This is a list of St Mirren Football Club seasons up to the present day. The list details St Mirren's record in major league and cup competitions, and the club's top league goal scorer of each season. Top scorers in bold were also the top scorers in St Mirren's division that season. Records of regular minor competitions, such as the Renfrewshire Cup which the club has won 55 times, are not included.
Summary
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Founded in 1877, Paisley-based St Mirren have spent the majority of their history in the top division of the Scottish football league system, having been one of the founder members of the Scottish Football League in 1890. They have never won the competition, finishing 3rd in 1893, matched 87 years later in 1980.
The early 1980s were a strong period for the club as they qualified for the UEFA Cup through league position on three occasions, and also entered the European Cup Winners' Cup after winning the 1987 Scottish Cup Final, the last time the trophy was claimed by a team with an entirely Scottish line-up. That was their third victory in the competition, after success in 1926 and 1959, in their sixth final overall. Following two of those wins, informal 'challenges' over two legs were played against the English FA Cup winners, resulting in a win over Nottingham Forest in 1959; the second leg of the 1987 tie against Coventry City was never completed.[1][2][3]
Saints have also won the Scottish League Cup once, in 2013 after finishing runners-up twice (1955, 2010), and also claimed minor honours such as the Scottish Challenge Cup and the defunct Anglo-Scottish Cup once each, as well as the wartime 1919 Victory Cup and 1943 Summer Cup trophies.
Seasons
editKey
| Champions | Runners-up | 3rd / Semi-final | Promoted | Relegated |
Notes
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j The Scottish Football League was established in 1890.
- ^ St Mirren did not enter the Scottish Cup until the 1880–81 season.
- ^ First season playing home matches at Westmarch.
- ^ a b c The league had only one division until the 1893–94 season.
- ^ Last season playing home matches at Westmarch.
- ^ First season playing home matches at St Mirren Park (Love Street).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l The Scottish Cup was not held in the 1914–15, 1915–16, 1916–17, 1917–18 or 1918–19 seasons due to World War I, or the 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1942–43, 1943–44, 1944–45 or 1945–46 seasons due to World War II.[4]
- ^ St Mirren finished bottom of the table, but the second division was not re-introduced until the following year so no relegation was applied.
- ^ a b League goals only; top scorer in division.[6]
- ^ a b c d e f g The official Scottish Football League was suspended from 1939 to 1946 due to World War II. Unofficial competitions were held.
- ^ The teams placed 1st–6th were promoted to the new First Division, but it remained the second tier below the new Premier Division.
- ^ The Scottish Challenge Cup was not held in the 1998–99 season.
- ^ Last season playing home matches at St Mirren Park (Love Street) (moved January 2009).
- ^ First full season playing home matches at St Mirren Park.
- ^ The leagues were renamed for the 2013–14 season, but the divisions remained as before.
- ^ Won a two-legged playoff with Dundee United to remain in the division.[8]
League performance summary
editThe Scottish Football League was founded in 1890 and, other than during seven years of hiatus during World War II,[a] the national top division has been played every season since.[b] The following is a summary of St Mirren's divisional status:
- 123 total eligible seasons (including 2019–20)
- 99 seasons in top level[c]
- 24 seasons in second level[d]
- 0 seasons in third level[e]
- 0 seasons in fourth level[f]
- ^ The incomplete 1939–40 edition has not been counted in the totals.
- ^ The top tier became the Scottish Premier League in 1998, and all four divisions became the Scottish Professional Football League in 2013.
- ^ Has existed between 1890–1939, and since 1946.
- ^ Has existed between 1893–1915, 1921–1939 and since 1946.
- ^ Has existed between 1923–1926, 1946–1949, and since 1976.
- ^ Has existed since 1994.
References
edit- ^ Final Curtain: Last Anglo-Scottish cup match: Coventry City 1 St Mirren 1, 22 December 1987, The Scotsman, 31 January 2009, accessed 23 April 2010
- ^ Missing a leg, When Saturday Comes, 1 August 2007
- ^ Anglo-Scottish Cup Winners Challenge, StMirren.info
- ^ "Scottish Cup - Past Winners". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Victory Cup". Scottish Football Historical Archive. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
- ^ "Scotland - List of Topscorers". RSSSF. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Summer Cup". Scottish Football Historical Archive. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
- ^ St Mirren 1–1 Dundee United, BBC Sport, 26 May 2019