1982–83 in Scottish football

The 1982–83 season was the 86th season of competitive football in Scotland. ^[1]

1982–83 in Scottish football
Premier Division champions
Dundee United
Division One champions
St Johnstone
Division Two champions
Brechin City
Scottish Cup winners
Aberdeen
League Cup winners
Celtic
Junior Cup winners
East Kilbride Thistle
Teams in Europe
Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee United, Rangers
Scotland national team
1983 BHC, UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
← 1981–82 1983–84 →

Overview

In a tightly fought contest Dundee United won their maiden Scottish league title. The league remained undecided until the last day of the season with Aberdeen, Celtic and Dundee United in contention. On the final day Celtic beat Rangers 4–2 and Aberdeen beat Hibernian 5–0, Dundee United held their nerve to win a historic first championship after beating local rivals Dundee 2–1 at Dens Park.

Scottish League Premier Division

Main article: 1982–83 Scottish Premier Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Dundee United (C)	36	24	8	4	90	35	+55	56	Qualification for the European Cup first round
2	Celtic	36	25	5	6	90	36	+54	55	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3	Aberdeen	36	25	5	6	76	25	+51	55	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
4	Rangers	36	13	12	11	53	41	+12	38
5	St Mirren	36	11	12	13	47	51	−4	34	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
6	Dundee	36	9	11	16	42	53	−11	29
7	Hibernian	36	7	15	14	35	51	−16	29
8	Motherwell	36	11	5	20	39	73	−34	27
9	Morton (R)	36	6	8	22	36	81	−45	20	Relegation to the 1983–84 Scottish First Division
10	Kilmarnock (R)	36	3	11	22	28	91	−63	17

Source: Statto
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Champions: Dundee United
Relegated: Morton, Kilmarnock

Scottish League Division One

Main article: 1982–83 Scottish First Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	St Johnstone (C, P)	39	25	5	9	59	37	+22	55	Promotion to the Premier Division
2	Heart of Midlothian (P)	39	22	10	7	79	38	+41	54
3	Clydebank	39	20	10	9	72	49	+23	50
4	Partick Thistle	39	20	9	10	66	45	+21	49
5	Airdrieonians	39	16	7	16	62	46	+16	39
6	Alloa Athletic	39	14	11	14	52	52	0	39
7	Dumbarton	39	13	10	16	50	59	−9	36
8	Falkirk	39	15	6	18	45	55	−10	36
9	Raith Rovers	39	13	8	18	64	63	+1	34
10	Clyde	39	14	6	19	55	66	−11	34
11	Hamilton Academical	39	11	12	16	54	66	−12	34
12	Ayr United	39	12	8	19	45	61	−16	32
13	Dunfermline Athletic (R)	39	7	17	15	39	69	−30	31	Relegation to the Second Division
14	Queen's Park (R)	39	6	11	22	44	80	−36	23

Source: RSSSF^{[dead link]}
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Promoted: St. Johnstone, Hearts
Relegated: Dunfermline Athletic, Queen's Park

Scottish League Division Two

Main article: 1982–83 Scottish Second Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion
1	Brechin City (C, P)	39	21	13	5	77	38	+39	55	Promotion to the First Division
2	Meadowbank Thistle (P)	39	23	8	8	64	45	+19	54
3	Arbroath	39	21	7	11	78	51	+27	49
4	Forfar Athletic	39	18	12	9	58	38	+20	48
5	Stirling Albion	39	18	10	11	57	41	+16	46
6	East Fife	39	16	11	12	68	43	+25	43
7	Queen of the South	39	17	8	14	75	55	+20	42
8	Cowdenbeath	39	13	12	14	54	53	+1	38
9	Berwick Rangers	39	13	10	16	47	60	−13	36
10	Albion Rovers	39	14	6	19	55	66	−11	34
11	Stenhousemuir	39	7	15	17	43	66	−23	29
12	Stranraer	39	10	7	22	46	79	−33	27
13	East Stirlingshire	39	7	9	23	41	79	−38	23
14	Montrose	39	8	6	25	37	86	−49	22

Source: "1982-1983 Second Division - SPFL Archive". SPFL. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Promoted: Brechin City, Meadowbank Thistle

Other honours

Cup honours

Competition	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Report
Scottish Cup 1982–83	Aberdeen	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Rangers	Wikipedia article
League Cup 1982–83	Celtic	2–1	Rangers
Junior Cup	East Kilbride Thistle	2–0	Bo'ness United

Individual honours

Award	Winner	Club
Footballer of the Year	Charlie Nicholas	Celtic
Players' Player of the Year	Charlie Nicholas	Celtic
Young Player of the Year	Paul McStay	Celtic

Scottish national team

Main article: Scotland national football team 1980–99 results

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score[2]	Competition	Scotland scorer(s)
13 October 1982	Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)	East Germany	2–0	ECQG1	John Wark, Graeme Souness
17 November 1982	Wankdorf Stadion, Bern (A)	Switzerland	0–2	ECQG1
15 December 1982	Heysel Stadion, Brussels (A)	Belgium	2–3	ECQG1	Kenny Dalglish (2)
30 March 1983	Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)	Switzerland	2–2	ECQG1	John Wark, Charlie Nicholas
24 May 1983	Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)	Northern Ireland	0–0	BHC
28 May 1983	Ninian Park, Cardiff (A)	Wales	2–0	BHC	Andy Gray, Alan Brazil
1 June 1983	Wembley Stadium, London (A)	England	0–2	BHC
12 June 1983	Empire Stadium, Vancouver (A)	Canada	2–0	Friendly	Gordon Strachan (pen.), Mark McGhee
16 June 1983	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton (A)	Canada	3–0	Friendly	Charlie Nicholas, Richard Gough, Graeme Souness
19 June 1983	Varsity Stadium, Toronto (A)	Canada	2–0	Friendly	Andy Gray (2)

Key:

• (H) = Home match
• (A) = Away match
• ECQG1 = European Championship qualifying – Group 1
• BHC = British Home Championship

See also

1982–83 Aberdeen F.C. season