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It went north to Aberdeen for the first time in 1947 and after four Final defeats in 20 years there was a deserved Motherwell victory over Dundee in front of over 136,000 fans. Then came the halcyon days of 1955-59 with Clyde (twice) Hearts (for the first time in 50 years), Falkirk and St Mirren all triumphant. And, out of nowhere, came Dunfermline - managed by Jock Stein - to win in 1961. But the old trophy was now a passport to Europe and so the Old Firm returned with a vengeance. 1961-81 The next 20 years saw a virtual duopoly. Rangers and Celtic each winning nine times. Only Dunfermline and Aberdeen in 1968 and 1970 broke the Glaswegian stranglehold. And other clubs hardly even got to the Final. Between 1909-1963 there had been just one Old Firm Final. . During this era there were no fewer than seven - many of which were engulfed in spectator violence sparked off by booze-fuelled bigotry. 1981-2006 Aberdeen broke the Old Firm spell in 1982 and threatened to monopolise the competition themselves winning five times between 1982-90. And while Celtic could still win it regularly enough, Rangers went into another long cup decline, going from 1981-92 without a success. There was a resurgence for other teams too. St Mirren were surprise winners in 1987 and Motherwell won one of the finest matches in recent times 4-3 after extra time against Dundee United in 1991. Dundee United themselves finally claimed a long overdue success in 1994, having lost six previous finals in the preceding 20 years.
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Then came Kilmarnock in 1997 winning against 1st division Falkirk - their first win in 68 years. Hearts hadn't quite as long a wait but it had been 42 years since they last tasted victory prior to defeating Rangers in the 1998 final. A further run of Old Firm success was interrupted for the first time in the 21st century when Hearts squeezed past surprise finalists Gretna on penalty kicks in 2006.
What cup glory means to the fans. The streets of Kilmarnock are thronged as 25,000 turn out to greet the local team's Scottish Cup victory in 1997.
For the Scottish Cup 1873-1939 click here
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