Everyone at Dundee Football Club was saddened to hear of the death of former player and manager Tommy Gemmell at the age of 73.
Gemmell will be remembered by fans as the man who not only captained Dundee to the League Cup win in 1973 but who also played a huge role in getting Dundee to the final and he remains the last man to lift a major trophy for the club.
Tommy was already a legend in the Scottish game when he joined Dundee in 1973 having scored for Celtic in their 1967 European Cup Final victory over Inter Milan and as part of the famous Scotland side that won 3-2 at Wembley the same year but he became an instant hero at Dens when he captained The Dee to a League Cup triumph within months of joining the club.
Twenty-nine year old Gemmell joined Dundee in the summer of 1973 on a free transfer from Nottingham Forest and manager Davie White was hoping that the experienced defender might provide the necessary on-field leadership to win a major trophy and immediately made him captain.
For the first time since its inception in 1971, Dundee had qualified for the Drybrough Cup which was contested by the top four scoring sides in the previous year’s First and Second Divisions and Gemmell made his debut on July 28th at home to Raith Rovers. An extra time own goal by former Dundee defender Ron Selway gave Gemmell a winning start to his Dark Blue career but in a return to his former stomping ground of Parkhead in the semi-final, The Dee crashed out of the pre-season tournament as 4-0 losers to Celtic.
From the start of the 1973/74 season, two substitutes were to be allowed for the first time and in the League Cup there would be an experiment whereby players would not be offside within the 18-yard box which was to be extended to both touchlines.
In their section Dundee were drawn alongside St Johnstone, Partick and Hearts and Gemmell would play in all six games where The Dee would top their section with four wins and two draws. Two-legged wins over Dunfermline and Clyde in the knock-out stages propelled Dundee into the semi-final and by now it was clear that Gemmell’s battling displays were key to the Dark Blues’ success.
Celtic, Rangers and Kilmarnock were the other semi-finalists but for once fortune favoured The Dee with Second Division Killie being paired with the Dark Blues and the Old Firm being left to battle it out for the other final place.
The semi-final was due to be played on Wednesday 28th November but a snow covered pitch caused the game to be postponed. It was rescheduled for Monday 8th December but with the miners strike developing into a national energy crisis, there was some doubt about whether the game would go ahead. Generators were brought in to power the floodlights but produced only a third of their normal power and with only 4,682 in attendance at Hampden, there was an eerie atmosphere at the National Stadium.
Dundee were slow to settle but ten minutes after the break Tommy Gemmell broke the deadlock with a skidding shot which eluded Killie keeper Jim Stewart. The Ayrshire side continued to battle but The Dee held on for victory and it was Gemmell who was the hero not just with his winning goal but also for his two goal line headed clearances in the dying minutes.
Awaiting Dundee in the Final were Tam’s old club Celtic with whom he had won the League Cup four times and they were overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy having appeared in the last nine finals, winning five of them.
Dundee however upset the odds with a 1-0 victory thanks to Gordon Wallace’s 75th minute strike and Gemmell was superb, putting in a five star performance according to The Sporting Post who described him as “an inspiring captain.” His swashbuckling style was crucial in helping keep the likes of Kenny Dalglish quiet and at the end, he went up the Hampden steps to be the first Dundee captain to collect the League Cup since Alfie Boyd 21 years earlier.
Gemmell played in all twelve matches on the ‘Road to Hampden’ and although the League Cup win was the undoubted highlight of Gemmell’s time at Dens, he also led Dundee into two UEFA campaigns in 1973 and 1974 and was involved in three victories over Dundee United.
Gemmell played for Dundee until 1977 when he hung up his boots but when manager Davie White resigned having failed to get promotion at the first attempt after relegation form the inaugural Premier Division in 1976, he was offered the top job by the board at the age of just thirty-three.
The rookie boss took a cavalier approach to the First Division with his side scoring an impressive 91 goals but it wasn’t enough to get promotion as The Dee finished third; just one point behind champions Morton and Hearts. Directors and supporters alike felt however that Gemmell had done well having put together a more competitive side and having missed promotion by a hair’s breath, he was rewarded with a two-year extension to his contract.
Their faith was rewarded as in his second year in charge, Gemmell led Dundee to the First Division championship and promotion back to the Premier League after a three year absence when they finished a point ahead of second and third placed Kilmarnock and Clydebank.
It was only a twelve month return to the top tier however as Dundee finished ninth in the ten team league and with two being relegated to the First Division, it meant the Dark Blues went straight back down. Tommy Gemmell therefore resigned but before he departed he did manage to record a famous 5-1 win over top of the table Celtic with just three games to go but it wasn’t enough to beat the drop.
Tommy Gemmell will be remembered at Dundee however for December 15th 1973 when he inspired The Dee to a League Cup win and held aloft the glittering trophy as skipper on a cold, dreich day in Glasgow.
The thoughts of everyone at Dens are with Tommy’s family and friends at this sad time.
Honours at Dundee:
(as player)
Scottish League Cup winners: 1973/74
(as manager)
Scottish League First Division winners: 1978/79
Appearances, Goals:
League: 91 + 3 subs, 8 goals
Scottish Cup: 12
League Cup: 24 + 1 sub, 3 goals
Europe: 4
Other: 4
Totals: 139, 11 goals
Managerial Record with Dundee (1977 – 1980)
P W D L F A PTS
League: 114 59 20 35 207 153 138
Scottish Cup: 5 2 0 3 10 19
League Cup: 19 3 2 4 22 20
Other: 4 0 2 2 5 7
Totals: 142 64 24 44 244 199
