Part Five - The Finest Hour
In preparation for the club’s first season in the top flight, several further improvements were carried out at Bayview Park during the summer of 1930. A press box added to the front of the grandstand and telephones were installed at the east end of the pavilion to allow match reports to be relayed swiftly to the media. Additional turnstiles were also installed at the west end of the ground.
East Fife’s first venture into the First Division, however, was largely disappointing. A poor start to the season saw heavy defeats inflicted from Motherwell, Hearts, Celtic, Partick Thistle and Airdrieonians, before the first victory arrived on the last Saturday in September when Ayr United were beaten 4-1 at Bayview. Following further heavy defeats over the course of the season, the Fifers finished at the foot of the table and returned to the Second Division after only one season in the top league.
Shortly after the season ended, however, the club received the honour of having a player selected to represent Scotland for the first time when Dan Liddle was picked to play for his country against Austria in Vienna on 16th May 1931. Although he failed to find the net as the Scots went down 5-0, Liddle kept his place in the side to face Italy four days later, but again tasted defeat as Scotland lost 3-0. The Scots eventually tasted victory in the final match of the tour against Switzerland in Geneva, but again ‘Dangerous Dan’ failed to find the net and never again pulled on the dark blue jersey of his country.
Most of the 1930’s saw East Fife finish their league campaign in mid-table, with little to boast about in the cup competitions. In season 1937/38, however, the Fifers enjoyed a reasonably successful league campaign, and on 11th December 1937, recorded their biggest ever competitive win by beating Edinburgh City 13-2 at Bayview in a Division Two match. As well as being a club record, this score also stands as the biggest Second Division score-line of the Twentieth Century!
This feat paled, however, during the Scottish Cup run that was to last for the rest of the season, when East Fife became the only Second Division side to win Scottish football’s greatest prize.
The story began at Broomfield Park, Airdrie, on 22nd January, where the home side entertained East Fife in what was considered to be one of the less attractive fixtures of the first round. Nevertheless, several hundred Fifers considered the tie alluring enough to travel through by special train and a crowd of 5,000 saw the visitors progress with a 2-1 win. Another fellow Second Division team, Dundee United, were trounced 5-0 at Bayview in round two, which set the Fifers up nicely for a home tie against Aberdeen in the third round. Few expected the home side to repeat their feat of eleven years earlier, but that is exactly what happened, with the tie won at Pittodrie following stalemate in Methil!
Following a ‘heroes welcome’ on their return to Fife, ‘cup fever’ gripped the east of the county when the Quarter-Final draw set up a local derby against Raith Rovers.
A new ground record of 18,642 packed the Bayview terraces on 19th March 1938 for the big game; a keenly fought tussle which finished 2-2. An even larger crowd of 25,500, again a record attendance, packed into Stark’s Park four days later for the replay, where the men in black and gold won the right to face St Bernard’s in the Semi-Final with a 4-2 victory. The tie against the Edinburgh side took three games, all played at Tynecastle, to settle. Following two 1-1 draws, the Semi-Final was finally settled on Wednesday 13th April with a 2-1 win and East Fife’s dreams of appearing in a second Scottish Cup Final became reality.
Cup fever gripped Methil and the east of Fife as the Cup Final against Kilmarnock approached, and no fewer than six special trains were scheduled to depart from Methil and Leven stations.
A crowd of 79,000 lined the Hampden terraces on Saturday 23rd April, where the Fifers took the lead through Eddie McLeod, only for Kilmarnock to equalise eight minutes later. In an action packed second half, there were goalmouth incidents aplenty, but neither side managed to find the net and the match finished all square at 1-1.
A crowd of 91,710 turned out for the replay on Wednesday 27th April. After the Fifers had managed to hold out during an early Killie onslaught, McKerrell unleashed a fierce shot at the other end of the park to put the ‘underdogs’ ahead. Within six minutes, however, the First Division club had turned the match around and went in at half-time 2-1 ahead. Despite further pressure from Kilmarnock early in the second half, East Fife managed to square the match once again just before the hour-mark, when McLeod scored with an overhead kick. When the final whistle sounded, the score was still level at two goals apiece and the match went into extra time. As the additional 30 minutes progressed, East Fife slowly gained the upper hand using the wings to great advantage and soon had the Kilmarnock goal under severe pressure. Sensing that the underdogs were about to have their day, the crowd roared encouragement and, with ten minutes remaining, Miller scored to send the black and gold bunnets high in the air. With the Fifers in total control as the light began to fade, McKerrell scored a fourth to put the result beyond doubt and the Scottish Cup was on its way to Methil!
The exertions of the cup run, however, took its toll on the push for promotion and the Fifers finished the season in fifth place. The following season, 1938/39, the Fifers were again pipped for a place in the First Division, but only on goal average from Alloa Athletic. In any case, promotion to the top flight would have lasted only a few games as just a few months later the outbreak of the Second World War saw the Scottish League go into abeyance for the six year duration of the hostilities, during which the Fifers competed in the regional war-time competitions.
