# 1964–65 in Scottish football

The 1964–65 season was the 92nd season of competitive football in Scotland and 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 a two-point lead over the Ayrshire club and a slightly better goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded). Kilmarnock had to beat Hearts by at least 2–0 to win the title. Any worse result for Kilmarnock, including any other two goal winning margin, e.g. 3–1 or 4–2, would have made Hearts champions. Kilmarnock won 2–0, and were champions.
The 1964–65 season is notable for both Celtic and Rangers finishing in mid-table. It was, and remains as of 2021, only the fifth time that neither of them had finished in the top two, and the only time that both of the Old Firm clubs had failed to finish in the top three of the First Division in the same season.
The season was also interesting in that it was the one and only season that East Stirling Clydebank (E.S. Clydebank) competed in the Scottish League, reverting to East Stirlingshire for season 1965/66 with Clydebank entering the league the following year.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Kilmarnock | 34 | 22 | 6 | 6 | 62 | 33 | 1.879 | 50 | Division Champions |
| 2 | Hearts | 34 | 22 | 6 | 6 | 90 | 49 | 1.837 | 50 | |
| 3 | Dunfermline Athletic | 34 | 22 | 5 | 7 | 83 | 36 | 2.306 | 49 | |
| 4 | Hibernian | 34 | 21 | 4 | 9 | 75 | 47 | 1.596 | 46 | |
| 5 | Rangers | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 78 | 35 | 2.229 | 44 | |
| 6 | Dundee | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 86 | 63 | 1.365 | 40 | |
| 7 | Clyde | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 64 | 58 | 1.103 | 40 | |
| 8 | Celtic | 34 | 16 | 5 | 13 | 76 | 57 | 1.333 | 37 | |
| 9 | Dundee United | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 59 | 51 | 1.157 | 36 | |
| 10 | Morton | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 54 | 54 | 1.000 | 33 | |
| 11 | Partick Thistle | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 57 | 58 | 0.983 | 32 | |
| 12 | Aberdeen | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 59 | 75 | 0.787 | 32 | |
| 13 | St Johnstone | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 57 | 62 | 0.919 | 29 | |
| 14 | Motherwell | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 45 | 54 | 0.833 | 28 | |
| 15 | St Mirren | 34 | 9 | 6 | 19 | 38 | 70 | 0.543 | 24 | |
| 16 | Falkirk | 34 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 43 | 85 | 0.506 | 21 | |
| 17 | Airdrieonians | 34 | 5 | 4 | 25 | 48 | 110 | 0.436 | 14 | Relegated to the 1965–66 Second Division |
| 18 | Third Lanark | 34 | 3 | 1 | 30 | 22 | 99 | 0.222 | 7 | Relegated to the 1965–66 Second Division |
Champions: Kilmarnock Relegated: Airdrieonains, Third Lanark

## Scottish League Division Two

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Stirling Albion | 36 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 84 | 31 | +53 | 59 | Promotion to the 1965–66 First Division |
| 2 | Hamilton Academical | 36 | 21 | 8 | 7 | 86 | 53 | +33 | 50 | Promotion to the 1965–66 First Division |
| 3 | Queen of the South | 36 | 16 | 13 | 7 | 84 | 50 | +34 | 45 | |
| 4 | Queen's Park | 36 | 17 | 9 | 10 | 57 | 41 | +16 | 43 | |
| 5 | E. S. Clydebank | 36 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 64 | 50 | +14 | 40 | |
| 6 | Stranraer | 36 | 17 | 6 | 13 | 74 | 64 | +10 | 40 | |
| 7 | Arbroath | 36 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 56 | 51 | +5 | 39 | |
| 8 | Berwick Rangers | 36 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 73 | 70 | +3 | 39 | |
| 9 | East Fife | 36 | 15 | 7 | 14 | 78 | 77 | +1 | 37 | |
| 10 | Alloa Athletic | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 71 | 81 | −10 | 36 | |
| 11 | Albion Rovers | 36 | 14 | 5 | 17 | 56 | 60 | −4 | 33 | |
| 12 | Cowdenbeath | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 55 | 62 | −7 | 32 | |
| 13 | Raith Rovers | 36 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 54 | 61 | −7 | 32 | |
| 14 | Dumbarton | 36 | 13 | 6 | 17 | 55 | 67 | −12 | 32 | |
| 15 | Stenhousemuir | 36 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 49 | 74 | −25 | 30 | |
| 16 | Montrose | 36 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 80 | 91 | −11 | 29 | |
| 17 | Forfar Athletic | 36 | 9 | 7 | 20 | 63 | 89 | −26 | 25 | |
| 18 | Ayr United | 36 | 9 | 6 | 21 | 49 | 67 | −18 | 24 | |
| 19 | Brechin City | 36 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 53 | 102 | −49 | 19 | |
Promoted: Stirling Albion, Hamilton Academical

## Cup honours

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Scottish Cup 1964–65 | Celtic | 3 – 2 | Dunfermline Athletic |
| League Cup 1964–65 | Rangers | 2 – 1 | Celtic |
| Junior Cup | Linlithgow Rose | 4 – 1 | Baillieston Juniors |

## Other honours
### National

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup - North | Inverness Caledonian | 4 – 2 * | Ross County |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup - South | Gala Fairydean | 9 – 5 * | Glasgow University |

### County

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Aberdeenshire Cup | Peterhead | | |
| Ayrshire Cup | Ayr United | 1 – 0 | Kilmarnock |
| East of Scotland Shield | Hearts | 3 – 1 | Hibernian |
| Fife Cup | Dunfermline Athletic | 9 – 4 * | Raith Rovers |
| Forfarshire Cup | Dundee United | 1 – 0 | Dundee |
| Glasgow Cup | Celtic | 5 – 0 | Queens Park |
| Lanarkshire Cup | Airdrie | | |
| Renfrewshire Cup | Morton | 7 – 4 * | St Mirren |
| Stirlingshire Cup | Dumbarton | 4 – 2 * | Falkirk |
$^*$ - aggregate over two legs

### Highland League

Top Three :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Elgin City | 30 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 109 | 52 | +57 | 46 |
| 2 | Nairn County | 30 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 99 | 64 | +35 | 45 |
| 3 | Inverness Caledonian | 30 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 104 | 68 | +36 | 41 |

## Individual honours

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Footballer of the Year | Billy McNeill | Celtic |

## Scotland national team

| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Competition | Scotland scorer(s) |
| 3 October 1964 | Ninian Park, Cardiff (A) | Wales | 2–3 | BHC | Stevie Chalmers, Dave Gibson |
| 21 October 1964 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Finland | 3–1 | WCQG8 | Denis Law, Dave Gibson, Stevie Chalmers |
| 25 November 1964 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Northern Ireland | 3–2 | BHC | Davie Wilson (2), Alan Gilzean |
| 10 April 1965 | Wembley Stadium, London (A) | England | 2–2 | BHC | Denis Law, Ian St. John |
| 8 May 1965 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Spain | 0–0 | Friendly | |
| 23 May 1965 | Silesia Stadium, Chorzów / Katowice (A) | Poland | 1–1 | WCQG8 | Denis Law |
| 27 May 1965 | Olympiastadion, Helsinki (A) | Finland | 2–1 | WCQG8 | Davie Wilson, John Greig |
* Scotland came third in the 1965 British Home Championship
Key:
* (H) = Home match
* (A) = Away match
* WCQG8 = World Cup qualifying - Group 8
* BHC = British Home Championship