The Dumbarton FC website today contained the sad news that Sons’ great striker from the 1970/71 and 1971/72 seasons, and club legend, Kenny Wilson has died.

He scored 67 goals in his short time at the club including 38 in 36 league games in that memorable promotion season of 1971/72 and 4 in the top division the year after before he moved to Carlisle. He and Roy McCormack were the most potent striking partnership I have ever seen. Just sublime.

I noted part of Kenny’s contribution to our promotion in this post. In a later league game against Raith Rovers he scored all 5 in a 5-0 win. One of those he knew little about. He was standing with his back to goal a few yards out and the ball bounced off the back of his foot and over the line. When you’re hot, you’re hot.

My elder brother dubbed him “rubber legs” due to the way he collapsed when tackled illegally. He won more than a few penalties and free-kicks converted by Charlie Gallagher in those two seasons.

In a pre-season friendly against Carlisle United Kenny scored a cracker I always remember as the “£10,000 goal.” Before the game Carlisle were rumoured to be interested in signing him and willing to pay £10,000 as a transfer fee. When Kenny joined them a few months later they paid £20,000.

Sadly his career after he left the Sons was not as successful in terms of goals scored.

He returned to visit Boghead and the Dumbarton Football Stadium (the Rock) often in the years after he retired from football and always had time to spare for the fans.

And so another part of my youth has gone.

Kenneth Malcolm (Kenny) Wilson: 15/9/1946 – 17/01/2025. So it goes.

Dumbarton FC, the Sons of the Rock,  became 150 years old in December 2022. To mark the occasion various events were held over the year and a special set of strips was worn for the season.

There was also an exhibition held in Dumbarton Library featuring items from the club’s history. We visited it in November.

Letter of congratulation to Dumbarton FC from A J Cronin + Division 2 Winners Medal 1971-2:-

Scottish Football League Second Division Championship Flag 1992 plus a winner’s medal for that campaign and ticket for the first game at The Rock in December 2000 :-

Scottish Football League Third Divison Flag Toggle 2009 and season tickets for 1972-3 and 2001-2:-

Football Cards, Medals and Photo of Pavilion at Boghead, Dumbarton’s former ground :-

Postcards of Boghead, football cards and medal:-

Share Certificate, coasters and Civic Reception tickets:-

!884-5 season ticket, ticket for first floodlit game at Boghead and club badges:-

Letter to J F Donovan and more coasters:-

Parts from Boghead turnstile:-

William Denny & Brothers (known simply as Denny’s) was perhaps the best known Dumbarton shipyard and was a major employer in the town. When it shut down in 1963 it cast a palpable gloom over the town from which arguably it has never recovered.

The photograph below is of the shipyard in its heyday and along with the accompanying information (second below) is on display at the Scottish Maritime Museum building in Dumbarton.

Also on display there is a model of the shipyard in its location alongside Dumbarton Rock :-

The Dumbarton Football Stadium – home to the Sons of the Rock – now exists in the area where Denny’s fitting out dock lay. I’ll come later to the Denny Tank mentioned in the information below:-

I’ve posted Footy Adventures’s video of Dumbarton Football Stadium from Dumbarton Rock elsewhere.

Now, in another video (posted on 7/1/21) he took advantage of the club granting him access to the ground (well there was no-one else around) and he’s very enthusiastic about the place.

He waxes lyrical about the surroundings but bemoans the fact the fans can’t see the Rock when they’re seated in the stand.

However from the stand there is a very good view of the range of hills known locally as the Long Crags but whose formal name is I think the Kilpatrick Hills, which also overlook the town and are scenic in themselves.

Posting this means I probably don’t need to inflict my own photos of the Rock on you all.

The First Kings of Scotland:

Someone on the football forum Pie & Bovril posted this video as seen on You Tube and made by a user called Footy Adventures.

It had great views of Dumbarton Rock and The Rock. Not to mention the town and surroundings.

PS. I can confirm that from Annbank (over the River Clyde,) Dumbarton Rock does look like a recumbent elephant.

A snow-capped Ben Lomond on 2/5/2015. Photographed from stand of Dumbarton Football Stadium. Ben Lomond is the only Munro I have climbed. (I say climbed. There’s a path. You can walk up it.)

On the same day and from the same location I took this photo of Sons players applauding the fans after the last game of the season vs Raith.

Most of these players have now left the club.