When was Scotland’s last three-way title race?

April 15, 2026 No Comments

Scotland’s last three-way title race – Dundee United’s finest hourImage source, SNSImage caption, A statue depicting Dundee United manager Jim McLean with the 1983 Premier Division trophy was erected outside Tannadice in 2021ByColin MoffatBBC Sport ScotlandPublished52 minutes agoHeart of Midlothian, Rangers or Celtic? Who is going to finish on top of the Scottish Premiership?Just three points cover the top three with five games remaining.

The Edinburgh side were last champions in 1960 and we have not had a non-Old Firm winner in 41 years.

There have been plenty of tight tussles between the Glasgow duo over the years, but when was the last three-way fight that went right down to the wire?

For that you need to go all the way back to the 1982-83 campaign.

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Six successive wins for one-point victory

In the year former Scotland internationals James McFadden and Shaun Maloney were born, there was no league split.

And, when TV classics Taggart and Auf Wiedersehen Pet were launched, only two points were awarded for a win.

Dundee United were crowned champions for the first – and only – time, holding their nerve to rattle off six successive victories to finish one point clear of both Celtic and Aberdeen.

The Dons, who happened to lift the European Cup Winners’ Cup and Scottish Cup over the closing straight, were also unbeaten in their final six, but in among five wins was a 0-0 draw away to Hibernian.

Celtic, who had a young Charlie Nicholas raining in goals, were the team to slip most significantly, losing to both of their closest rivals over their closing six league fixtures.

Adding to the drama, United’s crown was clinched at Dens Park on the final day.

They beat city rivals Dundee 2-1, with Ralph Milne and Eamonn Bannon on target, but an Iain Ferguson reply just before half-time made for a tense second half.

“The final few minutes seemed like an eternity,” United’s legendary goalkeeper Hamish McAlpine recalled.

At the same time, Aberdeen thumped Hibs 5-0 at Pittodrie and Celtic were left feeling flat despite a 4-2 win over Rangers at Ibrox.

United and Celtic each scored 90 goals over 36 games, while Aberdeen were slightly off that pace with a mere 76 at the close of play.

Image caption,

Paul Hegarty with the 1982-1983 Premier Division trophy

Kilmarnock pip Hearts at post in 1965

Proving that it is, indeed, a rare occurrence, the previous three-way fight was played out in 1964-65, when Kilmarnock beat Hearts on the old goal average system (goals scored divided by goals conceded), with Dunfermline Athletic a point behind in third.

Hearts hosted Kilmarnock on the final day, holding a two-point lead and with a better goal average, but the visitors silenced Tynecastle with a 2-0 win. David Sneddon and Brian McIlroy got the goals on 27 and 29 minutes.

It gave the Ayrshire side a goal average of 1.878, with Hearts on 1.836.

Under the current goal difference system, the Edinburgh team would have been champions on +40, compared to Kilmarnock’s +33.

The top three that season all won 22 of their 34 matches, with Dunfermline enjoying an impressive goal average of 2.3.

Hearts fade as Celtic end Rangers’ run in 1998

The closest thing we’ve had to a three-way battle since United’s thrilling triumph came in 1997-98 and it was Hearts pushing Celtic and Rangers.

Under Jim Jefferies, Hearts were right in the mix with seven games to go, but then came a run of just two points from five matches, including a derby defeat at Easter Road and a 3-0 loss to Rangers at Tynecastle.

Walter Smith had let it be known it would the last season of his first spell as manager at Ibrox and the defending champions stumbled over the closing stretch, losing two of their last four matches – away to Aberdeen and at home to Kilmarnock.

Celtic lost 2-0 at Ibrox in mid-April, but with Wim Jansen at the helm for his solitary term in the east of Glasgow, a finish of two wins and two draws was enough to prevail by two points, ending their city rivals’ bid for a historic 10-in-a-row and with Hearts seven points off the pace.