Dunfermline Athletic F.C.
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| Full name | Dunfermline Athletic Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Pars | ||
| Founded | 2 June, 1885 | ||
| Ground | East End Park, Dunfermline, Scotland | ||
| Capacity | 11,850 | ||
| Chairman |  John Yorkston | ||
| Manager | Jim Leishman | ||
| League | Scottish Premier League | ||
| 2005-06 | SPL, 11th | ||
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Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife. They are currently members of the Scottish Premier League, and finished runners up to Celtic in this season's Scottish League Cup final, played on March 19 2006. They play at East End Park and are nicknamed The Pars. Jim Leishman is currently in his second spell as manager of the club. The club has recently come in for heavy criticism following this season's price increases which have alienated many supporters, and means that it will cost £23 to watch league games.
Origins of nickname
According to Black and White Magic, a 1984 book about the club by Jim Paterson and Douglas Scott, there are numerous theories as to the origin of the club's nickname, the Pars. The authors wrote:
Most tend to confirm the more common belief that the name arose from the team`s parallel striped shirts, their drinking habits or their style of play. The latter were both described as "paralytic". The earliest theory claims that in the early days when the Football Club was closely connected with the Cricket Club, the footballers were renowned for their performances at the bar and so were called the "Paralytics".
However in the early 1900s it is known that Athletic`s nickname was the "Dumps" - shortened from Dunfermline - and this is said to have been coined by English sailors visiting East End Park when their ship docked at Rosyth. After the 1914-18 War they were known as the Pars and some believe the parallel black and white stripes to be the reason.
Another school of thought involves English workers who came to work at the armaments depot at Crombie and at Rosyth Dockyard; they kept their association with their local team by forming the Plymouth Argyle (Rosyth) Supporters Club and it is said that the Dunfermline nickname comes from the banners in evidence around the ground.
Managers
- William Knight (1922-1925)
- Sandy Paterson (1925-1930)
- William Knight (1930-1936)
- David Taylor (1936-1938)
- Peter Wilson (1938-1939)
- Sandy Archibald (1939-1946)
- William McAndrew (1947-1947)
- Bobby Calder (1947-1948)
- Webber Lees (1947-1951)
- Bobby Ancell (1951-1955)
- Andy Dickson (1955-1960)
- Jock Stein (1960-1964)
- Willie Cunningham (1964-1967)
- George Farm (1967-1970)
- Alex Wright (1970-1972)
- George Miller (1972-1975)
- Harry Melrose (1975-1980)
- Pat Stanton (1980-1982)
- Tom Forsyth (1982-1983)
- Jim Leishman (1983-1990)
- Iain Munro (1990-1991)
- Jocky Scott (1991-1993)
- Bert Paton (1993-1999)
- Dick Campbell (1999)
- Jimmy Calderwood (1999-2004)
- David Hay (2004-2005)
- Jim Leishman (2005-)
Club records
- Highest home attendance: 27,816 vs Celtic, 1968
- Biggest league win: 11-2 vs. Stenhousemuir, 1930
- Biggest league defeat: 10-0 vs. Dundee, 22 March 1947]]
- Biggest all-time defeat: 17-2 vs. Clackmannan, Midland League, 1891
- Most capped player: Colin Miller 16 (Canada), 1995-1998
- Most appearances: Norrie McCathie, 576 (497 league), 1981-1996
- Most career goals : Charles Dickson, 212 (154 league), 1955-1964
- Record transfer free paid: £540,000 to Girondins de Bordeaux for Istvan Kozma, 9 August 1989
- Record transfer free received: £650,000 from Celtic for Jackie McNamara, 4 October 1995
Famous players
- Willie Callaghan
- Eddie Connachan
- Charlie Dickson
- Alex Edwards
- Alex Ferguson
- Hamish French
- Ross Jack
- István Kozma
- Jim Leishman
- John Lunn
- Norrie McCathie
- Harry Melrose
- Bert Paton
- Craig Robertson
- John Watson
- Ian Westwater
Current squad (season 2006-2007)
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Player out on loan
| 30 | GK | SCO
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Sean Murdoch (on loan to Forfar Athletic) |
Honours
- First Division (2) - 1989, 1996
- Second Division (2) - 1926, 1986
- Scottish Cup (2) - 1961, 1968; Runners-up (2) - 1965, 2004
- Scottish League Cup - Runners-up 1950, 1992, 2006
- Cup Winner's Cup semi-finalists 1969