Dundee Wanderers (Scotland)
Dundee Wanderers FC were formed as a merger of two
of the oldest clubs in Dundee. In an attempt to put two teams from the city of
Dundee into the Scottish Football League.
Dundee Wanderers were formed when Strathmore FC,
the oldest club in Dundee, formed in 1876 and Johnstone Wanderers (formally
Wanderers FC, who were formed in 1885 (they changed there name to Johnstone
Wanderers in 1891).
Strathmore FC were formed in 1876 and lead a
somewhat nomadic life playing in no less than four different grounds.
Strathmore were the oldest team in Dundee to survive infancy. In early 1878 the
club became the first team in the City to play in the Scottish Cup. The club in
the early 1880's played a number of spectacular friendlies against teams in
both Scotland and England including Queen's Park, Aston Villa and Sunderland.
Johnstone Wanderers FC were formed as simply
Wanderers FC in 1885 as the result of several committee members from Dundee Our
Boys FC (founder members of Dundee FC). Broke away and formed their own team.
Wanderers changed their name to Johnstone Wanderers FC in 1891. 1891 was the
same year that the club moved from Morgan Park just off Clepington Road to
Clepington Park on Tannadice Street about half a mile to the west.
The club became Dundee Wanderers in 1894 when after
Dundee FC (formed in 1893 as a merger of Dundee East End and Dundee Our Boys).
Were successfully elected to the SFL. Once Dundee FC had been in the SFL the
league had seen the appetite for league football was larger than they had
thought in the city and when in 1893 it was announced that from 1894 there
would be a second tier Dundee Wanderers were formed to play in the league.
Dundee Wanderers were from the minute they were formed would struggle.
It started from the very beginning the club was announced. Even there name was
a controversial initially when the club applied to the SFL the teams name was
Dundonians. The league based in Glasgow were happy with this but Dundee FC
argued that as the oldest team in the City (claiming the date that there
formation clubs of Dundee East End and Dundee Our Boys were formed in 1877 as
the origins of the club). Dundee therefore argued that Dundonians can't use
that name as in the press that was the nickname Dundee had been given and
therefore the “newer” club would need to change its name. Dundonians argued
that if the dates of formation clubs was the bench mark for the argument Dundee
should change their name as Strathmore FC was the oldest team in the city so
there for Dundee should change their name.
Surprisingly this motion held some weight and went
to a vote in the SFL and Dundee only just won the vote. The arguing was Dundee
were the oldest league club in the city. So Dundee Wanderers FC were finally
agreed. To add to Dundee Wanderers issues, they decided to stick to the
strictly amateur status that both the former clubs had been.
After the formation of Dundee Wanderers in June
1894 the club lost its lease on Clepington Park. So, for the start of Wanderers
only season in league football the club homeless. Finally, after having to
reverse the fixture of the season the club managed to get an agreement to play
at East Dock Street to home of Dundee Harp. By December though the club managed
to get an agreement in place to play the rest of the season back at Clepington
Park where the club would remain until 1909.
As for the league season though Dundee Wanderers
finished 9th out of 10 teams in the second division ending the
season on just 9 points. The club finished on the same points as the renown
Glasgow side Cowstairs only avoiding bottom spot because of an award of 2
points because Renton couldn't complete its fixture against the club.
At the end of the season the club were not
re-elected to league. There place was taken by Kilmarnock. The club did leave
there mark on Scottish Football as being the team on the wrong end of the
biggest result in league football when in December 1984 the team were beaten
15-1 by Airdrieonians.
In the summer of 1895 after the club failed to be
re-elected to the SFL. The club joined the Northern League and managed to
steady out and in 1899-1900 season Dundee Wanderers won the Northern League.
It wouldn't be until 1909 that things would change
for Dundee Wanderers and would finally make the demise of the club a certainty.
After the demise of Dundee Harp in 1894 the large Irish community had no team
that felt like it was one of their own. On the 24th May 1909 a new
club was formed to follow the lines of Hibernian of Edinburgh. Dundee Hibernian
however, when formed were very determined to not have the sectarian eliminate
that had ultimately lead to the downfall of Dundee Harp.
In June 1909 the tenancy of Clepington Park came up
for renewal. Dundee Wanderers came to an agreement and believed they had
succeeded. A few days later though the club were outraged to find out that
Dundee Hibernian secretary Pat Reilly had contacted the landlords of Clepington
Park and offered them better terms. To which the landlords took and Dundee
Wanderers became homeless.
Dundee Wanderers took the underhand action of the
new team well and decided that one night in June to go to there now former home
and take a few of there items that they had left behind. These items included
some kits, balls, the fences enclosing the ground, the shed which had the
changing rooms in it, the goal posts and dismantled the small grandstand. When
they left there was nothing more than an open field left to the new club.
Dundee Hibernian were seemingly unbothered by this
as on 19th August 1909 the club played Hibernian in a friendly at
the newly renamed Tannadice Park. In 1910 the new club were elected to the SFL
and in 1923 they changed there name to Dundee United.
Dundee Wanderers however, spent the season 1909-10
playing all there games away from home. At the end of that season they were no
closer to having a new home ground so had to resign from the league. In 1910-11
the club ground hopped only playing friendlies and cup ties. Times did seem to
change when in 1911-12 the club managed to get the lease for St Margaret's Park
in Lochee. With this lease the club rejoined the Northern League for the
1912-13 season.
By the end of the 1912-13 season Dundee Wanderers
were deeply in debt and had after the seasons of no home ground the team had
lost fans to the two league sides in the city. Also with the rent of the ground
higher than the net income from the turnstiles the club resigned from the
Northern League in the summer of 1912.
The club would play two more games. There last
senior game came on the 7th September 1912 in an 8-0 defeat to
Arbroath. A few months later in the Quarter Final of the Forfarshire Cup (a
game they got to purely thanks to a bye). The final game the club played was at
Dens Park against a Dundee “A” team. Wanderers lost 6-1 on the 15 March 1913.
At the end of that season Dundee Wanderers Football
Club was wound up. During their time Dundee Wanderers won the Northern League
once in 1899-1900 and won the Forfarshire cup three times in 1897-98, 1901-02
and finally in 1903-04.
Nothing can really be seen in Dundee from Dundee
Wanderers except for Tannadice Park which is still the home of Dundee United to
this day.