Season 1939-40

1939-40 began with war clouds gathering over Europe, and as usual Saints had a poor start to the season with a 5-1 defeat at Ibrox followed by three draws. The fifth match was on 2nd September 1939 and resulted in a 4-0 victory which gave hope of better to come, however, 24Hrs later, the world was at war and all football in the country was suspended for the duration.

There followed a period of confusion regarding the future of football as the Scottish League declared all players contracts void
At the beginning of October plans were announced for two regional leagues, with clubs permitted to use any players who live or work locally to them.
Clubs in the West of the country participated in the Western League. This was not a successful competition for St.Mirren and they finished tenth from sixteen.

Team lines were very inconsistent and on several occasions Saints lined up against some of their ‘own’ players most notably Jimmy Knox who played for Third Lanark, but could not prevent saints recording a 5-3 win, goals coming from Yorston3 and Linwood2.

Alex Linwood had joined Saints from Muirkirk Juniors as an 18 year old, in 1938, making his debut against Hamilton in January 1939. He was to become a regular in the team during 1939-40 and end the year as top scorer with 19 goals. He was to go on to be a favourite with fans and players alike and played a major part in Saints history throughout the War years.