Killie 150 - The Legends

'Everygame' updated figures for those who had made the most appearances and/or scored the most goals as a Kilmarnock player. This was further updated by Richard Cairns in 2006. Regarding the 'Basic Seasonal Statisics' of average crowd, top league goalscorer and most appearances, I include in this post not just an update from 1994 but all league seasons from 1895 onwards. This is because new information came to light between 1994-2001 which necessitated occasional changes to earlier details. Where there is a difference between numbers given here and on this page then the latter should be regarded as more accurate. Again, Richard Cairns has provided updates from 2001-2006. I have added details for 2006-2019. During these years Jim Jefferies led Killie to another (losing) League Cup Final but most seasons saw the team struggling at the wrong end of the league table. Once Jefferies' long reign came to an end a club that had been a byword for managerial stability stumbled from one short-term gaffer to another, appointing and dismissing managers with the same alarming frequency as Italy does Prime Ministers. On two occasions top division status was only preserved by way of the play-offs. The one shaft of light through the gloom was in 2012 when, under Kenny Shiels, Killie finally won the League Cup - the one major trophy that had eluded them.

Renaissance came with the arrival of Steve Clarke as manager, culminating in a third place finish in 2018-19 - the best for 53 years - and a return to European football after an absence of 18 years. A return which, alas, turned out be of the briefest duration, ending in a shock defeat by Welsh club Connah's Quay Nomads.

In 'Everygame' I gave details for all those who won international caps during their time at Rugby Park and this is also included in this particular post. While many statistical errors that appeared in the 1994 book were corrected by 2001 (the reason why all seasonal statistics reproduced throughout are from the latter) some still slipped through the net and Richard Cairns was kind enough to correct them in 2006, details of which are provided here.

Nothing in football is static and since 2006 there have been players whose names would appear below if the story is continued until 2019. Garry Hay and James Fowler would be included among those with over 300 appearances and Kris Boyd retired this year with 136 goals for Kilmarnock, making him fifth top all-time goalscorer. The 121 he scored in the league left him joint second with Eddie Morrison, behind only Willie Culley. 2019 also saw Eamonn Brophy and Greg Taylor become the latest Killie players to be capped by Scotland. And in 2016 Josh Magennis played for Northern Ireland in the European Championship finals, the first Kilmarnock player to take part in a major finals - though Jim Stewart was part of the Scotland squad for the 1974 World Cup finals in West Germany.

In football, history isn't just what happened 100 years ago or even last season. The moment the final whistle blows, before you've even left the ground, what you've just witnessed is in the past. It's an old cliché to say someone has watched 'history being made.' In truth you're doing precisely that every time you walk through the turnstile. Or, as is increasingly more likely these days, scan in your phone.

Next How the 125 book came about

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Killie 150 - The 2006 update

Five years after the publication of 'Everygame,' Kilmarnock match programme editor Richard Cairns compiled a statistical update taking the season-by-season record up to the end of 2005-06. Each season is covered in two parts, match-by-match details then seasonal totals for each player.

Jim Jefferies succeeded Bobby Williamson as manager and took Killie to fourth place again in 2003-03, though this time that wasn't good enough for European qualification. Although there were occasional scares the club's position in the top echelon of the Scottish game was usually secure.

Next The Legends

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Killie 150 - What Happened Next

A regular feature of 'A Question of Sport' right from the start was the teaser 'What Happened Next?' In Kilmarnock's case what happened next after the 125th anniversary was the club's longest and most successful spell in the top flight since the glory days of the 1960s. After taking a couple of seasons to establish themselves back in the big time Killie went on to win the Scottish Cup in 1997 - their first such success since 1929 and the club's first major trophy since winning the league in 1965.

Tommy Burns left to join Celtic in controversial circumstances shortly after the end of 1993-94 (and before publication of 'Killie 125') to be succeeded by Alex Totten who in turn was replaced by Bobby Williamson. Just five months after taking over - initially on a caretaker basis - Williamson led the club to that glorious Scottish Cup triumph. For three of the next four seasons he took Killie to fourth place in the league,  a position not reached since 1969 and not surpassed until 2019. It was under him too that Killie returned to European competition after an absence of 27 years. In 2001 Kilmarnock played in the League Cup Final for the first time in 38 seasons. Players of the stature of Ian Durrant and Ally McCoist signed up, and crowds rose to a level not seen for decades. Williamson was always keen to give youth a chance and several talented young players came up through the ranks. The latest of these - Kris Boyd - emerged as Killie took part in European club football for the fourth time in five years in 2001-02.

2001 was also the year I wrote another Killie history - 'Everygame.' It wasn't just an updated version of the earlier book. This time I approached it in an A-Z format of clubs Kilmarnock had played in competitive football. From Abercorn to Zurich. From the start of the Scottish Cup in 1873 until the end of the 2000-01 season, plus UEFA Cup opponents for 2001-02.

Reproducing that book here in its entirety is a task for another time but the statistical details - results, half-times, scorers, attendances and line-ups for the seven seasons between publication of the two books are given below.

Next The 2006 update

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Killie 150 - The Intro and the Outro

Having set myself a deadline of August 1st, the 25th anniversary of publication, to put this book online, I concentrated on the text and seasonal statistics - the meat of the book. So it's not strictly page-by-page as I left out those areas not strictly part of the season-by-season account. As I've managed to post it all online a few days before the deadline I'm including the 'topping and tailing' here.

On this page you will find Acknowledgments, Dedication, Bobby Fleeting's 'Afterword' and a list of advanced subscribers. Who knows? If you're over thirty years old your name might be here.

Because the date I'm posting this is July 29th 2019, which would have been my parents' 70th wedding anniversary, I've taken the liberty of including my inscription on the copy I gave to them 25 years ago come August 1st.

Finally, there's the front and back cover with an explanation of illustrations used.

As promised, I'll include stats up to and including 2005-06, hopefully in the near future.

This has been the story of Kilmarnock FC - now 1869-2019 - as it was from 1869-1994.

If you've reached this stage of the Kilmarnock saga then you have two options available. Either

Back to the beginning

Or What happened next?

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Killie 150 - the records to 1994

I included a list of memorable players up to the end of 1993-94. Many more will be eligible for inclusion in the quarter of a century that has since elapsed and it is for the reader to add their own favourites to this list. Bill Donnachie's 'Who's Who' of Kilmarnock players has since been superseded by the superb 'Killie Til' I Die' (2011) by Richard Cairns and Gordon Allison, ISBN 978-0-9541653-1-4. For a more in-depth look at ten of the best, representing each era of the club's history, there is my own 'Killie Greats' (2006) ISBN 0-9541653-1-4. Don't worry, you're not lining my pockets if you buy a copy. All proceeds since 2008 go straight to the club and only to the club, aimed at youth development.

The stats here are as of the end of 1993-94 and should be self-explanatory. Later, I'll add stats as they were up to the publication of 'Everygame' which takes them up to the end of 2000-01 and after that an update to the end of 2005-06, kindly compiled by Richard Cairns at the outset of the 2006-07 season.

Next Killie 150 - The Intro and the Outro

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Killie 150 - Back To The Future - Kilmarnock Redivivus Part Three 1993-1994

Killie's return to the top threatened to be short-lived as 25% of the division - three from twelve - were scheduled for relegation. Given the unlikelihood of either of the Old Firm ending up in one of those spots, in reality the chances of relegation were 30%. It was a daunting task for Kilmarnock but one that was ultimately successful. It was, as Wellington said of the Battle of Waterloo, a damned close-run thing. It wasn't until the final whistle blew at the end of the final minute of the final game that everyone connected with the club could relax and announce without fear of contradiction that Killie were back.

A temporary break from the relegation fight as Killie played in their first Scottish Cup semi-final in 22 years.

Tommy Burns – architect of both Killie’s return to the Premier Division and their survival in it.

The last time anyone stood on the Rugby Park terraces. The bulldozers moved in the following day.

Goodbye to all that.

And hello to the next 125 years.

Next Killie 150 - the records to 1994

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