St Mirren Football Club is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Frank McGarvey at the age of 66.
Frank McGarvey arrived at Love Street in December 1974 and became a regular during 1975-76. The striker’s first competitive goal came in a League Cup win over East Fife on the 9th August. He went on to score 11 times from 40 appearances.
1976-77 was the season that Fergie’s Furies came of age and none more so than Frank. He scored 17 league goals as Saints marched to the old First Division title and promotion to the Premier League.
Frank was the star as the title was clinched at Dens Park on the 19th April, claiming his first senior hat-trick in a 4-0 rout of Dundee. This form was not unnoticed with Frank winning a Scotland Under-21 cap against England. He added a second against Czechoslovakia in September, as his good form continued in the top-flight.
McGarvey again scored 17 league goals with six in cup competition to remain Saints' top scorer. He gained further honours when he played for the Scottish League side against the Italian League in April 1978.
McGarvey continued to score goals in the 1978/79 season with 13 seeing his top scorer again. This form attracted the attention of English clubs and it was no surprise when Liverpool took him south in May 1979.
After 10 months at Anfield, Frank returned to Scotland for a five-year spell at Celtic, culminating in scoring the winner in the 1985 Scottish Cup final - his final match for Celtic.
He would return to Love Street in June 1985 and was soon back in scoring in the black and white, netting in his second match. He ended the season with 12 goals, including a double in our UEFA Cup victory over Slavia Prague.
The 1987 Scottish Cup was, by McGarvey’s own admission, one of the highlights of his career. Wins over Caledonian, Raith Rovers and Morton took Saints to Hampden for a semi-final against Hearts. With the score tied at 1-1, the ball broke to Frank inside the six-yard box and he managed to guide it under Henry Smith, to take Saints into the final.
16th May 1987. 10 years after helping Saints win the First Division; McGarvey played his part as the Scottish Cup returned to Paisley.
In April 1988 manager Alex Smith resigned and Tony Fitzpatrick took over with Frank named player/assistant manager. His final season at the club saw him concentrate more on the managerial role, making just four appearances during 1989-90. His final match was against Hibernian on the 16th September. At the end of the season he joined Queen of the South as player/manager.
In May 2005, McGarvey was inducted into the St Mirren Hall of Fame having made 341 appearances scoring 102 goals across his two spells at the club.
Frank will forever be remembered at St Mirren and our deepest condolences are with Frank's loved ones at this very sad time.
Rest in peace, Frank.
