Season 1986–87 was the 103rd football season in which Dumbarton competed at a Scottish national level, entering the Scottish Football League for the 81st time, the Scottish Cup for the 92nd time and the Scottish League Cup for the 40th time.

Dumbarton began another First Division campaign with a new manager at the helm - Alex Totten - who had been released from his duties with Rangers following the arrival of Graeme Souness. Following another league reconstruction, the First Division clubs would play each other 4 times - a big ask particularly for the part-time clubs - but as things turned out it was to be a close thing for promotion with Dumbarton always up with the front runners. In the end, it was to be a 3rd-place finish - just 4 points behind champions Morton.

In the Scottish Cup, it would be another early exit for Dumbarton, this time to Brechin City after a draw, in the third round.

In the League Cup, Stirling Albion were dispatched in the second round before a fighting display against Celtic, saw Dumbarton's interest in the competition come to an end for another year.

Locally, Dumbarton failed to keep a grip on the Stirlingshire Cup, with Stirling Albion gaining some revenge for their League Cup exit, with a semi final win.

^[1]  Win   Draw   Loss

Partick Thistle v Dumbarton

9 August 1986 First Division	Partick Thistle	1–2	Dumbarton	Firhill Park
	Herd 27'		McCahill 82' McGowan 88'	Attendance: 2,272 Referee: L Thow

Dumbarton v Dunfermline Athletic

13 August 1986 First Division	Dumbarton	0–1	Dunfermline Athletic	Boghead Park
			Montgomerie 67' (OG)	Attendance: 1,780

Airdrie v Dumbarton

16 August 1986 First Division	Airdrie	1–0	Dumbarton	Broomfield Park
	Black 41'			Attendance: 1,500 Referee: K Hope

Dumbarton v Forfar Athletic

23 August 1986 First Division	Dumbarton	3–2	Forfar Athletic	Boghead Park
	Coyle,O 8' (pen.) Bourke 78'		MacDonald 34' Clarke	Attendance: 550

Morton v Dumbarton

30 August 1986 First Division	Morton	0–3	Dumbarton	Cappielow Park
			Moore 13' Coyle,O 27' Houston	Attendance: 2,300 Referee: D Miller

Dumbarton v Brechin City

6 September 1986 First Division	Dumbarton	3–1	Brechin City	Boghead Park
	Coyle,O 10' Coyle,T 62' Bourke		Gallacher	Attendance: 480 Referee: M Delaney

Dumbarton v Montrose

13 September 1986 First Division	Dumbarton	1–0	Montrose	Boghead Park
	Coyle,T			Attendance: 440 Referee: J Smith

Kilmarnock v Dumbarton

16 September 1986 First Division	Kilmarnock	2–1	Dumbarton	Rugby Park
	Bryson Clougherty (OG)		Coyle,O	Attendance: 1,200

Clyde v Dumbarton

20 September 1986 First Division	Clyde	2–1	Dumbarton	Shawfield Stadium
	Millar 15' Watters 35'		Coyle,O	Attendance: 800

Dumbarton v East Fife

27 September 1986 First Division	Dumbarton	2–1	East Fife	Boghead Park
	McCoy 2' Moore 24'		Burgess 77'	Attendance: 630 Referee: P Hanley

Queen of the South v Dumbarton

30 September 1986 First Division	Queen of the South	1–3	Dumbarton	Palmerston Park
	Cloy		Moore Coyle,O McCoy	Attendance: 1,620

Dumbarton v Partick Thistle

4 October 1986 First Division	Dumbarton	2–2	Partick Thistle	Boghead Park
	Coyle,O 1' 56' (pen.)		Montgomerie (OG) Cairns 68'	Attendance: 1,200 Referee: H Gould

Dunfermline Athletic v Dumbarton

8 October 1986 First Division	Dunfermline Athletic	0–1	Dumbarton	East End Park
			McCoy 71'	Attendance: 4,161

Forfar Athletic v Dumbarton

11 October 1986 First Division	Forfar Athletic	3–5	Dumbarton	Station Park, Forfar
	Scott 12' MacDonald 89'		Coyle,O 43' (pen.), 84' (pen.) McCoy 52', 57' Clarke 50' (OG)	Attendance: 815

Dumbarton v Airdrie

18 October 1986 First Division	Dumbarton	2–1	Airdrie	Boghead Park
	McNeil 41' Coyle,O 55'		Lindsay 7'	Attendance: 1,200 Referee: H Williamson

Montrose v Dumbarton

25 October 1986 First Division	Montrose	1–0	Dumbarton	Links Park
	Brown 24'			Attendance: 350

Dumbarton v Kilmarnock

29 October 1986 First Division	Dumbarton	2–0	Kilmarnock	Boghead Park
	McCoy 60'			Attendance: 1,050

Brechin City v Dumbarton

1 November 1986 First Division	Brechin City	3–1	Dumbarton	Glebe Park, Brechin
	Powell 10' 90' Adam		McCoy 88' (pen.)	Attendance: 450 Referee: J McGillvray

Dumbarton v Morton

8 November 1986 First Division	Dumbarton	2–1	Morton	Boghead Park
	Coyle,T 45' McCahill		O'Hara 86'	Attendance: 1,600

Dumbarton v Clyde

15 November 1986 First Division	Dumbarton	1–1	Clyde	Boghead Park
	Houston 15'		Tait 45'	Attendance: 1,200 Referee: A Waddell

Dumbarton v Queen of the South

29 November 1986 First Division	Dumbarton	1–1	Queen of the South	Boghead Park
	McCoy 25'		Armstrong 29' (pen.)	Attendance: 900 Referee: G Evans

Partick Thistle v Dumbarton

6 December 1986 First Division	Partick Thistle	0–2	Dumbarton	Firhill Park
			Houston 37' McCoy 39'	Attendance: 2,284 Referee: A Ferguson

Dumbarton v Dunfermline Athletic

13 December 1986 First Division	Dumbarton	1–2	Dunfermline Athletic	Boghead Park
	Houston 41'		McCall 9' McCathie 89'	Attendance: 2,431 Referee: K O'Donnell

Dumbarton v Forfar Athletic

20 December 1986 First Division	Dumbarton	0–1	Forfar Athletic	Boghead Park
			McDonald 58'	Attendance: 1,000 Referee: D Yeats

Airdrie v Dumbarton

27 December 1986 First Division	Airdrie	1–0	Dumbarton	Broomfield Park
	Frye			Attendance: 1,362 Referee: T Muirhead

Morton v Dumbarton

1 January 1987 First Division	Morton	4–1	Dumbarton	Cappielow Park
	Robertson McNeil Alexander		Coyle,O	Attendance: 1,400

Clyde v Dumbarton

24 January 1987 First Division	Clyde	1–2	Dumbarton	Shawfield Stadium
	Murphy 90+2'		Rooney 46' Coyle,O 65'	Attendance: 800 Referee: A Roy

Kilmarnock v Dumbarton

27 January 1987 First Division	Kilmarnock	1–2	Dumbarton	Rugby Park
	McVeigh		MacIver	Attendance: 1,000

Dumbarton v East Fife

7 February 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	1–1	East Fife	Boghead Park
	McCoy 89'		Kirkwood 24'	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: W Crombie

Queen of the South v Dumbarton

14 February 1987 First Division	Queen of the South	0–1	Dumbarton	Palmerston Park
			MacIver 15'	Attendance: 1,400

Dumbarton v Montrose

21 February 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	2–1	Montrose	Boghead Park
	Houston 41' MacIver		Allan	Attendance: 1,000

Dumbarton v Partick Thistle

28 February 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	1–0	Partick Thistle	Boghead Park
	McGowan 78'			Attendance: 1,600

Dunfermline Athletic v Dumbarton

7 March 1987 First Division	Dunfermline Athletic	1–0	Dumbarton	East End Park
	Morrison 10'			Attendance: 4,366 Referee: P Hanley

Forfar Athletic v Dumbarton

17 March 1987 First Division	Forfar Athletic	0–2	Dumbarton	Station Park, Forfar
			McCoy Rooney	Attendance: 720

Dumbarton v Airdrie

21 March 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	2–2	Airdrie	Boghead Park
	Coyle,O (pen.) Coyle,T		Flood Lawrie	Attendance: 1,200

Dumbarton v Morton

28 March 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	2–3	Morton	Boghead Park
	McCoy 27' Coyle,O 58'		Alexander 3' Turner 52' Boag 88'	Attendance: 2,500 Referee: R Paterson

Dumbarton v Brechin City

31 March 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	1–1	Brechin City	Boghead Park
	MacIver		Lytwyn	Attendance: 1,050

Brechin City v Dumbarton

4 April 1987 First Division	Brechin City	1–2	Dumbarton	Glebe Park, Brechin
	Adam		McCoy	Attendance: 382 Referee: H Williamson

Dumbarton v Kilmarnock

11 April 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	3–2	Kilmarnock	Boghead Park
	Coyle,O McCoy 74' MacIver 78'		Reid 11' 16'	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: D McVicar

Montrose v Dumbarton

18 April 1987 First Division	Montrose	2–0	Dumbarton	Links Park
	Paterson 50'			Attendance: 300 Referee: H Gould

Dumbarton v Clyde

25 April 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	2–1	Clyde	Boghead Park
	McCoy 50' (pen.), 51'		McGlashan 57'	Attendance: 1,250 Referee: R Valentine

East Fife v Dumbarton

2 May 1987 First Division	East Fife	2–1	Dumbarton	Bayview Park, Methil
	McNaughton (pen.)		McCoy (pen.)	Attendance: 449

Dumbarton v Queen of the South

9 May 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	3–0	Queen of the South	Boghead Park
	MacIver 23' McCoy Coyle,T 85'			Attendance: 1,000

Dumbarton v Stirling Albion

20 August 1986 League Cup round 2	Dumbarton	1–0	Stirling Albion	Boghead Park
	Coyle,T 78'			Attendance: 746

Celtic v Dumbarton

27 August 1986 League Cup round 3	Celtic	3–0	Dumbarton	Celtic Park
	Johnston 44' McStay 75'			Attendance: 11,390

Brechin City v Dumbarton

31 January 1987 Cup round 3	Brechin City	2–2	Dumbarton	Glebe Park, Brechin
	Lees 32' Adam 47'		MacIver 21' McCoy 25'	Attendance: 506 Referee: J McGillvray

Dumbarton v Brechin City

4 February 1987 Cup round 3R	Dumbarton	2–3	Brechin City	Boghead Park
	MacIver 32' Coyle,T 82'		Adam 6' Powell 10' Lees 28'	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: J McGillvray

Falkirk v Dumbarton

4 August 1986 First Round	Falkirk	1–2	Dumbarton	Brockville Park
	Nichol		Moore McCoy

Dumbarton v Stirling Albion

21 April 1987 Semi Final	Dumbarton	1–2	Stirling Albion	Boghead Park
	Martin		Spence Ormond

Huntly v Dumbarton

26 July 1986 Friendly	Huntly	2-1	Dumbarton	Christie Park, Huntly

Rothes v Dumbarton

27 July 1986 Friendly	Rothes	0-5	Dumbarton	Mosset Park, Forres
			MacIver

Vale of Leven v Dumbarton

31 July 1986 Friendly	Vale of Leven	1-4	Dumbarton	Millburn Park
	McLaren

Dumbarton v Alloa Athletic

2 August 1986 Friendly	Dumbarton	4–1	Alloa Athletic	Boghead Park
	McCoy MacIver Coyle,T

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		First Division		League Cup		Scottish Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	SCO	Gordon Arthur	35	0	31+0	0	2+0	0	2+0	0
	GK	SCO	Hugh Stevenson	13	0	13+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	SCO	Ray Montgomerie	38	0	35+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
	DF	SCO	Billy Traynor	7	0	7+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Mark Clougherty	30	0	26+0	0	2+0	0	2+0	0
	MF	SCO	Owen Coyle	46	17	33+10	17	1+0	0	2+0	0
	MF	SCO	Tommy Coyle	46	7	43+0	5	2+0	1	1+0	1
	MF	SCO	Harry Curran	11	0	8+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
	MF	SCO	Danny Docherty	24	0	18+4	0	2+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Alan Kay	21	0	18+2	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Dave Martin	34	0	32+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	MF	SCO	Steve McCahill	42	2	37+2	2	1+0	0	2+0	0
	MF	SCO	Joe McLeod	5	0	4+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Donald McNeil	14	1	12+0	1	2+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Jim McNeil	2	0	2+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Jackie Rafferty	3	0	2+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Jim Rooney	25	2	23+1	2	0+0	0	1+0	0
	FW	SCO	John Bourke	13	1	8+3	1	1+1	0	0+0	0
	FW	SCO	Arthur Grant	26	0	10+15	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
	FW	SCO	Peter Houston	42	5	34+4	5	2+0	0	0+2	0
	FW	SCO	Stuart MacIver	34	9	18+13	7	1+0	0	2+0	2
	FW	SCO	Gerry McCoy	43	22	35+4	21	0+2	0	2+0	1
	FW	SCO	Pat McGowan	35	2	17+15	2	1+0	0	2+0	0
	FW	SCO	Allan Moore	20	3	18+0	3	2+0	0	0+0	0

^[3][4]

Owen Coyle was selected to play for the Republic of Ireland Under 21 team in matches against Scotland on 17 February played at Easter Road and against Belgium on 28 April.

Players in Player From Date Arthur Grant Stenhousemuir 9 Aug 1986 Peter Houston Falkirk 16 Aug 1986 Dave Martin Alloa Athletic 20 Sep 1986 Billy Traynor Belhaven Athletic 6 Nov 1986 Jim Rooney St Mirren 8 Nov 1986 Joe McLeod Dundee Utd (loan) 16 Feb 1987 Jim McNeil Vale of Clyde 28 Mar 1987

Players out Player To Date Martin McGowan Stranraer 24 May 1986 Gerry Crawley Brechin City 5 Jul 1986 Mark Shanks Queen of the South 12 Jul 1986 Paul Taylor Berwick Rangers 26 Jul 1986 Albert Craig Hamilton 16 Aug 1986 John Bourke Brechin City 1 Nov 1986 Allan Moore Hearts 15 Nov 1986 Harry Curran Dundee United 28 Feb 1987 Ken Thomson Kilbirnie Ladeside

^[5]

Dumbarton competed in the Scottish Reserve League (West).

• The League match against Clyde on 15 November marked Gordon Arthur's 100th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions - the 92nd Dumbarton player to reach this milestone.
• Dumbarton ended the season managerless - Alex Totten having been appointed at St Johnstone, and with the death of chairman and benefactor Sir Hugh Fraser, the club would face severe financial challenges in the coming season.

• 1986–87 in Scottish football

• Billy Traynor (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive)
• Jim McNeil (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive)
• Scottish Football Historical Archive