Retro St Johnstone Shirt – The Saints of Perth

St Johnstone's roots stretch back to the summer of 1884, when the club was officially formed in Perth, with their first competitive match played in February 1885. Named after St John's Toun, the ancient designation for Perth, the club joined the Scottish Football League in the 1911–12 season, beginning a journey through Scottish football's divisions that would last well over a century.

For much of the twentieth century, St Johnstone occupied the middle ground of Scottish football – a solid, respected club that occasionally flirted with top-flight status but just as often found themselves fighting for promotion from the lower leagues. Their home at Muirton Park, used from 1924 to 1989, became a fortress of sorts for the Perth faithful. The move to the purpose-built McDiarmid Park in 1989 represented a genuine step change: it was one of Scotland's most modern and well-appointed grounds at the time, a statement of intent from a club with ambitions beyond their size.

The modern era brought St Johnstone's greatest triumphs. In 2014, under manager Tommy Wright, the Saints achieved what had seemed impossible for 130 years – their first ever Scottish Cup, defeating Dundee United 2–0 in a final that sent Perth into collective delirium. The cup was carried through the streets of the city in scenes of unforgettable joy.

But the greatest chapter arrived in 2021. Manager Callum Davidson, a former Saints player himself, led the club to a historic domestic cup double in extraordinary fashion. They lifted the League Cup with a 1–0 victory over Livingston, then completed the double by defeating Hibernian 1–0 in the Scottish Cup final. No club in Scottish football history had previously won both domestic cups in the same season without also winning the league – it was a genuinely unprecedented feat, cementing Davidson and his squad as Perth legends forever.

Rivalries with Dundee and Dundee United have long defined the regional football landscape, with derby matches against the two Dundee clubs carrying enormous local significance. These encounters have produced some of the most passionate and memorable afternoons in McDiarmid Park's history.

St Johnstone have produced and attracted a fine array of players across their long history, many of whom left lasting marks on the club and Scottish football more broadly.

Callum Davidson himself embodies what St Johnstone means – a defender who served the club as a player before returning to manage them to the greatest heights in their history. His double-winning squad of 2021 featured players who became instant Perth legends: goalkeeper Zander Clark, whose acrobatic last-gasp equaliser in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Hibernian is one of the most astonishing goals in recent Scottish football memory, and striker Chris Kane, who led the line with tireless commitment across multiple seasons.

Stevie May was perhaps the most naturally gifted forward to pull on the blue and white in the modern era, his electric pace and instinctive finishing making him a cult hero during his time at McDiarmid Park before bigger clubs came calling. His departure was a wrench that highlighted the financial reality of life as a Perth club.

Tommy Wright, the manager who delivered the 2014 Scottish Cup triumph, deserves enormous recognition as a figure who transformed the club's ambitions and gave a generation of Saints fans their first taste of major silverware. Before him, John Connolly and other servants of the club helped establish St Johnstone as a competitive Premiership outfit throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

The club has always prided itself on smart recruitment, unearthing value where others do not look – a philosophy that runs through the DNA of the Saints.

The St Johnstone retro shirt catalogue reflects a club whose identity has always been rooted in their blue and white colours – simple, proud, and distinctly Scottish. Through the decades, the Saints' kits have evolved from the modest designs of the early professional era to more elaborate sponsor-branded strips of the 1990s and 2000s.

The home shirts of the late 1980s and early 1990s capture a golden era of kit design, featuring the bold collars, shadow patterns and thick stripes that characterised Scottish football fashion of the time. These early McDiarmid Park-era shirts carry particular emotional weight for supporters who remember the club's arrival at their new home.

The 1994 and 1998 era shirts, featuring period-correct sponsors and the design sensibilities of the premier kit manufacturers working in Scottish football, are among the most collectible. The striped variations that appeared through the 2000s also attract strong interest, particularly among supporters who remember European adventure and cup runs.

The 2014 Scottish Cup winning era shirts are arguably the most sought-after of all, representing the moment a century of waiting finally ended. Similarly, anything associated with the 2021 double-winning season carries enormous symbolic value. With 17 retro St Johnstone shirts available in our shop, there is genuine breadth to explore across the decades.