1883–84 Dumbarton F.C. season
The 1883–84 season was the 11th Scottish football season in which Dumbarton competed at a national level.
| 1883–84 season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stadium | Boghead Park, Dumbarton | |
| Scottish Cup | First Round | |
|
| ||
Scottish Cup
After the success of the previous season, Dumbarton fell at the 'first hurdle' in the Scottish Cup by losing to local rivals Renton.[1]
Glasgow Charity Cup
Dumbarton's fortunes were no better in the Glasgow Charity Cup where they lost at the semi final stage to 3rd LRV. A protest was lodged by Dumbarton after the game that their opponents had played several players from other teams - against SFA rules. However the basis of the objection was doomed to failure, due in part to the fact that the game had been refereed by the president of the SFA, and if the protest had been successful, Queen's Park's victory over Rangers would have had to be replayed, as the QP team was similarly sprinkled with 'guest' players - indeed it seemed that very few decisions went against Queens Park in those days!
| 19 April 1884 SemiFinal | Dumbarton | 0-1 | 3rd LRV | Hampden Park |
Crawford  |
Attendance: 7,000 |
Friendlies/other matches
Notwithstanding the early cup exit, Dumbarton's fixture card was a busy one.
The season began with a charity match against Rangers in aid of the Daphne Disaster Fund. This was followed in Scotland with home and away fixtures against Queen's Park, Vale of Leven, Rangers, St Mirren (the Renfrewshire Cup holders) and St Bernards - all 10 of which were won, in addition to a 7-0 thumping of Ayrshire Cup holders Kilmarnock Athletic.
There were also 12 'friendly' matches played against English opposition, including home and away fixtures against Aston Villa, Walsall Swifts, Nottingham Forest, Blackburn Rovers and Blackburn Olympic, the 1882-83 FA Cup winners. The 6-1 win at Boghead against 'Olympic' was at the time recognised as the unofficial Championship of Great Britain.
In all, 23 matches were won, 1 drawn and 7 lost, scoring 95 goals and conceding 38.
| 31 July 1883 Benefit | Rangers | 4-2 | Dumbarton | Kinning Park |
| scrimmage Christie McHardy scrimmage |
Brown(P) Brown(S) |
Attendance: 2,500 |
| 4 August 1883 Friendly | Vale of Leven | 1-2 | Dumbarton | Alexandria |
|
Brown(P) Lindsay |
| 25 August 1883 Friendly | Hearts | 3-3 | Dumbarton | Tynecastle Stadium |
| Waugh Wood Douglas |
Brown(P) Lindsay Anderson |
| 1 September 1883 Friendly | Dumbarton | 6-1 |  | Boghead Park |
| McArthur Brown(P) Brown(S) Miller,J |
|
Attendance: 3,000 |
| 17 September 1883 Friendly | | 0-2 | Dumbarton | The Chuckery |
| Kennedy Miller,P |
Attendance: 3,500 |
| 22 September 1883 Friendly | Dumbarton | 3-2 | Queen's Park | Boghead Park |
| Miller McKinnon |
Miller |
| 29 September 1883 Friendly | Dumbarton | 2-1 | | Boghead Park |
| McKinnon Brown |
|
Attendance: 3,000 Referee: T Lawrie |
| 6 October 1883 Friendly | Dumbarton | 3-0 | Vale of Leven | Boghead Park |
| Lindsay Brown(S) |
Attendance: 3,000 |
| 13 October 1883 Friendly | 3rd LRV | 4-0 | Dumbarton | Cathkin Park |
|
Attendance: 1,200 |
| 27 October 1883 Friendly | Dumbarton | 2-0 | Rangers | Boghead Park |
| Lindsay McKinnon |
Attendance: 5,000 |
| 3 November 1883 Friendly | Queen's Park | 1-3 | Dumbarton | Titwood Park, Strathbungo |
| Christie |
McKinnon Colville Brown |
Attendance: 6,000 |
| 10 November 1883 Friendly | Dumbarton | 4-2 | St Mirren | Boghead Park |
| Brown(S) Brown(P) McKinnon |
|
Referee: W McIntosh |
| 17 November 1883 Friendly | Rangers | 2-4 | Dumbarton | Kinning Park |
| McHardy McGregor |
McKinnon Brown Colville |
Attendance: 5,000 |
| 24 November 1883 Friendly | | 2-3 | Dumbarton | Park Side, Nottingham |
| Widowsen |
Keir Hutton Colville |
Attendance: 4,000 |
| 8 December 1883 Friendly | Dumbarton | 7-0 | Kilmarnock Athletic | Boghead Park |
| McKinnon Kennedy |
| 15 December 1883 Friendly | Dumbarton | 4-0 | | Boghead Park |
| Brown McKinnon Higgins |
| 22 December 1883 Friendly | Dumbarton | 2-1 | Cowlairs | Boghead Park |
|
|
| 29 December 1883 Friendly | | 1-2 | Dumbarton | Kennington Oval |
| Wilson |
McKinnon Brown |
Attendance: 1,000 Referee: C Alcock |
| 31 December 1883 Friendly | | 1-0 | Dumbarton | Wellington Road (Perry Barr) |
| Whateley |
Attendance: 8,000 |
| 1 January 1884 Friendly | | 2-1 | Dumbarton | Leamington Road |
| Douglas |
Brown |
Attendance: 10,000 |
| 2 January 1884 Friendly | | 0-4 | Dumbarton | Thorneyholme Road |
| Brown(S) |
Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Mr Lewis |
| 12 January 1884 Friendly | Dumbarton | 1-2 | Thornliebank | Boghead Park |
| Lindsay |
Law Bonar |
Attendance: 2,000 |
| 26 January 1884 Friendly | St Bernard's | 0-1 | Dumbarton | Powderhall |
|
| 12 February 1884 Friendly | Dumbarton | 3-1 | | Boghead Park |
| Colville Lindsay |
Miller,P |
Attendance: 2,000 Referee: W Young |
| 9 February 1884 Friendly | St Mirren | 0-6 | Dumbarton | Westmarch, Paisley |
|
Attendance: 6,000 |
| 16 February 1884 Friendly | Dumbarton | 8-0 | St Bernard's | Boghead Park |
| McKinnon Lindsay Brown{P} Brown(S) McAulay |
| 23 February 1884 Friendly | | 4-3 | Dumbarton | Hole-i'-th'-Wall, Blackburn |
| Dewhurst Parker Matthews |
Miller |
Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Mr Critchley |
| 15 March 1884 Friendly | Dumbarton | 3-0 | Thistle | Boghead Park |
|
| 22 March 1884 Friendly | Partick Thistle | 2-1 | Dumbarton | Inchview, Glasgow |
|
Lindsay |
Attendance: 4,000 |
| 12 April 1884 Friendly | Dumbarton | 5-0 | | Boghead Park |
| McKinnon Lindsay Miller |
Attendance: 5,000 |
Player statistics
Of note amongst those donning the club's colours for the first time was Robert 'Plumber' Brown.
Only includes appearances and goals in competitive Scottish Cup matches.
| Player | Position | Appearances | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
GK | 1 | 0 |
|
DF | 1 | 0 |
|
DF | 1 | 0 |
|
MF | 1 | 1 |
|
MF | 1 | 0 |
|
FW | 1 | 0 |
|
FW | 1 | 0 |
|
FW | 1 | 0 |
|
FW | 1 | 0 |
|
FW | 1 | 0 |
|
FW | 1 | 0 |
Source:[7]
International caps
An international trial match was played on 8 March 1884 to consider selection of teams to represent Scotland against Ireland, England and Wales in the inaugural British Home Championship. Joe Lindsay, James McAulay, William McKinnon and Peter Miller were all selected to play for the 'Probables' against an 'Improbable' XI which included 'Sparrow' Brown and Jock Hutcheson. The game ended in a 2-2 draw with McKinnon scoring one of the 'Probables' goals.
Subsequently, the following Dumbarton players were selected:
- Robert 'Sparrow' Brown[8] earned his first and second caps against Ireland and Wales respectively.
- Joe Lindsay[9] earned his fourth and fifth caps against England and Wales respectively, scoring a goal in the 4-1 win over the Welsh.
- William McKinnon[10] earned his third and fourth caps against England and Wales respectively.
- James McAulay[11] earned his fourth cap against England and Michael Paton[12] earned his second cap against Wales.
Reserve team
Dumbarton reached the final of the Scottish Second XI Cup for the second time in three seasons before losing out to the holders, Kilmarnock Athletic.
On the same day as the international trial, a Dumbartonshire XI played against a Glasgow XI to raise funds for the Second Eleven Association. Ralph Aitken, James Liddell, James Miller and W Watt played, with Miller scoring twice and Watt once in the 4-1 win.
References
- Smailes, Gordon (1995). The Breedon Book of Scottish Football Records. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-020-X.
- "Renton 2 - 1 Dumbarton, Scottish Cup (08/09/1883)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
- "Renton 2 - 1 Dumbarton, Saturday, September 8th, 1883". The Sons Archive. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
- "Willie Lang - Player Statistics". The Sons Archive. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- "Anderson - Player Statistics". The Sons Archive. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- "James Miller - Player Statistics". The Sons Archive. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- McAllister, Jim (2002). The Sons of the Rock - The Official History of Dumbarton Football Club. Dumbarton: J&J Robertson Printers.
- "Robert Brown". Scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
- "Joseph Lindsay". Scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
- "William McKinnon". Scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
- "James McAulay". Scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- "Michael Paton". Scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2019.