That Geoff Brown shaped the St Johnstone which has become the most successful club in Scottish football other than Rangers and Celtic over the last decade is no secret.
But that doesn’t mean the role of the man who ushered in the modern-day, golden era, who passed away recently, should be ignored.
Like the Browns, the Lamonds have been father and son custodians of the Perth club.
The first Alex was at the helm as chairman when Willie Ormond’s great side was turning heads in European football.
The second Alex was tasked with preventing Saints from going to the wall at a time when payments as small as £250 to Downfield Juniors for Charlie Adam snr had yet to be settled.
But unlike some on the last pre-Brown board, he didn’t bury his head in the sand.
And for that alone, Lamond has earned himself a significant place in St Johnstone’s narrative, according to Alastair Blair, who has co-documented the club’s official history.
Alex helped guide Saints through some turbulent times in the 70s & 80s & his last visit to McDiarmid came in August when he attended the reunion of the 82/83 championship squad – he's pictured here with Stuart Beedie & Tam McNeil. Our thoughts are with his widow Irene & family. pic.twitter.com/egPCUb7ZEV
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) November 29, 2022
“Between them, the Lamonds were involved with the club for over 50 years,” said Blair.
“The family had a very big say in how St Johnstone was run over a long period of time.
“That included, particularly for Alex snr, some of the very best times.
“It was clearly different for Alex jnr.”
“More bad decisions than good” were made in the Muirton Park boardroom in the early and mid-80s, according to Blair.
Apart from the sliding-doors one, that is.
“It’s easy to say ‘Geoff saved the club’ – that’s because he absolutely did,” Blair added.
“But there are lot of other people who have looked after it at different points and had its best interests at heart.
“They had huge fights with the supporters clubs over the years and were clearly trying everything they could to bring in money.
OTD (1986): Only 466 fans turn up at Muirton Park to watch Saints beat Albion Rovers 1-0 in the Second Division.
— St Johnstone 1884 (@stjohnstone1884) April 19, 2013
“In May ’86 there was a fundraising raffle for a car. The inland revenue were allowing a payment of £237 with the rest of the money coming in instalments.
“That’s how bad it was.
“There was still £250 outstanding on Charlie Adam!
“I got a story off (local referee) Doug Yeats that Saints had to play a game against Arbroath or they would go bust. That was probably the most scary thing of the lot.
“In terms of choices of managers and stewardship, St Johnstone was going to hell in a handcart.
Could have been another Third Lanark
“I get the impression that Alex Lamond knew what had to be done and corralled the other directors into doing it.
“That’s the key bit.
“He managed to identify the right people and carry the board to get Geoff in.
“Without a chairman who had that strength of character, the wrong thing could have happened.
“They all agreed to full on their own swords in the end – some less willingly than others.
“It’s pivotal in St Johnstone’s history.
“If he’d cocked it up they could have gone bust.
“You just have to look at Third Lanark – full of corruption and disappeared. Clydebank went bust. There was Airdrie. They were clubs of comparable size to Saints.
“Could they have gone out of existence? Yes. Would the rest of Scottish football have batted an eyelid? Not really.”
‘The rest is history’
Brown – still the owner of Saints, with son, Steve the chairman – acknowledges his predecessor’s part in making a smooth transition from one era to another possible.
“I’ve only got good things to say about Alex,” he told Courier Sport.
“Alex was very helpful to me when we took over.
“The last time I saw him was at Perth Races and we had a nice wee conversation.
“Lindsay Dow made the first phone call (to get him involved with St Johnstone) but Alex was the chairman, even though he didn’t own the majority of the shares. Lord Mansfield and Lord Forteviot had that between them.
“Needless to say, we managed to get hold of it and the rest, as they say, is history.”
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