Time for a wee break now, so no more posts till January.For any newcomer to the Shrine who is not yet used to the layout, here's a quick guide..Anytime you visit the Shrine you will only see a few of the latest posts on the page. To view ALL the material, go to the BLOG ARCHIVE in the green panel on the right of the page and click on any month to open that months items, then you can scroll through them.If you want to leave a message, there is a small COMMENTS feature at the bottom right of each post, again just click onto it if you have something to say.A big THANKS to those of you who have dropped comments on so far.I've got loads more to put on over the coming months, so stay tuned and I'll be back in full flow early next year with another bundle of goodees!CHEERZ GG
Here's a golden oldie that we're never fed up of!
Slade were top of the charts in December 1973 when Dundee were top of the stairs in Hampden collecting their League Cup winners medals. Every year since, when I hear that #1 tune "Merry Christmas Everybody" blasting out during December, I always remember the #1 team in the '73 Final.Below is some rare footage of the extended version of the medal ceremony where every DFC player gets a mention in a roll-call of honour.
It was 35 years ago today Dundee won the Scottish League Cup. 15th December 1973 was the big day and it was a match I was at. I'd be aged 15.I remember making a customised scarf for the special occasion. I came up with the idea of adding the words "DUNDEE FC" to my regular dark blue scarf, so what I did was get on old white pillowcase, cut all the letters out from it then painstakingly sew them all onto the scarf. Took me all evening but the end result was pretty smart!We Dundonians were up against the odds that day - Celtic being in their 9 in-a-row season. We were up against the elements too - the atrocious winter weather nearly had the game cancelled, and we were up against the government - there were power cuts and transport strikes all over Scotland. Despite all that was chucked at us, we still came out on top.Here below is a wee film that gives a glimpse as to what the Dees trip to Hampden was like on the day we beat the odds!Photo by DC Thomson.
A wee seasonal graphic if anybody wants to download it. Click on the image to get the large version.
A wee reminder of Dundee's return to the European football scene in almost 30 years.14th August 2003 was the day that had Dee fans wiping the dust from their passports and preparing for some UEFA Cup action again.KS Vllaznia, based in Shkoder in Albania was the opposition, and in this 1st leg tie Dundee managed to get the competition off to a great start, winning 2-0. Lovell and Novo popping in the goals.Below you can watch some footage of the team & fans setting off for the game, followed by clips of the 2 goals from the Loro Borici Stadium. Commentary is in Albanian.
I don't know what all the fuss is about with frozen pitches. When Dundee's undersoil heating failed a few years ago, they just got on with it!
A rare wee souvenir from '68, although it be a bit tatty now.The Fairs Cup was a kind of precursor to the present UEFA Cup, and this Elland Road game was the 2nd leg of the semi-final. The 1st leg at Dens Park ended 1-1. This return match in Leeds was Dundee's very last game of the season, but unfortunately we lost it 1-0. Leeds, whos team consisted of legends like Bremner, Lorimer, Giles & Hunt, went on to lift the trophy.
Dundee FC used to be dead famous in the 1960's. No joke! The team and individual players were 60's celebs well known for their jet set lifestyle. In fact, the Dee were so famous they actually made TV shows. One was called "Dee Time" and another was called "This is Ure life". Sadly, no footage of the content survives, but I have managed to find very rare film of the intros to the two shows.
Here they are below, Shrine exclusives!!
Photo by the Scotsman.
This aerial shot of Dens Park was taken in 1988. It shows the bench seating in place around the Provost Rd - Dens Rd section.The 87/88 season was a rather average year in the SPL, with the Dees finishing 7th.Tommy Coyne was our top scorer with 37 goals.The way some of the cup ties worked out meant that Dundee ended up playing Dundee United an incredible 9 times that season!We did get a trophy however, winning the Tennents Sixes indoor tournament... so no too bad!
On a snowy December in 1976, Dundee FC had a Gala Day at Dens Park. There were stalls laid out selling various goods, the fans could meet the players, and there was music and other entertainment on throughout the day. Because it had snowed the night before, the pitch was cleared so that a charity game could take place, with the snow being swept to the side of the pitch. In amongst the entertainment taking place on the day was a scheduled appearance of the Batmobile, and sure enough, in through the Tannadice Street gate at the side of the Stand came the Batmobile, with Batman & Robin waving to the crowd from inside the car. The car drove around the track at the side of the pitch then stopped in front of the Stand. Out popped the Dynamic Duo to pose beside the Batmobile and greet the crowd. Bad move!! While they were posing and waving, a group of kids ran over to the snow that was piled up at the side of the pitch and started chucking snowballs at them. They were absolutely pelted! Next thing was the hilarious sight of the Caped Crusaders scarpering back into the Batmobile for protection then screeching off back out of Dens. You could almost see the words POW - SPLAT - THUD pop up as Dundee's bairns chased the crimefighters back to Gotham City!!
This turned out to be more duff than Duffy merchandise! The idea behind it was a parody of TV's "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" using Duffy's name in it's place. It even had the DFC badge in blood! Anyway, it never reached the mass production stage and there were only 2 sample shirts made. Jim Duffy himself saw the humorous side of it and actually signed the one I have, but I've no idea what happened to the other one, maybe it ended up being used as a duster by the cleaner at Dens!
Jim Duffy had 2 stints as Dundee manager -1993 - 19962002 - 2004Duffy took the Dees to 2 cup finals at Hampden as manager. League Cup in 1995 & Scottish Cup in 2003. However, it was more than just footballing managerial qualities he contributed to the club as his involvement behind the scenes when Dundee were going through troubled times, assisted in the club's survival.Above is Jim Duffy with one of his "Manager of the month" awards in 2003.Photo by DC Thomson.Below is a wee tv ad for the 95 final.
Jim Duffy had 3 stints as a Dundee player - 1984 - 198819901992 - 1996A Dens favourite, Duffy rarely put a foot wrong in defence and wasn't afraid to get stuck in as the above photo shows, from a game against Rangers in 1987 in which he got booked for his efforts.He played a total of 238 games for the Club.Photo by Newsquest.Tints by GG.
I'm not referring to the "transfer window" here, I'm talking about kids transfers. In the 60's when I was a school kid, we used to get transfers "free" in comics and from the rag man who used to drive his van around Dundee's housing schemes for jumble. There were usually about 10 transfers on one sheet of paper, and what you did was, cut around one of the images, wet your arm or back of hand (usually by licking), place the transfer onto the wet patch, hold into position for about a minute then peel off the back paper leaving the image on your body like a tattoo. Good fun, although they always flaked away after a few hours.The transfer above is an original unused one from the 60's which was too precious for me to waste my saliva on!
Time for a wee break now, so no more posts till January.
