Telfer's Return Seals Pittodrie Win (1953)

(first published in the match programme for St. Mirren v Falkirk, 10^th January 2026)

On 10^th January 1953, St. Mirren travelled up to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen for a Scottish League match in "A" Division, as it was known then. They arrived in the Granite City bolstered by the return of captain and centre-half Willie Telfer, who had completed a three-match suspension following his ordering off against Airdrie on 6^th December.

A pending appeal had allowed Telfer to play in the following week's match against East Fife but, when this was rejected, his three-year long consecutive run in the starting XI came to an end. He missed the festive matches against Rangers, Hearts and Queen of the South, whilst the New Year match against Raith Rovers was postponed.

The Dons produced their standard eight-page programme for the match, printed in red on off-white matt paper. The format of the programme had remained relatively unaltered since the resumption of organised football in season 1946/47, with only a price rise from twopence to threepence in 1947 and the use of different season-long cover designs in the following years. The cover of the 1952/53 programme featured the club name on a flag above the full match details and a player photo, the one for the St. Mirren issue being that of outside-left Tommy Pearson.

The Editorial on page two reviewed Saints' progress in the season thus far, mentioning the return of Willie Telfer and welcoming the Pittodrie return of former Aberdeen players Armour Ashe and Peter Rice. "Busman's Holiday" then recalled the tale of Dons' visit to Celtic on the previous Saturday, when the match suffered a late call off due to fog. To compensate, the bus carrying the players and officials was diverted to nearby Cathkin Park, which had somehow survived the weather, to take in Third Lanark's match against Rangers.

The remaining two editorial topics focussed on the Young Dons who, it was reported, had earned a draw against Berwick Rangers on the previous Saturday despite losing one of their players with a dislocated shoulder. They were next scheduled to be in action against St. Johnstone at Perth followed by a much-anticipated "C" Division match against Celtic in the following week.

Page three provided up to date League tables along with forthcoming fixtures and a "Quiz Quintette". In the "A" Division, Aberdeen were in sixth place, one place and two points behind St. Mirren, whilst the Reserves were battling it out at the top of "C" Division (North East Section), two points behind leaders Berwick Rangers but with four games in hand.

As was standard for all programmes of this era, the centre pages were set aside for the team formations, surrounded by adverts for local businesses. Both sides fielded the players as they appeared in the programme.

"Our Visitors" on page six provided some little-known facts about St. Mirren, including the tendency of 1890s 'keeper John Patrick to use his fist to clear the ball, with some of his clearances traversing the halfway line. There was also a tale about a player who, in his excitement before a Scottish Cup tie in 1926, put his shorts on back to front. He was hauled out onto the pitch by his superstitious team mates who refused to let him change. St. Mirren won the tie and went on to lift the Cup that year.

The issue was brought to a close with the quiz answers, results to date and the familiar half time scoreboard of Scottish and English matches being played that day.

Pre-1970 Aberdeen programmes have always been much sought after, and a recent resurgence in interest by collectors has made them even harder to obtain. It is therefore not unreasonable to expect this issue to command a high price.

Before a crowd of 20,000, St. Mirren took the lead in the thirteenth minute. There was an open gap in front of the home side's goal when Walter Anderson lobbed over an innocent looking cross. Standing on his own was Duncan McGill, who coolly headed the ball into the corner of the net past Dons' goalkeeper Fred Martin.

For the remainder of the first half, McGill, ably assisted by Tommy Gemmell, caused a lot of trouble for a distinctly disjointed Aberdeen defence.

Seven minutes into the second period, Gemmell, arguably the best forward on the field, created an opening for Anderson to put Saints 2-0 up.

As the game threatened to drag out to an uneventful victory for the Paisley men, a cross from Aberdeen's John Hather was back-headed into the net by Hugh Hay, making his final appearance for the side before reporting for National Service.

With the prospect now of an equaliser, the Dons organised a splendid closing offensive, during which visiting goalkeeper Bob Park dealt with a fierce drive by Harry Yorston. However, the rugged Saints defence, ably marshalled by Telfer, held out for the 2-1 victory.