Part Four - Into The Scottish League
In anticipation of their entry into the Scottish League in 1921, East Fife proposed further improvements to Bayview Park, including the erection of a new 3,000 seat grandstand and an increase in the size of the banking to bring the total capacity up to 35,000. Of course, the actual improvements carried out fell far short of these ambitious proposals, but dramatic improvements were made to the playing surface. By the time Cowdenbeath visited Methil for a pre-season friendly the pitch was in magnificent order and general opinion was that very few Scottish League clubs had turf of a similar quality.
On Saturday 20th August 1921, East Fife played their first ever Scottish League match against Bathgate at Bayview Park, where Neish scored the Fifers’ first league goal from the penalty spot as the visitors won a disappointing match 2-1. Defeat at Stenhousemuir followed a week later, but on Saturday 3rd September the first ever Scottish League win was recorded; a single goal triumph over near-neighbours Lochgelly United at Bayview. The Fifers finished their Scottish League season in mid-table.
The summer of 1922 was dominated by the construction of the new grandstand on the south side of Bayview Park, opposite the wooden structure erected in 1906. The grandstand, which could only hold around a third of the originally proposed capacity, was opened at the beginning of October. Further ground improvements were carried out by a volunteer work force during the summer of 1923 when the banking around the ground was terraced in order to allow 20,000 spectators to be accommodated ‘in comfort’.
The Fifers’ league form didn’t exactly set the heather alight during the early 1920’s, with the club occupying a mid-table position in the Second Division for much of this time. The only time the club came anywhere near promotion was in season 1925/26 when they finished fourth; four points adrift of second placed Clyde and ten points behind Champions Dunfermline Athletic. On the other hand, the club never looked like candidates for relegation to the short-lived Third Division, which was in existence for three seasons from 1923 to 1926.
During the mid 1920’s, East Fife played Rangers for the first time when the two clubs were drawn to face each other in the Scottish Cup on 24th January 1925. Once again, the facilities at Bayview were improved with the addition of four turnstiles at the main entrance and two pay boxes in School Street, with the standing capacity of the ground also added to. Unfortunately, like their rivals Celtic four years earlier, the Glasgow giants returned west with a 3-1 victory.
A successful run in the Scottish Cup didn’t elude the club for much longer, however, and in January 1927 the Methil men embarked on what was to become a truly remarkable Scottish Cup run. Victory over Thornhill in the first round was rewarded with a home tie against Aberdeen. On 5th February, the ‘Dons’ visited Methil for the first time, where an early Jock Wood goal was countered by a Cheyne equaliser to take the tie to a replay at Pittodrie. The following Wednesday evening, the Fifers became ‘giant killers’ by knocking their First Division opponents out of the cup with a shock 2-1 victory. Two weeks later, a new ground record crowd of 12,000 paid to see East Fife take on Fife rivals Dunfermline Athletic in the third round of the competition at Bayview, where the home side claimed another First Division ‘scalp’ with a 2-0 victory.
The Quarter-Final paired the Fifers with fellow Second Division side Arthurlie at Dunterlie Park, Barrhead, where East Fife adapted best to the ‘quagmire’ conditions and comfortably saw off their counterparts with three goals without reply.
Only Partick Thistle now stood between East Fife and the final of the country’s top football tournament. On 26 March, a crowd of 38,000 packed the neutral terraces of Tynecastle Park in Edinburgh for the semi-final against the more fancied Glasgow side. With the score standing at 1-1, East Fife captain Jock Wood netted what proved to be the winning goal and, when the final whistle sounded, scores of East Fife supporters dodged the lines of police, invaded the pitch and hugged their heroes. Just six years after becoming Scottish League members, East Fife met Celtic in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden Park on 16 April 1927, the first Cup final to be broadcast live on the radio.
Few who listened to the broadcast were prepared for the great start to the match when, after only two minutes, the Fifers took a shock lead through a header from Jock Wood. Unfortunately, the joy was short lived. Only a minute later the match was squared, just before half time Celtic took the lead, then just after the break the Glasgow scored again to make the final score 3-1.
With confidence no doubt boosted by the successful cup run, East Fife came agonisingly close to winning promotion the following season, but lost out by just two points to second placed Third Lanark. The club didn’t have long to wait for a crack at First Division football, however.
Promotion was finally achieved in season 1929/30 following an exciting season-long battle for the Second Division Championship with Leith Athletic, who eventually landed the title on goal average. With Raith Rovers’ relegation to the Second Division coming at the same time, East Fife had never had a better chance to establish themselves as the district’s top football club!
