Carolina Port

Carolina Port 

When, in 1891, the Dundee Athletic Grounds was opened, it was the best equipped sports ground in  the city by far. The venue was fully enclosed, with a running track and was the principle venue in the  city for football, athletics and track cycling. When East End acquired the lease of the new venue it was  a real statement of intent by the club. Despite the mod cons, the venue was overshadowed, literally,  by a large pile of shale affectionately known as the ‘Burning Mountain’. The mountain offered a  convenient vantage point for views of matches without the inconvenience of actually paying for the  pleasure. 

East End enjoyed two happy years at the ground and during their tenure their trophy haul included a  Northern League title and two Charity Cups. In 1892 the ‘Wise Men’ attracted English cracks Sunderland to the city.

When Strathmore and Johnstone Wanderers merged they, initially, assumed the name Dundonians  and played out of Clepington Park. Dundee, after a season of playing at West Craigie Park, moved into  East End’s former home. They took with them their new West Craigie grandstand and immediately  improved their new abode and, importantly, cut off the view for pesky freeloaders on the burning  mountain. The Glasgow based publication, Scottish Referee, remarked upon the upgrades: 

“Great improvements have been going on lately at Carolina Port, the Dundee’s new ground, and  visiting teams will no longer be able to grumble, either of a slope on the ground or of its narrowness.  The dressing room accommodation is scarcely up to perfection point yet, but is to be seen to. The  grand-standage has been doubled, and a real press-box is to be constructed – it is to be hoped with  direct telegraphic communications to headquarters. The track has almost entirely been reconstructed  and relaid” 

Somewhat appropriately Dundee opened the ground against the new city combination and recorded  an easy 6-0 win. 

In 1895 Dundee put aside their disappointment in the previous season’s Scottish Cup when city rivals  Strathmore dumped them out of the tournament in the preliminary rounds. Dundee reached the semi final where Renton, a side Dundee defeated 8-1 the year before, took three games to finally halt  Dundee’s progress. On their way to the semi Dundee knocked out Celtic in a game that was talked  about for decades afterwards. Upon the death of, Dundee stalwart, William Longair in the 1920’s a  local football fan was compelled to recall the player’s performance in that game: 

“I think the best game I ever saw Longair play was in the memorable Cup-tie against Celtic at Carolina  Port in 1895 or thereabouts. Celtic were looked upon as winners but every man in the Dundee team  was on the top of his form, and none contributed more to the victory of the Tayside club that day than  Wm. Longair. He was a tireless worker, harassing the deft Celtic forwards and feeding his own front  line with fine judgement. Many a goal saved too, with his head, his prowess in heading the ball being  quite exceptional.”

The match caught the imagination of the locals with a record gate being attracted to the Port and the  local press contemplated the improved church takings the following day from fans still in good spirit!  There was a note of caution however when the Dundee Advertiser remarked: 

“Still it would be dangerous to prophesy. Dundee has a nasty knack, after great and hard-won victories  like that of Saturday, of falling away in form, and becoming the prey of the first small club that comes  along” 

Scotland 4-0 Wales, Sat 21st March 1896, Carolina Port, 11,700 

In 1896 Carolina Port played host to the first full Scotland international to be held in the city. This  match caught the imagination of the football public in a way no other match had until then. It was to  be a real Dundee affair with Dundee’s Thomson and Keillor being among the Scottish starting eleven.  The latter also registered the first international goal to be scored by a serving Dundee player in an  easy 4-0 win.  

In preparation for the match, the ground was improved under the supervision of the convenor of the  grounds committee, Mr W. T. Kennedy. Engineers ensured the safety of the grandstands; the deputy  chief constable was there with a team of officers and Mr J. M. Soutar – solicitor and secretary of  Dundee FC helped oversee the increase in capacity required for such a match. The embankments were  increased in size using 100 tons of material to allow the additional patrons to view the match. 

The price for entry to the covered grandstand was set at a hefty 2s – twice what fans would usually  expect to pay for entry to internationals. Concessions were made to accommodate the working  classes, with entry to other areas set at 6d to ensure affordability. 

West Coast Bias? 

Any thoughts the Dundee public had of seeing Scotland play in their backyard on a regular basis were  sadly, and predictably, premature. The consistent snubbing of the city all became too much for the  local press in March 1899 when the Evening Telegraph was moved to remark: 

“DUNDEE ONCE MORE SLIGHTED 

Constitution II. Of the Scottish Football Association says- ‘The object of the Association shall be to foster  and develop the game of Association football in Scotland’. At its meeting on Tuesday the Association  had an excellent opportunity of carrying out what may be said to be its primary object. Had the  Association decided to play the Irish International at Carolina Port, they would have been following the  example of the League- given [sic] Dundee a helping hand. Little wonder [Forfarshire’s representative  at the SFA] Mr McCulloch remarked after it had been agreed to play the match at Celtic Park – ‘You  are a fine lot to support country clubs’. Surely it would have been no hardship to Glaswegians for one  international to have gone north. During the month quite a host of representative matches on the  cards. There are the [International] ‘trials’ at Meadowside [Partick Thistle’s ground] to-morrow, the  Anglo-Scots v Scots at either Ibrox or Celtic Park, Irish International at Parkhead, Scottish v English  League International, not to speak of Scottish Cup ties. Truly it is a case ‘keep oor ain fish guts to oor  ain sea maws’”.  

The Dundee Athletic Grounds Company’s days were numbered and hosting one last international  match would have been a fitting tribute to a ground that had served the city so well for the best part  of a decade. Unfortunately, the SFA members didn’t see it that way and voted 15 to 7 in favour of  Celtic Park. 

Last Hurrah 

The last game Dundee played at the ‘Port was a friendly against Clyde on 15th April 1899. The game  against Third Lanark on 22nd April was called off and, FA Cup runners-up, Derby County were unable  to accept the invite for the 28th April. An unremarkable match against Clyde ended 2-2. Unremarkable  on the field maybe, but off it? Not so much. Towards the end of the game a hum of activity spread throughout the crowd, fuelled by the intrigue of a Sheriff officer suddenly entering the stand. He was  there to arrest the share of Clyde’s fee (the Shawfield team were guaranteed £20 of the gate). This was due to back wages owed to Jones, of Forfar, amounting to several pounds after being employed  by the Glasgow side for a time. 

The last football match to take place at the ground was the East of Scotland junior cup final between  Dundee Violet and Leith Ivanhoe on 29th April 1899. Ivanhoe edged out Violet 2-1 in front of 6-7,000  spectators. Seated in the stands were former Dundee favourites, revelling in the atmosphere of their  old haunt one last time – Malloch, Longair, Gilligan, MacDonald, Wm. Hendry & Low. MacDonald, who  had that season been playing for Derby County, showed off his FA Cup runners-up badge to all who  wanted to inspect it.  

By now work was well under way on the move to Dens Park prompting the Evening Telegraph to  presciently remark: 

“Carolina Port, which, since its inception as one of the foremost athletic grounds in Scotland on 18th July 1891, has been the scene of many a Cup tie and League tussle, is no more. The ground, so far as  football is concerned, closes tomorrow, and in the course of the next few weeks what has been for  nearly eight years the happy hunting ground of Dundee football enthusiasts will be turned into a place  of merchandise. It is, indeed, to be regretted that such an excellent playing pitch could not have been  retained. Rapid progress is being made with the new park, and everything will be in tip-top order for  commencing next season. Let us hope that the opening of Dens Park will mark a new and more  prosperous era in the history of football in Dundee.”