Frank Beattie
Encyclopedia
Frank Beattie was a Scottish
association football player and manager
. He spent his entire senior playing career with Kilmarnock
, making 422 league appearances between 1954 and 1972. He was captain of Kilmarnock when they won the Scottish League Championship
in 1965. After retiring as a player, Beattie managed Albion Rovers and Stirling Albion
.
on 17 October 1933. Frank started playing football at an early age for his school St Modan's in Stirling. He later moved up to juvenile level with Dunipace and Cowie before then joining Bonnybridge Juniors. During his time at Bonnybridge Juniors scouts from several Scottish clubs were looking at him and then in October 1953 just six weeks after signing for Bonnybrodge Frank signed for Kilmarnock
by the then manager Malky MacDonald. Frank spent the first season playing for the reserve team. Frank's favoured position was inside-left but, Frank first played for Kilmarnock
in an unfamiliar role on the right of the attack during his debut against St Mirren
in the League Cup
tie at Love Street on the 4th September 1954 . This did not impact on his performance because he scored the goal to give Kilmarnock
the lead at half time. The game ended in a 3-2 defeat for Kilmarnock
and Frank was dropped for the first League game of the season the following week. Frank made his Kilmarnock
league
debut against Partick Thistle
on the 9th October 1954. Like the game at Love Street Frank scored the only goal of the first half but again like Love Street, Kilmarnock
lost the game but Frank did do enough to keep his place in the team for the next two games. Frank struggled to stay in the team during his first full season. That was the only season that Frank played in a Kilmarnock
team that was threatened by relegation.
he was still not a regular starter. He played in only one of the opening ten League Cup
and league
games. When Frank did get his chance in the team he took it, missing just one of the 33 subsequent matches that season. One of the games he played in was Kilmarnock's
last victory against Celtic
at Parkhead
. Kilmarnock
finished that season in 8th place, their highest position for twenty years. Frank still struggled to hold down a permanent place in the team but this was mainly down to the fact that he was a very versatile player. It was only after new manager Willie Waddell that Frank eventually nailed down a position in the team at right-half. After the switch of position Frank never appeared in the forward line again. In Frank's first full season at right-half Kilmarnock
enjoyed their most successful season up to that point, finishing as runners up in the league
to (for the first time in their history) and mounted a sustained title challenge but eventually finished four points behind eventual winners Hearts
. Kilmarnock
also finished runners up in the Scottish Cup
to Rangers
. For their efforts Kilmarnock
were rewarded with a trip across the Atlantic to play in the International Soccer Tournament. Kilmarnock
played very well in America beating Burnley
and FC Bayern Munich
en route to the Final where they were beaten by Brazilians Bangu
. The following season they got the League Cup
Final where once again Rangers
stoo din the way. Rangers
went on to win the match 2-0 which meant that in the last six months Kilmarnock
had finished runners-up in four competitions and Frank had two losing finalist's medals. During this season Frank played a few games at left-half deputising for Bobby Kennedy
. The following season Kilmarnock
finished second in the league, just one point behind Rangers
and were again rewarded with a trip to America to compete in the International Soccer Tournament but this time was not as successful as before. With Bobby Kennedy
leaving the club in the summer of 1962 Frank was moved to left-half permanently. In the 1962-63 League Cup
Kilmarnock
once again got to the final where the played Hearts
, who took the lead midway through the first half. Frank almost scored the equaliser for Kilmarnock
but he was denied by a magnificent save by Gordon Marshal
. With just thirty seconds left Kilmarnock
had a free kick which was floated high in to the Hearts
box where Frank Beattie outjumped everyone to head home for Kilmarnock
to equalise but, the referee had already blown for a free kick to Hearts
. At the end of the season Frank had managed to play in every single one of Kilmarnock's 52 games and also won the Player of the Year award.
in the league
which ended in a 1 all draw. For the fourth time in five years Kilmarnock
finished runners up in the league
but this time Kilmarnock
were allowed to play in Europe.
were draw against Eintracht Frankfurt
in the Fairs Cup in their first ever European game (Eintracht Frankfurt
had lost to Real Madrid
in the final of the European Cup
just four years earlier). Kilmarnock
left Frankfurt with a 3-0 deficit to overcome in the home leg. The game at Rugby Park
was one of the most incredible matches ever witnessed in the ground's history. Kilmarnock
fell further behind after just four minutes but by half-time they lead on the night 2-1. In the second half Kilmarnock
scored again and they then leveled the tie on aggregate before scoring the winner with two minutes left to play. During the game the supporters invaded the pitch 3 times as the excitement mounted. Kilmarnock's run in Europe was ended by Everton
. The next game that Kilmarnock
played after being beat by Everton
was against Rangers, which they drew 1-1 thanks to Frank Beattie's only goal in his 53 games that season. Going into the last game of the season Kilmarnock
still had a chance of winning the title but they would have to beat Hearts
(who were top of the league) by scoring at least two goals and to not concede anything because the league was decided by goal average instead of goal difference. The game was a tight affair but Kilmarnock
took a two nil lead within thirty minutes. This prompted Hearts
to bombard the Kilmarnock
goal. Kilmarnock
however withstood the barrage to win the title by one point. This also meant that Kilmarnock
would play in the European Cup
for the first time. Frank Beattie became the first Kilmarnock
captain since Mattha Smith in 1929 to bring a national trophy to Rugby Park
.
Frank Beattie played at centre-half against Albanians 17 Nentori Tirana
. Kilmarnock
won the tie 1-0 on aggregate. In the next round Kilmarnock
played Real Madrid
but lost the tie.
The next season was to be Kilmarnock's best season in Europe as they reached the semi-finals of the Fairs Cup getting beat by Leeds United. The following two seasons Frank played less and during these two season Frank came on as a substitute for only the second time in his career against Raith Rovers. Kilmarnock
were down 4-0 at half time when Frank was brought on and by full time it was 4-4.
Frank broke Mattha Smith's record for the most league appearances by playing against Celtic
. Beattie and Jimmy Johnstone
collided just fifteen minutes in. Beattie broke his right leg; at the age of 36 most people thought that his career was over. Walter McCrae did not think so and signed him up for the fallowing season. Even though Frank did not feature that season he was awarded with a testimonial match. Frank made his come back from injury against Clyde in a reserves match. At the end of the season Frank's testimonial took place. The team that was chosen was Celtic. The result was 7-2 to Celtic with a young Kenny Dalglish
scoring six of the seven goals. Frank made his lat appearance for Kilmarnock
against Motherwell
. This game was to push Frank over the 600 appearance for Kilmarnock
.
After his retirement Beattie ran a newsagent in his home village of Cambusbarron
. He took over as manager of local amateur side Cambusbarron Rovers in 1976, and two years later led the team to victory in the Scottish Amateur Cup
.
match played between Kilmarnock and Hearts
on 28 November, a minute's silence was held in his memory.
On Sunday 22 August 2010, ahead of the first home match of the season against Motherwell, Kilmarnock FC invited the family of Frank Beattie to Rugby Park to witness the renaming of the West Stand in Kilmarnock. The stand will now be referred to as The Frank Beattie Stand, and is a fine tribute to one of the former greats of the club.
|1954–55||rowspan="18"|Kilmarnock
||rowspan="18"|Division One
||15||3||0||0||1||1||0||0||16||4
|-
|1955–56||29||10||3||2||0||0||0||0||32||12
|-
|1956–57||21||7||2||1||4||0||0||0||27||8
|-
|1957–58||20||8||0||0||7||2||0||0||27||10
|-
|1958–59||27||0||3||0||0||0||0||0||30||10
|-
|1959–60||33||1||7||0||0||0||6||0||46||1
|-
|1960–61||28||0||1||0||10||1||6||0||45||1
|-
|1961–62||30||1||3||0||6||2||0||0||39||3
|-
|1962–63||34||1||2||0||10||1||6||0||52||2
|-
|1963–64||33||1||5||1||3||1||8||0||49||3
|-
|1964–65||31||1||4||0||6||0||13||0||54||1
|-
|1965–66||30||0||4||1||9||0||2||0||45||1
|-
|1966–67||29||1||2||0||6||0||8||0||45||1
|-
|1967–68||25||0||0||0||6||0||0||0||39||0
|-
|1968–69||28||0||4||0||2||0||6||0||40||0
|-
|1969–70||8||0||0||0||5||0||5||0||18||0
|-
|1970–71||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|1971–72||1||0||0||0||5||1||0||0||6||1
422||34||40||5||80||9||60||0||602||48
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
association football player and manager
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
. He spent his entire senior playing career with Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
, making 422 league appearances between 1954 and 1972. He was captain of Kilmarnock when they won the Scottish League Championship
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
in 1965. After retiring as a player, Beattie managed Albion Rovers and Stirling Albion
Stirling Albion F.C.
Stirling Albion F.C. are a Scottish football club currently playing in the Scottish Second Division. The club are nicknamed The Binos . They play at Doubletree Dunblane Stadium in Stirling, on the outskirts of the city near the River Forth...
.
Early life
Frank Beattie was born in St Ninian's StirlingStirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
on 17 October 1933. Frank started playing football at an early age for his school St Modan's in Stirling. He later moved up to juvenile level with Dunipace and Cowie before then joining Bonnybridge Juniors. During his time at Bonnybridge Juniors scouts from several Scottish clubs were looking at him and then in October 1953 just six weeks after signing for Bonnybrodge Frank signed for Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
The tough first years
Frank Beattie was brought to KilmarnockKilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
by the then manager Malky MacDonald. Frank spent the first season playing for the reserve team. Frank's favoured position was inside-left but, Frank first played for Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
in an unfamiliar role on the right of the attack during his debut against St Mirren
St. Mirren F.C.
St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...
in the League Cup
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...
tie at Love Street on the 4th September 1954 . This did not impact on his performance because he scored the goal to give Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
the lead at half time. The game ended in a 3-2 defeat for Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
and Frank was dropped for the first League game of the season the following week. Frank made his Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
league
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
debut against Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle F.C.
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football club from Glasgow. Despite their name, the club are based in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908...
on the 9th October 1954. Like the game at Love Street Frank scored the only goal of the first half but again like Love Street, Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
lost the game but Frank did do enough to keep his place in the team for the next two games. Frank struggled to stay in the team during his first full season. That was the only season that Frank played in a Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
team that was threatened by relegation.
Becoming a regular
At the start of Frank's second season with KilmarnockKilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
he was still not a regular starter. He played in only one of the opening ten League Cup
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...
and league
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
games. When Frank did get his chance in the team he took it, missing just one of the 33 subsequent matches that season. One of the games he played in was Kilmarnock's
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
last victory against Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
at Parkhead
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
. Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
finished that season in 8th place, their highest position for twenty years. Frank still struggled to hold down a permanent place in the team but this was mainly down to the fact that he was a very versatile player. It was only after new manager Willie Waddell that Frank eventually nailed down a position in the team at right-half. After the switch of position Frank never appeared in the forward line again. In Frank's first full season at right-half Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
enjoyed their most successful season up to that point, finishing as runners up in the league
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
to (for the first time in their history) and mounted a sustained title challenge but eventually finished four points behind eventual winners Hearts
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
. Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
also finished runners up in the Scottish Cup
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
to Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
. For their efforts Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
were rewarded with a trip across the Atlantic to play in the International Soccer Tournament. Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
played very well in America beating Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
and FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
en route to the Final where they were beaten by Brazilians Bangu
Bangu Atlético Clube
Bangu Atlético Clube, or Bangu as they are usually called, is a Brazilian football team from Bangu, Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro, founded on April 17, 1904...
. The following season they got the League Cup
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...
Final where once again Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
stoo din the way. Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
went on to win the match 2-0 which meant that in the last six months Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
had finished runners-up in four competitions and Frank had two losing finalist's medals. During this season Frank played a few games at left-half deputising for Bobby Kennedy
Bobby Kennedy (footballer)
Robert 'Bobby' Kennedy is a Scottish former soccer player who could play in midfield or at right back.-Playing career:Bobby Kennedy started his career at Coltness United and after trials with Queen of the South and Clyde he joined Kilmarnock in 1957...
. The following season Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
finished second in the league, just one point behind Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
and were again rewarded with a trip to America to compete in the International Soccer Tournament but this time was not as successful as before. With Bobby Kennedy
Bobby Kennedy (footballer)
Robert 'Bobby' Kennedy is a Scottish former soccer player who could play in midfield or at right back.-Playing career:Bobby Kennedy started his career at Coltness United and after trials with Queen of the South and Clyde he joined Kilmarnock in 1957...
leaving the club in the summer of 1962 Frank was moved to left-half permanently. In the 1962-63 League Cup
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
once again got to the final where the played Hearts
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
, who took the lead midway through the first half. Frank almost scored the equaliser for Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
but he was denied by a magnificent save by Gordon Marshal
Gordon Marshall (footballer born 1939)
Gordon Marshall is a former Anglo-Scottish professional football goalkeeper who played in the top flights of both Scotland and England in a 22-year senior career.-Club career:...
. With just thirty seconds left Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
had a free kick which was floated high in to the Hearts
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
box where Frank Beattie outjumped everyone to head home for Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
to equalise but, the referee had already blown for a free kick to Hearts
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
. At the end of the season Frank had managed to play in every single one of Kilmarnock's 52 games and also won the Player of the Year award.
Being made captain
Frank Beattie was awarded with the captaincy in November 1963 and his first game as captain was against RangersRangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
in the league
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
which ended in a 1 all draw. For the fourth time in five years Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
finished runners up in the league
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
but this time Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
were allowed to play in Europe.
1964-65 Season
the 1964-65 season was the greatest season in Kilmarnock's history and Frank Beattie played a key role as captain. KilmarnockKilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
were draw against Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt is a German sports club, based in Frankfurt, Hesse that is best known for its association football club.- Club origins :...
in the Fairs Cup in their first ever European game (Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt is a German sports club, based in Frankfurt, Hesse that is best known for its association football club.- Club origins :...
had lost to Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
in the final of the European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
just four years earlier). Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
left Frankfurt with a 3-0 deficit to overcome in the home leg. The game at Rugby Park
Rugby Park
Rugby Park is a football stadium situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. It was first used in 1899 and is the home of Kilmarnock F.C..It underwent a major redevelopment in 1994–95, becoming an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 18,128...
was one of the most incredible matches ever witnessed in the ground's history. Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
fell further behind after just four minutes but by half-time they lead on the night 2-1. In the second half Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
scored again and they then leveled the tie on aggregate before scoring the winner with two minutes left to play. During the game the supporters invaded the pitch 3 times as the excitement mounted. Kilmarnock's run in Europe was ended by Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
. The next game that Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
played after being beat by Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
was against Rangers, which they drew 1-1 thanks to Frank Beattie's only goal in his 53 games that season. Going into the last game of the season Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
still had a chance of winning the title but they would have to beat Hearts
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
(who were top of the league) by scoring at least two goals and to not concede anything because the league was decided by goal average instead of goal difference. The game was a tight affair but Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
took a two nil lead within thirty minutes. This prompted Hearts
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
to bombard the Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
goal. Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
however withstood the barrage to win the title by one point. This also meant that Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
would play in the European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
for the first time. Frank Beattie became the first Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
captain since Mattha Smith in 1929 to bring a national trophy to Rugby Park
Rugby Park
Rugby Park is a football stadium situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. It was first used in 1899 and is the home of Kilmarnock F.C..It underwent a major redevelopment in 1994–95, becoming an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 18,128...
.
Later years
In Kilmarnock's first game in the European CupUEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
Frank Beattie played at centre-half against Albanians 17 Nentori Tirana
SK Tirana
KF Tirana is the most successful Albanian football club earning 47 major trophies in the country and is branch of Multiple Sport Klub of Tirana . KF Tirana is the most popular football club in the country with a considerable number of supporters...
. Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
won the tie 1-0 on aggregate. In the next round Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
played Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
but lost the tie.
The next season was to be Kilmarnock's best season in Europe as they reached the semi-finals of the Fairs Cup getting beat by Leeds United. The following two seasons Frank played less and during these two season Frank came on as a substitute for only the second time in his career against Raith Rovers. Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
were down 4-0 at half time when Frank was brought on and by full time it was 4-4.
Frank broke Mattha Smith's record for the most league appearances by playing against Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
. Beattie and Jimmy Johnstone
Jimmy Johnstone
James Connolly "Jimmy" Johnstone was a Scottish football player. Johnstone was best known for his time with Celtic, and was voted their best ever player by the club's fans in 2002...
collided just fifteen minutes in. Beattie broke his right leg; at the age of 36 most people thought that his career was over. Walter McCrae did not think so and signed him up for the fallowing season. Even though Frank did not feature that season he was awarded with a testimonial match. Frank made his come back from injury against Clyde in a reserves match. At the end of the season Frank's testimonial took place. The team that was chosen was Celtic. The result was 7-2 to Celtic with a young Kenny Dalglish
Kenny Dalglish
Kenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish MBE is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of Liverpool F.C.. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two club teams, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is the most capped Scottish player, with 102 appearances, and...
scoring six of the seven goals. Frank made his lat appearance for Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
against Motherwell
Motherwell F.C.
Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...
. This game was to push Frank over the 600 appearance for Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
.
After his retirement Beattie ran a newsagent in his home village of Cambusbarron
Cambusbarron
Cambusbarron is a village in Stirling, Scotland. In the 2001 census, it had a population of 3,224. There is evidence of settlement at the site since the Bronze Age, and several forts dating from the Iron Age have been found near the village...
. He took over as manager of local amateur side Cambusbarron Rovers in 1976, and two years later led the team to victory in the Scottish Amateur Cup
Scottish Amateur Cup
The Scottish Amateur Cup is a nationwide knockout tournament supported and organised by the Scottish Amateur Football Association. The Scottish Amateur Cup is competed for by hundreds of football clubs every year.- Winners :-External links:*...
.
Death
Frank Beattie died on the 19th November 2009 at the age of 76. He died after suffering from Parkinson’s Disease for 10 years. During the SPLScottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
match played between Kilmarnock and Hearts
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
on 28 November, a minute's silence was held in his memory.
On Sunday 22 August 2010, ahead of the first home match of the season against Motherwell, Kilmarnock FC invited the family of Frank Beattie to Rugby Park to witness the renaming of the West Stand in Kilmarnock. The stand will now be referred to as The Frank Beattie Stand, and is a fine tribute to one of the former greats of the club.
Career statistics
|-|1954–55||rowspan="18"|Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
||rowspan="18"|Division One
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
||15||3||0||0||1||1||0||0||16||4
|-
|1955–56||29||10||3||2||0||0||0||0||32||12
|-
|1956–57||21||7||2||1||4||0||0||0||27||8
|-
|1957–58||20||8||0||0||7||2||0||0||27||10
|-
|1958–59||27||0||3||0||0||0||0||0||30||10
|-
|1959–60||33||1||7||0||0||0||6||0||46||1
|-
|1960–61||28||0||1||0||10||1||6||0||45||1
|-
|1961–62||30||1||3||0||6||2||0||0||39||3
|-
|1962–63||34||1||2||0||10||1||6||0||52||2
|-
|1963–64||33||1||5||1||3||1||8||0||49||3
|-
|1964–65||31||1||4||0||6||0||13||0||54||1
|-
|1965–66||30||0||4||1||9||0||2||0||45||1
|-
|1966–67||29||1||2||0||6||0||8||0||45||1
|-
|1967–68||25||0||0||0||6||0||0||0||39||0
|-
|1968–69||28||0||4||0||2||0||6||0||40||0
|-
|1969–70||8||0||0||0||5||0||5||0||18||0
|-
|1970–71||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|1971–72||1||0||0||0||5||1||0||0||6||1
422||34||40||5||80||9||60||0||602||48
Honours
- Scottish league championship winner (1): 1964–651964-65 in Scottish footballThe 1964–65 season was the 68th season of Scottish league football.-Scottish League Division One:In one of the closest finishes ever seen in a league competition in Britain, Hearts faced Kilmarnock on the last day of the season with...