10 Things about Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock travel to Celtic Park on Wednesday evening, looking for only their second win in the East End of Glasgow since the mid-1950s.

Here are 10 things you might not know about the Rugby Park club:
 
1 Kilmarnock are the oldest professional club in Scotland – they were formed in 1869, some 18 months after the amateurs of Queen’s Park were founded.
 
2 Like a number of other Scottish clubs, Kilmarnock were formed by cricketers who were bored in the winter. The version of the sport they originally played was more akin to rugby than football and that was the name given to a new ground in 1877. Despite football now being played, the name was transferred to the new Rugby Park in 1899.
 
3 The Scottish Cup has been won three times, with a 3-2 success over Albion Rovers in 1920, a 2-0 win over Rangers nine years later and a 1-0 triumph over Falkirk in 1997.
 
4 Matta Smith, grandfather of former Scottish FA Chief Executive Gordon Smith, who also played for Kilmarnock, is the only player to have won the Scottish Cup twice with Kilmarnock.
 
5 Kilmarnock won the First Division title in 1965 on goal average from second-placed Hearts. The final game of the season was a meeting of the two clubs at Tynecastle and Killie won 2-0 to pip the Edinburgh men. Goal difference was introduced in 1971/72 so Kilmarnock remain the last goal-average champions.
 
6 Alan Robertson is the club’s record appearance holder, having donned their blue and white colours 484 times from 1972-1988. Robertson now works as Head of Youth at the club.
 
7 Kilmarnock have been a top-flight side continuously since 1993 and have finished as high as fourth place on four occasions.

8 A new-look Rugby Park, which consisted of the Main Stand as well as the new stands called the Moffat, the Chadwick and the East Stand were officially opened on August 6, 1995 by English champions Blackburn Rovers. Alan Shearer hit a hat-trick in a 5-0 success for the Ewood Park side.
 
9 Scotland striker Kris Boyd, who has had two spells at the club, scored all five goals when Kilmarnock defeated Dundee United 5-2 back in September 2004.
 
10 Dieter van Tornhout made a massive impression in just six starts and five substitute appearances as a Kilmarnock player – famously scoring a late winner against Celtic when Killie lifted the League Cup for the first time in their history in March 2012.

Craig Stewart