| Club: | Dumbarton |
| Season: | 1953–1954 |
| Manager: | William Irvine |
| Stadium: | Boghead Park, Dumbarton |
| League: | Scottish League B Division |
| League Result: | 16th |
| Cup1: | Scottish Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | First Round |
| Cup2: | Scottish League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Prelims |
| League Topscorer: | Jackie Malloch (13) |
| Season Topscorer: | Jackie Malloch (14) |
| Pattern La1: | _black_hoops |
| Pattern B1: | _goldhoops |
| Pattern Ra1: | _black_hoops |
| Pattern So1: | _goldtop |
| Leftarm1: | ffc100 |
| Body1: | 000000 |
| Rightarm1: | ffc100 |
| Shorts1: | ffffff |
| Socks1: | 000000 |
| Prevseason: | 1952–53 |
| Nextseason: | 1954–55 |
The 1953–54 season was the 70th Scottish football season in which Dumbarton competed at national level, entering the Scottish Football League, the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup. In addition Dumbarton competed in the Stirlingshire Cup.
See main article: 1953–54 Scottish Football League. After three seasons of mid-table finishes, Dumbarton fell to rock-bottom 16th place, with 22 points, 23 behind champions Motherwell.
In 1949, Division C merged with the Scottish Reserve League to form two regionalised divisions. Only 'first XI's could be promoted from the newly formatted Division C, and this became an almost impossible task as the smaller teams had to face the 'second strings' of Division A. It was however to be Dumbarton's fate that this season saw Brechin City win the North-East section of Division C, and so took Dumbarton's place in Division B. So for the first time since 1906, the club would play league football outside the top two divisions.
See main article: 1953–54 Scottish Cup. There was another disappointing first round exit in the Cup with Dumbarton losing to Stirling Albion.
See main article: 1953–54 Scottish League Cup. Another sectional 'bottom' finish (4th of 4) was recorded in the League Cup, with only a single win and a draw from 6 matches.
Dumbarton's disastrous season was completed as their grip on the Stirlingshire Cup was easily released by defeat in the first round to Falkirk.
The Dewar Shield was a competition played between the previous season's champions of Aberdeenshire, Forfarshire, Perthshire and Stirlingshire. Dumbarton were drawn to meet the Aberdeenshire Cup holders, Buckie Thistle, but no doubt due to travel costs, Dumbarton withdrew.
Despite being two of the oldest clubs in Scotland, Dumbarton and Stranraer's first XIs met for the first time in two friendly matches.
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Source:[1]
| Player | From | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh Goldie | 8 Aug 1953 | ||
| Tom McGairy | 5 Sep 1953 | ||
| Tommy Martin | 19 Sep 1953 | ||
| John Black | 3 Oct 1953 | ||
| Dick Cumming | 15 Oct 1953 | ||
| Don Cornock | 7 Nov 1953 | ||
| Ray Brown | Third Lanark | 21 Nov 1953 | |
| Jock Weir | Llanelli | 16 Dec 1953 | |
| Walter Scott | Hamilton | 31 Dec 1953 | |
| Jim Davie | Shrewsbury | 23 Jan 1954 | |
| Willie Gibson | Forfar Ath | 6 Feb 1954 |
| Player | To | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Scott | Alloa Ath | 29 Aug 1953 | |
| Jimmy Frame | Worcester City | 12 Sep 1953 | |
| Andy Tait | Dundee United | 26 Sep 1953 | |
| Jim Finnie | Ayr United | 26 Sep 1953 | |
| Tommy Martin | Forfar Ath | 31 Oct 1953 |
Source:[2]
Dumbarton only played one official 'reserve' match in the Second XI Cup, losing in the first round to Third Lanark.