St Mirren Football Club is delighted to announce that the Family Stand at the Simple Digital Arena will officially be renamed the Tony Fitzpatrick Family Stand.
Tony is one of the most decorated figures in St Mirren history having made 458 appearances in two spells as a player between 1973-1979 and 1981-1989.
Tony made his St Mirren debut in a Drybourgh Cup fixture against Hibernian in 1973 and after making his mark in the first team was named first team captain by Sir Alex Ferguson whilst still a teenager.
In the 1976-77 season, Tony captained the side to the First Division title. His performances caught the eye of the national team with a call-up to Scotland U21s in April 1977, while he made the provisional Scotland squad of 40 for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.
After moving to Bristol City in 1979, Tony returned to his beloved St Mirren in 1981 and made his second Saints debut in a 3-1 win over Celtic in the League Cup.
During his second spell as a player Tony was part of the 1987 Scottish Cup winning side as well as European campaigns in the 1980s where Saints faced the likes of Feyenoord, Slavia Prague.
Tony was named player-manager of St Mirren in 1988 and made his final St Mirren appearance against Hamilton Academical at Love Street in October 1988 as he looked to concentrate on management.
Tony would leave his post as manager in March 1991, but returned for a second spell as gaffer in September 1996 until December 1998.
In 2016, Tony returned to the club once again, this time as Chief Executive, replacing the outgoing Brian Caldwell. In Tony’s time as Chief Executive the Buddies won the Ladbrokes Championship securing promotion back to the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Speaking to stmirren.com about the renaming of the stand, Tony said: "I feel unbelievably humbled by it.
I feel numb. Any time I think about it my head goes fuzzy with it all. I'm still in shock about it, it's so surreal.
"I remember being a 12 year-old boy looking over Love Street on a summer night thinking about how I wanted to play at St Mirren and to now have a stand named after me is incredible. I'm so proud and so humbled.
"For by Sir Alex Ferguson, my dad was the biggest influence in my life and it was to this day four years ago that I took him into hospital for the last time before he passed away.
"I have to thank Gordon Scott and all the directors as well for giving me this honour.
"Generally in life you see so many tributes to people who have passed away but to get this while I'm still alive and still at the club is a major honour."
Gordon Scott, St Mirren chairman, said: "There is nobody that encapsulates family at St Mirren more than Tony.
"He’s been a player here, he’s been a manager here, he’s been a chief executive and he’s been a massive part of what we have achieved as a club over the last few years. I can’t think of anybody more suitable to name a stand after than Tony.
"Slowly but surely we are doing more bits and pieces that make the stadium feel like our home. I would like to do something with the other stands as well and that's something we will involve the fans with.
"I'm sure Tony was voted the number one Saints player of all time and he's the second highest appearance maker of all time so I think it's perfect."
A more formal presentation will be made prior to our match against St Johnstone on Wednesday 4th March.
