ST Johnstone

Origins

St Johnstone FC was formed by members of a local cricket club seeking ways to occupy their time and keep fit once the cricket season had finished. The cricketers were kicking a football around the South Inch, a large public park beside the River Tay during the autumn of 1884. This is widely acknowledged to be the date of the formation of St Johnstone Football Club, although it was not until early in the following year that a group of footballers, led by John Colborn, held an official meeting that led to the formation of the football club as a separate entity rather than a 'spin-off' from the cricket club.

Football was becoming increasingly popular in Scotland and, although there were other local clubs including Fair City Athletic, Erin Rovers and Caledonian Rangers (based at Perth railway station), it was St Johnstone that became the one most associated with the town. The name is traced back to the Middle Ages when Perth was colloquially known as 'St John's Toun' (or 'Saint Johnstoun') as the church at the centre of the parish was dedicated to St John the Baptist. Agnus Dei (The Lamb of God), the symbol associated with John the Baptist, forms part of St Johnstone's club badge.

Club members leased a piece of land adjacent to the South Inch, known as the Recreation Grounds, which became St Johnstone's first home ground. After several decades – and regular problems with flooding – it became clear they had outgrown the venue and so, in 1924, they moved to the other side of Perth and built Muirton Park, which would serve as their home for the next 65 years.

1886 to 1972

St Johnstone made their debut appearance in the Scottish Cup in the 1886–87 tournament but were defeated 7–1 in a first round replay by the Erin Rovers club, also based in Perth, after a 3–3 draw at home. In the 1910–11 Scottish Division Two season, Port Glasgow Athletic F.C. finished next to bottom and declined to apply for re-election. They were replaced for the 1911–12 Scottish Division Two season by St Johnstone, who finished fifth in their first season with ten wins and eight defeats.

St Johnstone were promoted to the old First Division in 1924–25, by winning the Second Division title, and appointed David Taylor as team manager. They remained in the top flight until 1929–30 when they finished bottom of Division One. Two years later, under new manager Tommy Muirhead, the Saints were runners-up in Division Two to gain their second promotion. They performed well in Division One through the 1930s, reaching the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup in 1933–34 and finishing fifth in 1932–33 and 1934–35. In the final season before World War II, St Johnstone played well under manager David Rutherford to finish eighth.

The Scottish Football League suspended competition for the duration of the war but sixteen clubs were able to form a regional Southern Football League that managed to operate each season. St Johnstone were closed for most of the war and lost their top flight status as a result. The Southern Football League continued through the post-war 1945–46 season but with two divisions to incorporate clubs that were restarting, including St Johnstone. The Saints played in the 1945–46 B Division and finished sixth of fourteen clubs. When the Scottish League restarted in 1946, the Southern League set-up was used as the first post-war competition, so the A Division became the new First Division and the B Division the new Second Division. St Johnstone had lost all the ground gained in the 1930s and could only finish ninth in Division Two in 1946–47.

Jimmy Crapnell became the team manager for the 1947–48 season and was succeeded by Johnny Pattillo for 1953–54. The Saints remained in the Second Division throughout the tenures of these two managers. Bobby Brown took over in the summer of 1958 and, in his second season 1959–60, the club finally won promotion again. Brown and his successor Willie Ormond both managed Scotland after leaving St Johnstone. In 1970–71, under Ormond, Saints finished third in the league and qualified for the 1971–72 UEFA Cup.