilton (his party piece was to play keepie up with a sixpence before flicking it into the air and catching it in his pocket), Bobby Cox (the sliding tackle expert who was captain of his life long love, Dundee F.C), Bobby Seith (a superb wing half who joined Dundee at just the right time after an illustrious career with Burnley), Bobby Wishart (the hard tackling left half who joined from Aberdeen), add in Alan Cousin, a school teacher whose amazing double shuffle was sensational, throw in Alan Gilzean the prolific goal scorer and Dundee's all time top scorer, then a touch of Shuggy Robertson, a miners son from fife whose touch and pace was electric down the wing, not to forget Pat Linney whose inspirational penalty save against St.Mirren could have cost Dundee the League had he not done so, then of course there was Andy himself, the baby of the side, whose skill was so great that he became the pivot around which everything else evolved.
Now perhaps you may see where I'm coming from, but lets also mention the manager, Bob Shanky, brother of the legendry Bill of Liverpool fame, Bob's assistant was Sammy Keane who also played a part in the success of this great team but isn't it strange that the Arab enemy have their main stand named after Dundee's best ever manager?
When Andy left Dundee for, you guessed, Rangers in 1967, not much changed there then?, he had helped Dundee win the league, also get to the European Cup semi final and a 3 -1 defeat in the Scottish Cup final against Rangers, but he also left much more to the Dundee fans, the memories of watching a truely great player the like of who will seldom grace the field at Dens Park again.
Andy Penman was capped 3 times for Scotland but it should have been much more, Sadly Andy died on 20th July 1994 but the penalty king and boy wonder of Dens Park will forever be in the hearts of the Dundee faithful.
.jpg) Andy Penman 1943 - 1994 Remembered Forever
I gleaned the picture above of Andy Penman from the website of Dave Webster and you can check out Dave's page from the link below
Music by Led Zepplin "Stairway to Heaven"
I HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED THE LEGENDS OF DUNDEE FC AND THERE IS MORE ON LEGENDS PAGE 2
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