Paisley Photographs

St Mirren’s 1926 and 1959 Scottish Cup winning heroes could be recognised with Paisley street names in their honour.

The football club is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2027 and Renfrewshire Council is considering marking this milestone by naming the 24 streets at a new Paisley housing development after the 11 players and 2 managers from these victorious teams.

Construction is underway on 600 homes at the Dykebar development, with the first homes due to be completed next year.

Councillor Bruce MacFarlane, Depute Convener of the Council’s Planning and Climate Change Policy Board said: “We felt this was a good opportunity to pay tribute to St Mirren’s incredible cup heroes in their 150th anniversary year.

“Recognising the players from two of the club’s three Scottish Cup successes in this way will mean their names live on together and I’m sure any Saints supporters living here will be excited to be on a street named after their past players.

“We’re raising awareness of these proposals just now and over the coming weeks we’ll be consulting local elected members and the community council on the proposed street names.

“We’re also keen to hear from family members of these cup winning teams so we can celebrate their achievements further as the development progresses.”

The 1926 win saw the buddies lift the cup for the first time, beating Celtic 2-0 in the final, with first half goals from Davie McCrae and Jimmy Howieson.

Then in April 1959, more than 108,000 people watched on as the Saints cruised past Aberdeen 3-1 through goals from Tommy Bryceland, Ally Miller and Gerry Baker.

The most recent win came in 1987, Iain Ferguson scoring the only goal of the game to defeat Dundee United.

St Mirren FC Chairman John Needham said: “This is a fantastic gesture of recognition from Renfrewshire Council. St Mirren is such a major brand and attraction in Paisley. As we approach the club’s 150th Anniversary it’s great to have the Council supporting us in this way.”

It’s not the first-time St Mirren legends have been honoured in this way.

The club’s former stadium on Love Street was redeveloped into housing in 2019, with a competition choosing street names after popular players Billy Abercromby, Mark Yardley, Steven McGarry and club legend Tony Fitzpatrick, alongside Saints Street, Cairter’s Corner and North Bank.

Under the proposals streets will be named after:

• 1926 – Bradford, Findlay, Newbiggin, Morrison, Summers, McDonald, Morgan, Gebbie, McCrae, Howieson, Thomson and Cochrane (Manager)
• 1959 – Walker, Lapsley, Wilson, Neilson, McGugan, Leishman, Rodger, Bryceland, Baker, Gemmell, Miller and Reid (Manager).

There are already some streets in Renfrewshire with the same names, including Lapsley Avenue, but the second word and postcode will be different, to avoid any postage problems.

If you’re a family member of the 1926 or 1959 players or managers and have a story to share, get in touch by emailing addressenquiries@renfrewshire.gov.uk

Photo shows Ally Miller netting for St Mirren in their 3-1 victory over Aberdeen in 1959. Use of the photo should be credited: OneRen, managing museum collections on behalf of Renfrewshire Council.