Killie 150 - Champions, Waddell, Europe & Glory Part Three 1964-1965

I'm writing these notes a few days after one of the most calamitous defeats in Kilmarnock's history, a 2-0 loss (2-3 aggregate) to Welsh part-timers Connah's Quay Nomads in the first qualifying round of the 2019-20 Europa League. Killie's long-awaited return to European action after eighteen years absence ended in humiliating fashion and without even leaving the UK.

So perhaps it's fortuitous that the next segment in the tale of the club's first 125 years should be that of the glorious season of 1964-65, when against all the odds Kilmarnock ended the campaign as champions of Scotland. A season too that saw Killie play in Europe for the very first time and with a distinctly different outcome to Rugby Park's debut European game than their last one.

There have been many happy days in Kilmarnock's recent past - the Europa League disappointment notwithstanding - but none as joyous as April 24th 1965. When the '125' history came out it was just under 30 years after the event and many Kilmarnock supporters could still recall the events of that epic day. A quarter of a century on that is no longer the case. Sadly, the ranks of the players have been depleted over time and even for supporters there is now no one under the age of sixty who can actually remember the triumph at Tynecastle.

I hope that those younger will enjoy this section of the book. What happened that day was a rare enough event in Scottish football then. The chance of its recurrence is unlikely in the extreme now.

Next Decline And Fall - From European Elite To Relegation 1965-1973

Anyone wishing to use any of this material should contact me via my email address or Twitter feed. Links on the top right of the page