Knox Jimmy Image 4 St Mirren 1936

Description

Ibrox, Glasgow born inside right Jimmy Knox began his football career with Bellahouston Academy in 1926 and Queen’s Park Strollers in 1927 before joining First Division Portsmouth in 1928, where he stayed two seasons without making the Pompey first eleven. He joined Second Division Charlton Athletic in 1930 and made his Football League debut, and sole appearance for The Valiants, in a 3-0 defeat at Bristol City that September.

In May 1931 he returned to Scotland and joined St Mirren, where his career flourished. Described as “one of the most mercurial players in Scottish football… Jimmie likes nothing better than a full blooded wallop at goal and his efforts have made him famous as one of the most dangerous marksmen in Scotland”, Knox  made his St Mirren debut at Clyde on August 8th that year, going on to bag 30 goals in his first season, nine of them coming in a dramatic flurry in the final five games of the season as he helped Saints to a fifth-placed finish in the old Scottish First Division. He scored a hat-trick in the 1934 Scottish Cup semi final to take St Mirren to the Scottish Cup Final as they beat Motherwell 3-1, however the Final itself was lost to Rangers.

In 1936 it was said of him: “Has caused more nightmares among goalkeepers than any other Scot since Andy Cunningham” – high praise indeed! Knox scored 156 goals in 270 appearances for The Buddies throughout the 1930’s, topping the St Mirren scoring charts on three occasions.

He was bought by Third Division (South) Notts County in May 1939 and played once for The Magpies, that August in a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic at Meadow Lane, however his career was effectively finished by the outbreak of the Second World War the following month whereupon peacetime football was abandoned. He played wartime football for Third Lanark before retiring during the War.

Knox remains the third highest goalscorer in the history of St Mirren behind Davie McCrae and Alex Linwood, both of whom he played with at either end of his Buddies career.