A brief history of Dalbeattie Star FC

Although records show a team playing sporadic friendlies under the name of Dalbeattie Star as early as 1900, is wasn’t until five years later that they first played competitive matches, winning two of the three junior cup competitions they entered that season and finishing runners-up in the other. As they became the leading team in the town, it was decided on 27th August, 1906, that they would turn senior and, just under a year later on 13th August, 1907, they were admitted to the SFA.

The first major success as a senior club came in 1908/09 when they won the Southern Counties Cup and the club continued on a steady basis until 1914 when they became one of the first in the region to fold when the First World War began that same year. Three years after football resumed in 1919, the Star committee took the bold step of going professional, but this proved to be a disastrous move which virtually ruined the club financially. However, one bright note from that season came when the club qualified for the Scottish Cup for the first time ever, though they lost heavily to Edinburgh side St Bernards. 

In 1924/25, Star won their first ever league title and, from 1929/30 to 1933/34, they were league champions five years in a row. Success wasn’t limited to the league either as, during this period, they regularly qualified for the Scottish Cup which included a visit to Dalbeattie by Celtic on 20th January, 1934, which the Glasgow side won 6-0 in front of a then-record crowd of 2,376. Star also reached the final of the Scottish Qualifying cup twice but, on both occasions, was unable to bring the trophy back home. In the last Qualifying Cup competition before it was split between South and North in 1930/31, Star lost 1-0 in a replay to Bathgate at Somerset Park in front of a crowd of 3,229. 

The first match at Palmerston Park ended 1-1 with a crowd of 3,634 watching. The following season, Star reached the first-ever Scottish Qualifying Cup (South) final, but went down 6-1 to Beith at Rugby Park with 2,130 spectators attending. Big crowds were not just restricted to cup finals back then as, on 8th February 1936, a home record attendance of 3,160 watched Star lose narrowly 1-0 to St Mirren at Maidenholm Park in the Scottish Cup. Incredibly, after winning five league titles in a row, Star folded for a year and, from then until the outbreak of World War II, they struggled badly like so many clubs. After the war, the club rejoined the South of Scotland league, but only for one year and it was no surprise to anyone when they seemingly folded for good in 1948.

In March 1976, a group of enthusiasts resurrected the club and the name of Dalbeattie Star was back.  The club had to apply to the Scottish Football Association for membership and this was granted the following year after the SFA inspected the ground. Now playing at Islecroft Stadium, the club’s first trophy back was the 1977/78 Haig Gordon Cup when they beat Lincluden Swifts 3-0 thanks to a hat trick from David Clachrie. 

In 1983, the first ever Scottish Cup tie at Islecroft was played, but Arbroath spoiled the party, winning 5-1. The following season, the club became league champions for the first time in over 50 years and, in 1985/86, they successfully defended their title. Another league championship arrived in 1988/89 and it wasn’t until 2011/12 that they were crowned South of Scotland champions again. In between times though, there was a steady stream of cup triumphs and Scottish Cup adventures. These included a narrow 2-1 defeat to East Stirlingshire at a freezing Islecroft in 1999 and, the following season, a great day out at Albion Rovers was had by all that ended goal-less, but unfortunately, the replay ended in a 5-1 defeat.

In 2001/02, the club entered a team into the East of Scotland league as well as continuing to field a side in the South and promotion was gained to the East Premier Division in 2003/04. After relegation in 2005/06, the Star returned to the top flight the following season as champions with a team of great promise. In 2008/09, Star came so close to winning the Premier Division, but lost out on a last match decider against Spartans as suspensions and injuries finally took their toll. That season was probably regarded as Star’s finest since being reformed as they played with a style and panache rarely seen before. They also lifted some silverware winning the East League cup, beating Preston Athletic 2-0, and the Southern Counties cup was won with a touch of class beating South champions Threave Rovers 5-0 at Meadow Park, Queen of the South 5-0 in the semi-final at home and they lifted the cup with a resounding 4-1 away to Annan Athletic. 

The only downside to performances and results like this is that it certainly attracts attention and when Annan were elected in to the SFL weeks later, it was no surprise when they came along and signed a number of the Star players to strengthen their squad and it has to be said virtually all the players who made the switch to Galabank did very well for their new club. Unfortunately, this left the Star somewhat short for the coming season and, with much regret, they had to resign from the East league. 

The South League cup was won in 2010/11, but it was the South League title that was the main target and in 2011/12, the club became champions for the first time in 23 years. The title was clinched with a 1-1 draw away to Threave Rovers as the Star ended the campaign unbeaten winning 21 of the 24 matches played. As well as the league title, Star won a further four cup competitions – beating Threave Rovers 2-0 in the final of the Potts cup, St Cuthbert Wanderers 4-1 in the League cup, Queen of the South 8-1 in the Southern Counties cup and Threave Rovers 3-0 in the Haig Gordon cup. On top of all that, they also collected the fair play award and the overall best team in the South trophy. It was a season of unprecedented success for the club and the following year was always going to be difficult to follow that. However, the team made a really good attempt at it as they retained the league title with a couple of games to spare, though their long unbeaten run in the league came to an end at 41 games. The League cup was won for the third year in a row with a 3-1 win over Threave at Palmerston and the same team was beaten in the Tweedie cup final at Galabank. The season was rounded off in grand style on the final day with a 6-2 victory over Nithsdale Wanderers to retain the Challenge Cup and complete another highly successful campaign. 

In the summer of 2013, the club was accepted into the newly formed Lowland League and though the season ended trophyless, it was still considered a success. A more than credible third place was achieved in the inaugural season of the Lowland League, but there was major disappointment in two cup final defeats towards the end of the season. Going for a third win in a row in the South of Scotland Challenge Cup (which no one has ever achieved), Star lost to a stoppage time goal, going down 2-1 to Wigtown and Bladnoch. However, the main target was the SFA South Region Challenge Cup and after defeating newly-crowned league champions Spartans 3-2 on their own ground in the semi-finals, hopes were high.  However, looking for their first-ever triumph in this cup (formerly the Qualifying Cup), Star lost 2-0 to East Kilbride at Palmerston and the chance was gone. 

The 2015/16 season was one of transition for the Islecroft side under new manager Darren Kerr, but on the day, Star were more than a match for any side in the league and indeed, were one of the few to beat Edinburgh City who ran away with the title for the second year running. In 2016/2017, Star occupied a top four place in the league for the majority of the season, but agonisingly fell out in the last few weeks, which meant missing out on a place in the Irn Bru Cup. However, the side won their first piece of silverware for four years when the Southern Counties Challenge Cup was won on the last day of the season with a 2-1 win over Queen of the South U20's at Galabank.

Star continued to hold their own in the Lowland League but each season it became more and more difficult as Junior teams from the West and East leagues gained promotion with far bigger playing budgets than Star could ever dream of. After four years in charge Darren Kerr was replaced by Ritchie Maxwell and in his second season in charge Star got off to a terrific start and would eventually finish a creditable 10th. Towards the end of 2021/22 season Maxwell announced he would have to step down due to work commitments so in stepped his assistant Chris Jardine to take charge until the end of the season. That season saw the introduction of Celtic and Rangers B teams to the Lowland League and Star's 2-0 win over the Ibrox B side was a victory that will live long in the memory. Star ended that season by lifting the Southern Counties Challenge Cup beating Caledonian Braves 3-2 in a thrilling final, the last match of Jardine's time in the hot seat as well as almost all of the playing squad.

Jordan Williamson was named as the new manager in the summer of 2022 and he had to virtually start from scratch as only two players remained from last seasons playing squad. Williamson was in charge of St. Cuthbert Wanderers the previous season and led them to the South League title in fine fashion. However life in the Lowland League was a massive step up and Star struggled badly to pick up points. Eventually the board took the decision to part company with Williamson and in came former Queen of the South coach Eddie Warwick. Eddie was unable to stop the bleeding and it was no surprise when Star was relegated after ten eventful years in the Lowland League. 

So now we start and exciting new chapter in the clubs long history as we return to our roots, the South of Scotland Football League. Eddie has put together an exciting young team with a strong nucleus of Dalbeattie boys and the signs are good that they can make a good impression on South football this season.

Why Star?

We have been asked by a number of people where the “Star” came from in the name of our club.

Unfortunately, we could not come up with a definitive answer ourselves so we got in touch with the man who knows more about football in this area than any other, Ian Black, to see if he could come up with answers. 

Again, Ian could not come up with any evidence but his theory is, it came from the town crest (pictured) which features three stars. The two birds in the crest are very similar to the ones incorporated in the original Dalbeattie Star badge. However, if you know any differently, then please let us know!