Dundee travel to Paisley on Saturday to take on St Mirren in the first Premiership game of the season and so we take a look at a player to play for both clubs, Eric Sinclair, who was inducted into Dundee’s Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Eric Sinclair emerged from his time at Dens as a player who was wholeheartedly committed to the cause who played for the jersey and he enhanced his popularity and reputation when he scored the goal which returned Dundee to the Scottish Premier Division in May 1981. The tall, blond striker never gave anything less than 100% during games and was a regular goal getter for The Dee, netting 95 times and finishing as top scorer twice.
Sinclair joined the Dark Blues in 1974 from Kilsyth Rangers and his early days at Dens Park were spent as a part-timer where he combined his day job as a crane driver with training twice a week with Falkirk at Brockville, only seeing his Dundee team mates on a match day.
‘Sinky’ made his debut on the final day of the 1974/75 season wearing the number 11 shirt as Hearts were defeated 2-0 and the following term he made 13 appearances in the inaugural Premier Division from which Dundee were relegated on goal difference behind both Aberdeen and Dundee United. Eric however started the last five games in which Dundee were undefeated and he started to cement his legendary status with the fans when he scored his first goal for The Dee in a 2-1 derby win over Dundee United.
In the First Division Eric established himself in the Dundee starting line up, making 39 appearances, scoring 14 times. He scored his first Dark Blue hat-trick in a 6-1 home win over Montrose and formed a good understanding with strike partner (and 2016 HOF inductee) Billy Pirie., who netted an astonishing 45 goals that season. Pirie and ‘Sinky’ formed the highest scoring partnership in Britain but unfortunately their goals couldn’t fire Dundee back into the top tier as they finished third behind St Mirren and Clydebank.
Season 1977/78 was a carbon copy of the previous year as Dundee again finished third despite the Sinclair / Pirie combination scoring 53 goals.
However it was third time lucky for Dundee the next year when they won the Scottish League First Division title and ‘Sinky’ contributed 13 goals as the Dark Blues returned to their rightful place in Scottish Football.
However The Dee found it tough in the top flight and at the end of the campaign finished ninth, a relegation spot, despite a famous 5-1 win over runners-up Celtic at Dens with three games to go, in which Eric scored.
It was one of 14 goals Sinclair scored in the 1979/80 season to finish as Dundee’s top scorer and in March he was rewarded for his good individual form with a cap for the Scottish League against the League of Ireland in Dublin. The game turned out to be the penultimate inter-league match that the Scottish League would ever play and Eric marked his only international honour with a goal in the 2-1 defeat.
Back in the First Division Eric once again finished as Dundee’s top scorer as The Dee finished runners-up which was enough to secure promotion at the first attempt behind champions Hibernian and his 22 goals helped him win the SPFA First Division Player of the Year.
The most important of these goals undoubtedly came in the final game at East Stirlingshire when Dundee completed a terrific comeback after a dreadful start to the campaign and the 1-0 win sent Dundee back to the Premier Division. The famous goal came in the 32nd minute when a Jimmy Murphy corner drifted beyond the far post and when Bobby Glennie headed the ball back across the goal, the hard working Sinclair was on the spot to head home.
That season also saw Dundee reach the Bells’ League Cup Final after Eric scored the winner in the semi-final against Ayr United. It was an historic City of Discovery final as Dundee met Dundee United at Dens Park but it ended in disappointment for the Dark Blues when they lost 3-0 to their local rivals. It could have been so different however if Dundee had not had a goal disallowed on 22 minutes when ‘Sinky’ headed home after Hamish McAlpine fumbled an Eric Schaedler cross or if city referee Bob Valentine had given The Dee a penalty when Ray Stephen was sent sprawling in the box.
Eric, whose speciality was shielding the ball with his back to goal, scored another 15 goals in the Premier Division before leaving to join St Mirren in September 1983 in a swap deal which brought Lex Richardson to Dens, whom Eric had played with in that Scottish League match three years before.
His final goal tally of 95 puts Eric 12th on Dundee’s all time leading scoring list and the esteem in which he is still held at Dens was shown as the fans have voted to induct him into the Club’s Hall of Fame with a Legends Award last February.
Honours at Dundee:
Scottish League First Division winners: 1978/79
Scottish League First Division runners-up (promoted): 1980/81
Bells’ Scottish League runners-up: 1980/81
Scottish League cap: 1
SPFA Scottish First Division Player of the Year: 1980/81
Dundee FC Hall of Fame: 2018 Legends Award
Appearances, Goals:
League: 214 + 32 subs, 76 goals
Scottish Cup: 10 + 1 sub, 5 goals
League Cup: 35 + 1 sub, 13 goals
Other: 5, 1 goal
Totals: 289, 95 goals
