Christmas Day marks the 100th anniversary of St Johnstone moving to Muirton Park.
Courier Sport picks out 10 facts about the Perth club’s ground switch.
1) Why move?
Recreation Grounds, on a chunk of Perth’s South Inch, was St Johnstone’s first home for the best part of 40 years.
By the time of the move to Muirton, the club was playing in the top-flight of Scottish football and crowds were regularly nudging, or passing, 10,000.
So, it wasn’t just a basic numbers game that prompted the switch from one side of the city to another.
The main reason was creating the scope to build a suitable grandstand.
The fact that they were getting away from the side of a river, which meant underfit conditions were notoriously boggy, was a bonus.
2) Gift of land
There was no Asda nor Bruce McDiarmid to facilitate this stadium move, as would be the case in the late 1980s, when McDiarmid Park rose from the ground on the outskirts of Letham and Tulloch.
But Recreation Grounds to Muirton Park was made possible thanks to the generosity of the Earl of Mansfield.
He gave the club seven acres of ground for a payment of just £294, with an annual duty of £14.
It was very much looked upon as a gift to St Johnstone.
3) Central Park inspiration
It wasn’t until the June before Muirton Park was opened that it was finally decided what the main stand would look like.
The final choice was to turn to the designer of Cowdenbeath’s, which had been constructed a couple of years earlier.
4) Red tape
In mid-October the plans for the stand were eventually passed, enabling work to begin on building it. A successful debenture scheme ensured that finance wouldn’t be a problem.
5) The last game at the old home
On December 13, 1924, St Johnstone played at the Recreation Grounds for the final time, beating Kilmarnock 4-2.
There was no pomp and ceremony, mind you, as it still wasn’t certain that Muirton would be ready for their next home game.
An official attendance wasn’t recorded but it would have been nearer 10,000 than 5,000.
It was fitting that Jimmy Fleming, one of the club’s greatest ever centre-forwards, scored the last goal.
5) The name
To continue the typically understated way in which St Johnstone have traditionally gone about their business, it wasn’t until less than 10 days before the first game that the club directors got down to the business of choosing what they would call their new ground.
If there were any other suggestions, they didn’t find approval, as Muirton Park was unanimously settled upon.
6) Ready (almost)
The pitch – which would soon be renowned as one of the best playing surfaces in the country, in stark contrast to the one that had just been left behind – had been in place before worked started on the main stand.
Although the bulk of the construction was completed remarkably quickly, the dressing rooms weren’t ready for the opening match, so the two sets of players had to get changed in the Perth Baths.
7) Christmas Day
St Johnstone played games of football on Christmas Day on several occasions, including this auspicious one.
The last time was a 0-0 draw with Dundee in 1971. In 1934 there was even a friendly game at Southend of all places!
For the first game at Muirton, a string of holly was cut by the Lord Provost, John Dewar, to declare it officially open.
8) The opponents
It was appropriate that Queen’s Park were the first visitors to Muirton.
Not only were they steeped in Scottish football tradition, they had taken part in the official opening of the Recreation Grounds nearly 40 years earlier.
9) The game
A crowd of around 12,000 was treated to a St Johnstone victory by a 2-1 scoreline.
Jimmy Sanderson scored the first and second Muirton goals, which were enough to secure the win, despite Queen’s Park finishing the game strongly.
10) The new ground effect
It might not have been as spectacular as the impact swapping Muirton for McDiarmid proved to be – Saints won the First Division title after that move.
But different surroundings did have a significant effect on home performances.
Saints would go through the rest of the league campaign unbeaten on their own turf.
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