The first season that St Bernards ran as a side of U21s then known as Secondary Juveniles was 1953 in the Edinburgh League. This was a very strong league containing many well known clubs such as Edinburgh Thistle, Edinburgh Waverley and Longstone United.

Against such opposition it is not surprising that it took St Bernards 6 years before they earned some silverware. This was achieved in 1959 when they won the Timpson Cup.

As mentioned in the main history in this website the Scottish Cup win in 1961 by the U17 side proved to be a springboard for success and the trophies won by the U21 side listed below in the following years by a lot of the same players illustrates this point.

Probably the best known player from this period was Bobby Duncan who joined Hibs but he was by no means the only member of these teams to turn senior. Indeed such was the reputation of the club at that time for finding players that a link was made with Chelsea then managed by Tommy Docherty whereby the Saints would act as a feeder club. This arrangement did not last long however as the Saints became reluctant to recruit players from the central belt of Scotland to the detriment of the locals.

Over the years numerous players have progressed to play at more senior levels. Nowadays Scottish League clubs, for instance, recruit players a lot younger. It is therefore some time since a player moved to that level. Many have done well however, Alex Cropley (Hibernian and Arsenal) and Darren Jackson (Hibs,Hearts and Celtic) going on to play for Scotland at full international level.

Rejoining the U21 age group in 1980 after a lapse of 8 years the team has maintained an unbroken run ever since and while recent successes have been limited the Scottish Cup final was reached in the year 2000.

The coming season will be the 49th for the U21 side which is no mean achievement in itself.

Trophy Successes:

1959 Timpson Cup.
1961 Timpson Cup.
1962 Insurance Cup.
1963 Oliver Hemming Cup
1964 East of Scotland Cup, League Champions, Tait Trophy and Oliver Hemming Cup.
1967 League Section winners.
1971 League Section winners.
1980 East of Scotland Cup and Di Rollo Cup.
1993 Train Trophy.
1998 East of Scotland Cup and League Section winners.
1999 Bauld Cup.
2003 John Murphy Memorial Trophy.

5/7/2007