The Recreation Grounds, opened in 1885, was the first home of

St Johnstone F.C. St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

, a football club based in

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

, Scotland. It met their requirements for almost forty years, until the club moved to the other side of the town, opening Muirton Park in 1924.

History

The St Johnstone football club was formed by members of the town's cricket club, who were seeking a suitable sport to occupy them during the months when cricket was not in season. Well-known local curler George Valentine was the football club's first President. The twenty members of the newly formed football club contributed one Scottish pound each to lease suitable land at Craigie Haugh, near the South Inch park and across from where Perth Prison stands today.Official club website history section
/ref> The land, leased from Sir Robert Moncrieffe, became known as the Recreation Grounds. The football ground was typical of its era but very basic by today's standard. A small grandstand and pavilion (described as "dilapidated" in the minutes of a 1924 meeting) was the only shelter for spectators; the rest of the crowd watched matches while standing on a grassy banking around the remainder of the pitch. The grandstand had not been built new in 1885 - it had previously housed spectators watching horse racing on the North Inch. The Recreation Grounds were officially opened on 15 August 1885;St. Johnstone origins - Perth and Kinross Council official website
/ref> however, somewhat unusually, the home club didn't participate in the match. The now-defunct Our Boys, from the city of Dundee down the

River Tay The River Tay ( gd, Tatha, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing') is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in Great Britain. The Tay originates i ...

, were beaten 6-0 by Queen's Park from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

. Gate receipts were £50. It was at the Recreation Grounds that St Johnstone played its first match in the Scottish Football League. On Saturday, 19 August 1911,

Arthurlie Arthurlie is an area of the town of Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, Scotland. History of Arthurlie The lands of Arthurlie were held in medieval times by the Stewart family, a branch of the noble Stewarts of Darnley. Later the lands became the prop ...

from

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire ( sco, Aest Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù an Ear) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975, it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas o ...

were defeated 4–1 in a Division Two match. Ticket sales netted a profit of £40. The club was also involved in some high-scoring matches in the early years of its existence. They achieved their record victory of 15-0 twice during their first decade. The club also suffered all of its record defeats at the Recreation Grounds. At a meeting in February 1924, during which shareholders met to discuss the club's options for a new football ground, the following is recorded in the minutes:

"Regarding the old or present site. Not being conversant with the history of the club, nor of the reasons why such a situation was selected, it is unnecessary for me to deal, beyond expressing some surprise that cramped area with unprepossing surroundings along with an extremely bad access - specially for vehicles should have been laid out as a football field by an outstanding club."

At the end of the meeting, it was agreed unanimously to choose the Muirton Park site for the club's future. The club moved to its current location, McDiarmid Park, after selling the Muirton Park site to the

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supermarket chain in the late 1980s.

Facts and figures

*Highest attendance: 12,000 (approx.) v. Clydebank, 14 April 1923 *First match: Queen's Park (6) v. Our Boys (Dundee) (0) *Last match: St Johnstone (4) v. Kilmarnock (2)

History

Facts and figures

References

Further reading