Slade topped the charts when Dundee won the League Cup in 1973 but it wasn’t Noddy Holder hollering “It’s Chriiiiistmassss!” which lifted the gloom amongst a national energy crisis, miners’ strike and horrific weather but a 5ft 9in Dundonian who went by the nickname of ‘Stubby’.
On December 15th 1973 Dundee defeated Celtic 1-0 in the League Cup Final at Hampden and Gordon Wallace wrote his name into Dundee folklore. In the seventy-fifth minute ‘Stubby’ chested down a Bobby Wilson free kick with his back to goal, turned on a sixpence in one swift move and fired the ball past the despairing dive of Celtic’s Ally Hunter to score one of the best goals ever seen in a Hampden final and become an instant Dundee hero.
By the club’s eightieth year Dundee had an excellent record in the League Cup with two wins, one runners-up, three semi-final and six quarter-final appearances in a competition that was only twenty-seven years old. That 1973 win was therefore Dundee’s third victory in the competition which along with East Fife and Hearts gave them the best record behind the Old Firm.
To reach the final Dundee defeated Kilmarnock 1-0 in the semi at Hampden thanks to a goal from captain Tommy Gemmell and the match took place on Monday 3rd December after it was originally postponed on November 28th due to snow. With the floodlights powered by a generator producing only a third of its normal power and a spare crowd of just 4682 in attendance, there was an eerie atmosphere in the National Stadium which The Courier described as “ghost-like.”
This was because the miners’ strike had developed into a national energy crisis that would soon bring down Ted Heath’s Conservative Government and with blizzard conditions all over Scotland in the lead up to the Final twelve days later, the game was in doubt right up to kick-off.
For the Dundee fans there was uncertainty over whether any trains were running and the 50 mph limit on the roads was expected to reduce the Dundee crowd and it took the players’ coach three hours to reach Glasgow through snowbound roads which as a result saw the pre-match meal a hurried affair.
In the Final Dundee were due to meet Celtic who had emerged from the other semi-final with a 3-1 win over their Old Firm rivals Rangers. The Parkhead side were dominant in the Scottish Football at that time and in the middle of their nine-in-a-row League Championships while in the League Cup had played in the last nine finals winning five of them. Celtic had defeated Dundee 5-3 in the 1967 League Cup Final and with only one defeat to Dundee since 1966, they were strong favourites to take the trophy.
The kick-off was brought forward to an unprecedented time of 1.30pm to avoid having to switch the floodlights on in the event of extra-time and with freezing conditions of driving snow and sleet neither club wanted it played when they arrived at Mount Florida. Referee Bobby Davidson deemed the pitch playable and told the managers that the game was on and the 29,974 attendance was not surprisingly, the lowest ever for a League Cup Final.
So for Dundee’s fourth League Cup Final and for the third time the clubs had met in a major final, the line ups were:
Dundee: Allan, Wilson, Gemmell (capt.), Ford, Stewart, Phillip, Duncan, Robinson, Wallace, J. Scott, Lambie. Subs – I. Scott, Johnston.
Celtic: Hunter. McGrain, Brogan, McClusky, McNeill, Murray, Hood, Hay, Wilson, Callaghan, Dalgleish. Subs – Johnstone, Connelly.
Conditions were appalling and by the time kick off arrived, the driving snow and sleet had turned into driving rain which continued throughout the game. The pitch itself was bone hard with slush and pools of water forming as the game went on thanks to the relentless rain. It was also an uncomfortable afternoon for the fans as the terracings were a sea of mud and outside Hampden, there were deep pools of slush and water.
Occasionally players would slip and the ball would bounce and skid awkwardly but despite this, it was an entertaining game. Celtic generally wanted to run with the ball while Dundee looked to use a more studied passing approach and it the early stages it was the Dark Blues who were more successful, creating four good scoring chances to Celtic’s one.
At the interval however the score was still goalless and as conditions worsened after the break, chances became few and far between.
On 76 minutes, Dundee’s Bobby Wilson was fouled by Paul Wilson on the halfway line and the right-back dusted himself down and took the free-kick himself. He sent a high, bending ball towards the edge of the Celtic box where it found Gordon Wallace with his back to goal and striker, surrounded by three Celtic defenders, took the ball on his chest and spun, before sweeping a low shot past the diving Ally Hunter.
It was 1-0 to Dundee and although Celtic moved up a gear in the remaining minutes, the Dark Blues were not to be denied their first trophy in eleven years. Ex-Dee Steve Murray went close before Celtic desperately appealed for a penalty when substitute Jimmy Johnstone went down in the box near the end but the referee was not impressed.
The downpour had continued until the end but there was no dampening the enthusiasm of the Dundee players and fans when the final whistle sounded and continued when captain Tommy Gemmell went up the Hampden steps to collect the glittering prize.
Although Dundee’s League Cup victory had been achieved by solid teamwork and a memorable goal, the swashbuckling Gemmell, who had joined the club in the summer from Nottingham Forest, had been an inspirational skipper. John Duncan was also outstanding in a deeper role on the right as was Wallace and Phillip, while Thomson Allan was immaculate in goal, showing the form that would earn him a place in the Scotland World Cup squad at the end of the season.
Although Celtic had forced thirteen corners to Dundee’s five, most of the menace had come from the Dark Blues and the Dens Park club were well worth their victory.
Later the players, officials and wives celebrated in Dundee’s Angus Hotel in the Overgate and the League Cup was paraded at Dens the following week before the next league game against Motherwell.
The 1973/74 League Cup win is the last major silverware to adorn the Dens Park trophy cabinet and the side who brought it home were a class act who also that season reached the Scottish Cup semi-final, finished fifth in the League and qualified for the UEFA Cup by virtue of that win. Three of that side Gemmell, Wallace and Scott went on to manage the club while six of them Wallace, Scott, Stewart, Duncan, Allan and Wilson are in the Dundee FC Hall of Fame with more in the coming years sure to follow.
Article by Kenny Ross
