Championship side Queen of the South hail from Dumfries and are mentioned in the Bible at Luke 11:31.
Here are 10 other things you may not know about the Doonhamers.
1 Queen of the South were formed in 1919 through the amalgamation of three clubs based in Dumfries and Maxwelltown. The teams were the Arrol-Johnston Car Company, Dumfries FC and the 5th Kings Own Scottish Borderers football team. Local side Queen of the South Wanderers were not part of the new Queen of the South. Palmerston Park (formerly a farm called Palmers Toun) had hosted football games from the 1870s and was chosen as the ground for the new team.
2 The club’s name does not come from the work of Robert Burns, who died in the town back in 1796, but from another local poet David Dunbar who called Dumfries ‘Queen of the South’ in one of his addresses when he stood for parliament in 1857.
3 The nickname of Doonhamers comes from the position of Dumfries in the south of Scotland with its residents talking of returning ‘Down home’ or ‘Doon hame’. The club’s motto is the same as the towns of ‘A Lore Burne’, meaning to prepare against outside attack.
4 Queen of the South were successful in their third attempt to join the Scottish Football League in 1923/24 when they entered the newly-created Third Division. They finished third in their first campaign and also lifted the Scottish Qualifying Cup with a 3-0 success over Dykehead.
5 Queen of the South lost one of the fastest ever goals in Scottish football history when Willie Sharp scored for Partick Thistle on 20 December, 1947 after just seven seconds.
6 Goalkeeper Allan Ball is the record appearance holder at the club, having made 731 appearances in career that lasted from 1963 to 1982. His move to being a goalkeeper came about when Jim Montgomery (who went on to great fame with Sunderland) was injured in a schools match and Ball took over between the sticks. Now 71 Ball, is an Honorary Director at the club.
7 Queen of the South have appeared in four Challenge Cup Finals, winning two and losing two. The wins came in 2002/03, in a 2-0 success over Brechin City, and a 6-5 penalty kick triumph in 2012/13 over Partick Thistle after a 1-1 draw. The defeats were 1-0 to Falkirk in 1997/98 and 2-0 to Ross County in 2010/11.
8 Queen of the South’s run to the Scottish Cup Final of 2008 was marked by the longest distance goal ever scored by an outfield player. Ryan McCann was credited with a strike from 84 yards in the 2-0 quarter-final win over Dundee.
9 As a result of their journey to the cup final, Queen of the South played in Europe although they had to use Airdrie’s Excelsior Stadium for their home game with Danish side Nordsjælland. The Danes won the first game 2-1 with Sean O’Connor grabbing QOS’s first ever European goal. The second leg was also lost 2-1 but only after Bob Harris had given Gordon Chisholm’s side hope with a free kick.
10 Queen of the South’s league title wins in 1950/51, 2001/02 and 2012/13 have all been secured at Forfar’s Station Park. The first two followed wins over the Loons however the most recent success was 6-0 against Brechin, with the game played at Forfar as a result of pitch problems at Glebe Park.
Craig Stewart
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