Dundee United
Formed 1909 as Dundee Hibernian.
Re-formed as Dundee City 1923.
Elected to Scottish Division Two 1910. Transferred to the Eastern League 1915.
SFL membership reinstated 1919 and 1920 but resigned on both occasions without competing.
Founder member of the reformed Scottish Division Two 1921. Dropped out in 1922.
Elected back into Scottish Division Two 1923.
Kit History
Dundee Hibernian
1909
1909-1910 r s B
1910-1913 r B
1913-1915 f r s B D
1919-1922 f r s B
Dundee City
1923
Became Dundee United October 1923
Aug-Oct1923 a f r s B
Nov 1923-1925 B
1925-1927 r s B
Aug-Oct'27 Home r
Nov'27-28 Home r B
1927-1928 Away r
1928-1929 Home r
1929-1930 f r B
1930-Oct 1932 r B
Oct 1932-1934 r B
1934-1936 r B
1936-1937 B
1937-1940 a f r B
1945-1948 r
1948-Dec1949 r
Jan1950-1955 r t
1955-1957 r
1957-1958 B
1958-1959 f B D
1959-1960 A
1960-1961 r
1961-1962 r
1962-1964 r
1964-1965 D
1965-1966 r
1966-1969 c d r
1969-1971 a r
1971-1972 a
1972-1973 B
1973-1974 alt a r
1973-1976 a r y
1977-1979 c f w
1979-1983 w
1983-1984 m
1984-1987 p x
1987-1988 m p
1988-1989 m p w
1989-1991 p z
1991-March 1992 z
April '92-1993 k n p q z
1993-1994 f g p z
1994-1996 m p z
1996-1997 p z
1997-1998 o z
1998-1999 f p
1999-2000 o p
2000-2001 n z
2001-2002 b m C
2002-2003 j m C
2003-2004 i
2004-2006 f i
2005-2006 alt z
2006-2007 f u z
2007-2008 f v z
2008-2009 f v
2009-2010 f
2010-2011 f
2011-2012 f
Background
During the late 1870s and 1880s Irish communities throughout Scotland,
inspired by the examples of Hibernian (Edinburgh) and later Celtic (Glasgow),
formed their own teams. In Dundee two such clubs were formed in 1879: Dundee Hibernian wore green and black stripes and lasted only four seasons, closing down in 1883. Dundee Harp (who wore plain green shirts) were more durable but in April 1894 they were suspended by the Scottish FA for non-payment of match guarantees and shortly afterwards they closed down too. In September 1894 a new Dundee Hibernians club was formed but they lasted only two seasons before going the way of their predecessors in 1896.
In August 1909 the third Dundee Hibernian club was formed with the express purpose of gaining admittance to the Scottish Football League. Although they represented the city's Irish/Catholic population, the club adopted a non-sectarian approach to the recruitment of players and backroom staff. They moved into Clepington Park, former home of Dundee Wanderers and renamed it Tannadice. After a single season in the Northern League Dundee Hibs were elected to fill the vacancy in the Scottish Second Division created by the amalgamation of Ayr and Ayr Parkhouse. They competed at this level without distinction until 1915 when the Second Division was suspended. The member clubs then formed regional competitions and Hibs joined the Eastern League.
The first derby against their near neighbours and arch-rivals Dundee FC was played in 1915, the Dens Park club (who played in the First Division) running out 4-0 winners.
Events immediately after the war are confused. At the AGM held on April 3 1919 the league management committee put forward a proposal that the Scottish League should continue with 22 rather than 18 clubs in a single division. Aberdeen, Dundee and Raith Rovers were to be readmitted automatically, leaving one vacancy. Dundee Hibs applied but were unsuccessful and subsequently resigned their membership of the SFL in protest at the refusal of the league's decision not to reinstate the Second Division (creating a cosy closed shop for the top clubs.)
Dundee Hibernian rejoined the Eastern League, which they won in 1920. In June 1920 the club successfully re-applied for Scottish League but once again the member clubs refused to allow the Second Division to restart and Hibs joined the rebel Central League instead.
The new competition proved highly successful, not least because members offered higher wages than those permitted in the Scottish League, resulting in a number of players defecting. In 1921 the First Division clubs agreed to reinstate the Second Division by incorporating the Central League and introducing automatic promotion and relegation for the first time. A condition of the arrangement was that the two bottom clubs would drop out at the end of the season in order to even up the numbers.
Unfortunately, Dundee Hibernian finished the season in one of these positions and lost their place. The following season they played in the Scottish Alliance where they performed poorly and the club went bust at the end of the season. A consortium of local businessman stepped in with a plan to broaden the club's appeal by abandoning its Irish roots. The reformed club was named Dundee City and the green jerseys were discarded in favour of white and black. A campaign was launched to secure election back into the Second Division, which proved successful but following objections from Dundee FC, the club’s name was changed to Dundee United in October 1923. While this matter was in dispute, the club continued to be known as Dundee Hibernian and their new club crest featured the letters "DH" superimposed on the city's coat of arms. The crest was dropped once the matter was settled.
In 1925 and 1929 the reformed club won the Second Division championship and they were promoted as runners-up in 1931 but their career in the First Division proved brief on each occasion.
In 1959-60, United won promotion after twenty-seven undistinguished seasons in the Second Division but this time they consolidated. During this period they wore predominantly all-white kits. In the mid-1960s United played as the Dallas Tornadoes in the North American Soccer League (NASL) during the close season wearing "Columbia blue and burnt orange." In 1969 they adopted orange in the Scottish League but as blue was worn by their rivals Dundee FC, black was substituted instead. The arrival of Jim McLean as manager in 1971 and the introduction of a strong youth policy marked their transition from an average First Division side to one that would challenge the dominance of the Old Firm. In 1979-80, United won the Scottish League Cup, retaining it the following season. In 1983 they won the Premier Division title and were hailed, along with Aberdeen as the “New Firm.” The following season United reached the semi-finals of the European Cup and in 1987 they were beaten finalists in the UEFA Cup.
McLean retired in 1993 after a remarkable 22 years in charge and his place was taken by Ivan Golac who won the Scottish Cup in his first season in charge, United’s sixth final appearance. In 1995 United were relegated to the First Division, but bounced back the following season after a dramatic extra-time win in the play-off against Partick Thistle. The following season they finished third in the Premiership.
Since that success, United have struggled to maintain their status in the top flight and have yet to recapture their previous glory.
Sources
- (a) London Hearts
- (b) Dundee Rivals
- (c) Riccardo Bertani
- (d) Relichtieplus
- (e) Dundee FC - Images of Sport (Paul Lunney 2001)
- (f) Dundee United Official Website
- (g) Airdrieonians FC - Images of Sport (Brian Bollen 2002)
- (h) Show Racism the Red Card
- (i) Colours of Football
- (j) The Scotsman
- (k) ic Liverpool.co.uk
- (l) Pete's Picture Palace
- (m) oldfootballshirts.com
- (n) e-bay
- (o) Classic Kits
- (p) SNSpix
- (q) Tommy Guthrie
- (r) Alick Milne
- (s) John Cockburn-Turner
- (t) St Johnstone FC - Images of Sport (Alastair Blair 2003)
- (u) Brian Baxter
- (v) Football Shirt Culture
- (w) Aidan Hegarty
- (x) Duncan Castles
- (y) Willie Kay
- (z) Sultanate of Tannadice
- (A) John Small
- (B) The Dundee United Official Centenary History by Peter Rundo & Mike Watson (Birlinn 2009 ISBN 978 1 84158 828 5)
- (C) seanftd
- (D) Keith Ellis