Season 1946-47

August 1946 saw the Scottish League resuming for the first time since the war and St. Mirren started with a 3-1 defeat at home to Clyde.

During the close season, Alex Linwood left for Middlesbrough for a record £6000 fee and Saints struggled to find a replacement and were soon involved in a relegation battle.

Only two wins from the first eleven matches were followed by elimination from the League Cup at the group stages. The final match of the group was a 2-0 win over Queens Park and saw numbers worn on Saints strips for the first time.

The first Saturday of 1947 brought a 1-0 victory over Rangers at Love Street; however, this was followed by another shock result as Dumbarton, second bottom of Division B knocked St. Mirren out of the Scottish Cup 3-2 at Love Street.

Three successive defeats during February and March left Saints needing three points from the final five games to avoid relegation. They took a massive step toward this with a 5-1 hammering of Kilmarnock at Rugby Park with Jimmy Drinkwater netting a hat trick. They completed the job in the next match with Johnny Deakin scoring the equaliser in a 1-1 draw against Falkirk.

The season ended with a piece of silverware as Airdrie went down 7-1 in the Paisley Charity Cup.