Kenny’s goals led to a move he didn’t want
Dumbarton made it to yesterday’s Irn- Bru Cup Final by discovering their touch in front of goal.
The Sons scored 10 goals in five ties on their way to the Final, but have only hit the net 19 times in 27 Championship matches this term.
Having a prolific goalscorer in the ranks is usually vital to league success.
That certainly proved to be the case when Dumbarton were promoted to the top flight for the first time in half a century back in 1972.
Kenny Wilson scored 43 times as they raced to the Second Division title.
But success came at a price – it led to him being sold to Carlisle as a cut-price replacement for Stan Bowles.
Life as a professional footballer started nearly 50 years ago for Kenny.
He signed for St Johnstone in the summer of 1968, just a few months after Airdrie failed in a bid to capture him.
It was said they failed to get him from Beith Juniors because he wanted to play in an international against Northern Ireland in April.
Kenny said: “I don’t remember anyone asking me if I wanted to join Airdrie, but I know I’d have wanted to play for the Scotland Junior team.
“I’d already picked up a cap against Wales and scored a hat-trick in a 5-2 win.
“We drew 3- 3 with Northern Ireland, and I got another goal.
“I then signed for St Johnstone and got on fine with the manager, Willie Ormond.
“It wasn’t as easy dealing with the directors. There were promises made about a signing-on fee and rent- free accommodation that never materialised.
“I played a few games in the First Division over two seasons and then came to an agreement for a free transfer.
“I’d moved back to my home town of Dumbarton and was at the local club to get some training facilities.
“My former St Johnstone team-mate, Gordon Whitelaw, told the manager, Jackie Stewart, I was someone to keep an eye on.
“I got a few reserve games, started scoring goals and got a contract.”
Kenny scored on his competitive debut against Alloa and couldn’t stop hitting the net.
He said: “I have to say I owe a lot to the other guys in the team.
“Former Celtic player Charlie Gallagher could land the ball on a tanner and his throughballs really suited me.
“Ex- Rangers winger Davie Wilson was a bit older, but he still had bags of ability.”
Kenny’s 38 goals in 35 league matches won Dumbarton the Second Division title in 1972.
He scored in 12 consecutive matches and got all five goals in a 5-0 win over Raith Rovers.
“We were a team of misfits really, but we all got on great and still do,” Kenny went on.
“I used to climb over the fence into the ground when I was a kid.
“The success was extra special because it was the club’s centenary year and 50 years after they’d last been in the top flight.
“I came in after a game against Aberdeen at the start of the new season, and was told I’d been sold to Carlisle United.
“I didn’t particularly want to move because it meant my dad couldn’t follow me.
“I was told promotion meant extra costs and Dumbarton needed the £45,000 on offer.
“When I got down there, I discovered I’d been signed to replace Stan Bowles — who’d been sold for more than £100,000 to QPR.
“Six weeks after arriving, I did my cruciate knee ligament and was out for a spell.
“I had loan moves to York City and Workington, but I really didn’t get on with the Carlisle manager, Alan Ashman.”
Kenny then played a few matches for Hamilton Accies and Brora Rangers before moving to Australia for two years with APIA Leichhardt in Sydney.
Now 71, he’s still a Dumbarton fan and is helping organise a reunion of their 1972 promotion team at the start of next month.