Kilmarnock F.C.

Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" are the oldest professional club in Scotland. Home matches are played at Rugby Park. They are currently members of the Scottish Premier League and are managed by Jim Jefferies.

History

The club's foundation dates to the very earliest days of organised football in Scotland, when a group of local cricketers looking for a sporting pursuit to occupy them outwith the cricket season formed a football club in 1869. Originally they played rugby rules, but the difficulty in organising fixtures and the growing influence of Queen's Park F.C. soon persuaded them to adopt the association code instead. These origins are reflected to this day by the name of the club's home ground - Rugby Park.

Although not amongst the founder members of the Scottish Football Association in 1873, Kilmarnock did join in time to compete in the inaugural Scottish Cup tournament in 1873-74. Their 2-0 defeat against Renton in the First Round on October 18 1873 is thought to have been the first match ever played in the competition.

Kilmarnock joined the Scottish League in 1895 and after winning consecutive Second Division titles were elected to the top flight for the first time in 1899. For much of their history they have been one of the most successful clubs based outwith Scotland's major cities. They have reached the Scottish Cup final eight times, winning the trophy on three occasions. Despite four appearances in the final, they have yet to lift the Scottish League Cup.

The club's greatest success was in 1965 under the management of Willie Waddell. On the final day of the season, they travelled to face Hearts at Tynecastle requiring a victory by two goals to win the league at their opponents' expense. A memorable 2-0 win saw Kilmarnock crowned Scottish League champions for the first, and to date only, time. This capped a period of tremendous consistency which had seen them occupy runners-up spot in four of the previous five seasons.

After a period of decline in the 1980s which saw the club relegated to the Second Division, Killie have returned to prominence, holding top division status since being promoted in 1993 and lifting the Scottish Cup for the third time in 1997 thanks to a 1-0 victory over Falkirk in the final.

The club have qualified for European competitions on eight occasions, their best performance coming in the 1966-67 Fairs Cup tournament when they progressed to the Semi-Finals, eventually being eliminated by Leeds United.

Killie finished the 2005/06 season in 5th position, after a tremendous season in which they were challenging for the 3rd place. However, after selling top scorer Kris Boyd to Rangers in January 2006 (who was the catalyst for the Glasgow club's fine run), Killie had to rely on goals from young striker Steven Naismith, Colin Nish and Danny Invincibile. After taking only 1 point in the first four games of the split, Killie beat Hibernian 3-1 to leapfrog Aberdeen into 5th place.

Club Records

Biggest win: 13 - 2 v Saltcoats Victoria, Scottish Qualifying Cup 2nd Round, September 12 1896

Worst defeat: 1 - 9 v Celtic, Scottish League Division 1, August 13 1938

Highest home attendance: 34,246 v Rangers, Scottish League Cup Section 4, August 17 1963

Most capped player: Joe Nibloe (11 for Scotland)

Most League appearances: Alan Robertson (484, 1972-88)

Most League goals: Willie Culley (149, 1912-23)

Most League goals in a season: Harry Cunningham (34 in 1927-28) and Andy Kerr (34 in 1960-61)

Transfer fee paid: £340,000 for Paul Wright from St Johnstone, March 1995

Transfer fee received: £400,000 for Kris Boyd to Rangers, January 2006

Managers

Hugh Spence (1919-37)
Jimmy McGrory (1937-45)
Tom Smith (1945-47)
Tom Mather (1947-48)
Alex Hastings (1948-50)
Malky McDonald (1950-57)
Willie Waddell (1957-65)
Malky McDonald (1965-68)
Walter McCrae (1968-73)
Willie Fernie (1973-77)
Davie Sneddon (1977-81)
Jim Clunie (1981-84)
Eddie Morrison (1984-88)
Jim Fleeting (1988-92)
Tommy Burns (1992-94)
Alex Totten (1994-96)
Bobby Williamson (1996-2002)
Jim Jefferies (2002 - present)

Prominent Fans

Alastair Campbell, former Director of Communications and Strategy for 10 Downing Street
Gary Holt, Scottish International footballer
Cathy Jamieson, Member of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive Minister for Justice
Malky McCormick, Scotland's best known Cartoonist and Caricaturist
Gordon Sherry, Scottish PGA golfer
Gavin Wallace, Radio DJ
Magnus Magnusson, Journalist and former presenter of Mastermind
Kirsty Wark, Scottish Journalist and presenter of the BBC's Newsnight programme.
Kirsty McCabe, BBC Weather forecaster
Colin Hay, Australian-Scottish musician. Lead singer of Men at Work
Hugh McIlvanney, Journailst & Biographer.
William McIlvanney,novelist.
John Barnes (Scottish Broadcaster)
Jim McColl, BBC Broadcaster, best known as presenter of Beechgrove Garden.

Honours

Scottish League Champions (1): 1964-65
Division Two (2): 1897-98, 1898-99
Scottish Cup (3): 1920, 1929, 1997

Current Squad (season 2006-2007)

External links

Scottish football clubs | Kilmarnock F.C.