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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