It's All There In Black and White
Although St Mirren Football Club was founded in 1877, it was not until the 1880's that they came to prominence in the national game. They played their first match at Shortroods on the 6th October 1877 against Johnstone Britannia. John Goold had the honour of scoring the first St Mirren goal in a 1-0 victory. However, they quickly hit earth with a harsh bump with two quick loses, first to Vale of Caldon, and then the humiliating defeat to Pollockshields side Ailsa Reserves - a 7-1 loss. A year after their forming, they moved to Abingdon Park, and very quickly after to Thistle Park in Greenhill.
In the early stages, their rivals were Abercorn, who were also formed in Paisley in 1877. Saint won the first match 7-0.
1882-83 saw a historic occasion when, on the 30th September 1882, Saints lined up against Greenock Morton in the 2nd round of the Scottish Cup. Sadly Morton won comfortably 5-1, but this was the very first meeting of the two teams who would go on to become fierce rivals.
Saints were back in the final of the Renfrewshire Cup this season after defeating Cartvale (5-1), Paisley Athletic (3-0), Greenock Southern (8-0) and Johnstone Rovers (5-0), they faced Thornliebank in the final.On 14th April 1883 the teams lined up at East Park, home of Paisley Athletic.The St.Mirren team that day was: - Drinnan, Marshall, McPhee, Paterson, Kerr, Wallace, Watt, Brown, Fairlie, Imrie and Johnstone.6000 people saw goals from Wallace (2) and Imrie give Saints a 3-1 victory. It is interesting to note that Saints were the first team to be presented with the magnificent trophy as, although the competition was in its fifth season, the Renfrewshire F.A. had only just got round to having a trophy made!
The 20's
At the end of the 1921/22 season, St Mirren were invited to Spain, at the request of Barcelona Football Club, as part of the official opening of their new stadium, Les Cortes. Barcelona had arranged a number of friendly matches and named the tournament, The Barcelona Cup. Although St Mirren lost the first two games 1-2 and 0-1 to Catalan select teams, their third match was to be played against Notts County. After a goalless first half, County retreated to the dressing rooms to cool down, while Saints opted to remain on the pitch in the sweltering conditions. Not only did this allow the players to climatise, but it won over the hearts of the Catalan faithful, who rallied behind the team during the second half. Dunky Walker put the Saints ahead inside the first 10 minutes of the second half, only for County to send the game to extra time with an equaliser. With the end of extra time looming, Dunky Walker won the game for Saints, and took the team through to face Santander. Two matches against the team from Northern Spain saw a 3-2 victory and a 2-2 draw.
Gijon were next and the two sides met twice in the space of 2 days. The first game a 7-2 victory for the team from Paisley, and the second a 4-1 win for Gijon.
Barcelona next, and a victory for St Mirren resulted in them being awarded the Barcelona Cup. This was the first trophy won by a British team from Mainland European soil.
To this day, St Mirren hero Dunky Walker holds the record of 45 goals in a league. This makes him the highest scoring footballer in a single league season.
1924-25
By this stage in the decade Saints were keeping more consistency in their performances and 1924-25 was to be no different.
Davie McCrae continued what he had started at the tail end of the previous season by notching 29 goals, to justify the faith shown in him by Saints. One particularly good period for Davie was October and November when he scored in six consecutive matches, finishing up with four in a 4-1 win over Motherwell. Aided by his goals the team remained in 6
th position for the third successive year.
The Scottish Cup also provided some cheer, for the first time in many years! Defeats of Peterhead (3-1), Ayr UTD (1-0) and Partick Thistle (2-0) saw a quarter final meeting with Celtic at Love Street. 47,428 a new record, crowded into the ground to see both teams battle out a no score draw. The replay at Parkhead also ended in a draw, 1-1. Saints goal was scored by Douglas Thomson, on loan from St.Johnstone to replace the injured McCrae. In the deciding match at Ibrox, a solitary Jimmy McGrory goal sent Saints out.
That First Honor!
If 1924-25 was exciting for the fans, 1925-26 was to surpass even that!
Saints started in great form with 23 points taken from a possible 28 to see them sit proudly atop the league during November. However, a shock 1-0 reverse at the hands of bottom placed St.Johnstone started a slump in form and, despite Davie McCrae again scoring regularly to top the charts with 24, Saints could not regain the early season form and slipped from the championship race. They eventually secured a fourth place finish, the best since 1893!
The Scottish Cup began comfortably enough with a 4-0 win over Mid-Annandale at Love Street.
The second round took Saints to Gayfield to meet Arbroath. A poor performance saw Tom Morrison miss a penalty and Saints struggle to hold on against ten-man Arbroath for a 0-0 draw. The replay at Love Street was once again uninspiring, but a 3-0 win was gladly accepted.
Partick thistle (2-1) and Airdrie (2-0) were disposed of and Rangers were the opposition in the semi final. In a close fought match Jamie Thomson scored to take Saints into their first cup final since 1908. The opposition was Celtic, the team who beat them in that previous final!
On 10
th April 1926 the following players lined up at Hampden: - Bradford, Findlay, Newbiggin, Morrison, Summers McDonald, Morgan, Gebbie, McCrae, Howieson, and Thomson. Celtic were undoubted favourites, but St.Mirren got off to the best possible start when top scorer McCrae headed home in just three minutes
Jimmy Howieson added a second midway through the first half to seal the victory, and the Cup was on its way to Paisley for the first time ever.
Each player was presented with a bottle of whiskey for their efforts and Davie McCrae vowed not to drink his until the Cup returned to Paisley again. He was to have a long wait!
The 50's - That Second Honor
The 1958-59 cup trail began with St.Mirren staring superstition in the face by agreeing to play Peebles Rovers on Friday the thirteenth February, in the first ever floodlit match at Love Street. This proved to be far from unlucky as Saints, on a bonus for the amount of goals scored, rattled in ten without reply.
After disposing of Motherwell and Dunfermline, Saints lined up at Hampden on the 1
st April against Celtic in the semi final with this team: Walker, Lapsley, Wilson, Neilson, McGugan, Leishman, Rodger, Bryceland, Baker, Gemmell and Miller.
Celtic started as favourites, but Alistair Miller had other ideas and constantly tormented the Celtic defence. He scored twice and assisted in further goals from Bryceland and Baker to earn a 4-0 victory that made Scottish football take notice of the men from Paisley.
In the final on the 25
th April the same eleven men were entrusted with the task of bringing the cup to Paisley.
As in the League Cup final of 1955 Aberdeen were the opposition, but this time they were not as clear favourites.
Once again Alistair Miller was on top form and led Saints to a memorable 3-1 win scoring once with the other goals coming from Baker and Bryceland.
As Paisley celebrated, the Saints team were joined by 1926 hero Davie McCrae who had kept his promise to keep his celebratory whiskey until the cup returned to Paisley. 1959 skipper Davie Lapsley had the first drink from the bottle.
Another piece of silverware arrived at Love Street during April when the reserves defeated Motherwell 3-2 over two legs in the final of the 2
nd XI cup.
Following the Scottish Cup win Saints were invited to play FA Cup holders Nottingham Forest in an Anglo Scottish Challenge. Goals from Laird (2), Bryceland, Kerrigan and Baker gave Saints a 5-4 aggregate win.
The 80's - That Third Honor
St Mirren deployed 14 players at Hampden in 1987, to face a rampant Dundee United side in the Scottish Cup Final. By the end of that afternoon, each of those 14 players would become legends. Against all odds, they would bring the trophy home to Paisley for only the third time in their history. An extra time goal from club record transfer (sold) Ian Ferguson sealed the win for The Buddies! This was to be the last time that the Scottish Cup was contested by 2 teams containing only Scottish players.
The Present
And so I was born. I remember in early 2000 asking my father if St Mirren would be in the latest game of Fifa after we had won the league.
"Yes son, they will be" "That's great, I can have Quitongo, and Yardley and Rudden in my team"
I remember Steven McGarry turning round to me that day and asking "Can I get a game for your team wee man?" My reply? "How? Who are you?".
At the end of that season, I went down to get autographs from my favourite players. McGarry ran through on goal and poked the ball passed the goalkeeper. He ran over to me, signed my book, and told me that I knew who he was now. He'd never forget it either.
I'd watched a few cup wins, but nothing major. The 2000 League win, the 2005 Challenge Cup, the 2006 League win. But nothing big. We came close, in 2010. A loss to 9 man Rangers - and the mocking call of "wasted journey wee man" from their fans - in the League Cup final shattered the belief that I'd see The Buddies lift a major trophy. Then came 2013.
I remember Samson's penalty save against Celtic in the Semi-Final. I remember the heartbreak of watching Hearts go 1-0 up, then the relief as Goncalves prodded the ball over the line after Teale rendered the Hearts keeper helpless. Paisley Hero Thompson and Newcastle loanee Conor Newton sealed the deal for Paisley, and the Saints went Marching On to Cup Glory.
In recent years, St Mirren have suffered. After a dismal showing in the Premiership, the club were relegated to The Championship, and only recently survived a second relegation by goal difference in the 2016/17 season. In the real league St Mirren are currently 12 points clear at the top of the Championship and require 8 point out of 21 to secure the league. Just now it isn’t a case of IF they will win the league, more a matter of WHEN.
The Challenge
My challenge is to follow in the footsteps of the legendary St Mirren managers who brought major honors to the club.
The current squad consists of a number of highly talented youngsters, and experienced veterans. I already have a good idea of who will be in my starting XI, but the friendlies will also allow some players to change my mind.
Goalkeeper Craig Samson is in his second spell with the club. Samson is a returning hero after his exploits in the League Cup in 2013. Now into the twilight years of his football career, it is time to seek an understudy to take over before it is too late. It’s clear I will need to either look at the players within my youth set-up or scour the market for a suitable understudy.
Adam Eckersley is perhaps the best defender the club has. Adam, began his career at Manchester United, before plying his trade at various other clubs. Adam played a massive part in St Mirren’s survival last season and will hopefully play a big role in the clubs promotion push. Like Samson, Eckersley is in the latter stages of his career and a replacement will be required. Stelios will make a good temporary replacement, but if the club is to really progress a younger player with high potential will be needed.
Lewis Morgan is perhaps the best player within the current St Mirren squad. A product of the youth academy, Morgan has recently been sold to Celtic and loaned back to the club. Morgan will be an instrumental player in my push for promotion this season. However, if I am unable to get Morgan back on loan next season, I will need a replacement. Luckily the club already thought of this and provided my squad with Myles Hippolyte – a pacey winger who will act as a stand-in or replacement for Morgan.
Gavin Reilly is a proven striker at this level and luckily for St Mirren he couldn’t cut it at Hearts. St Mirren snapped him up on a free transfer and hopefully he will provide my club with the same effect as he has in real life.
