Restarting the next year, Talbot suffered a lean decade through the 1930s until a second Ayrshire Cup victory arrived in 1939. The club closed down for the duration of World War II but on resuming after hostilities, they enjoyed another successful spell, winning five trophies in 1947–48 including the first of twelve West of Scotland Cups before lifting the Scottish Junior Cup for the first time in 1949. The 3–2 victory over Petershill at Hampden Park was watched by a then record crowd of 68,837 and it remains the third highest attendance at a Junior Cup final. Talbot's first defence of the trophy drew a record crowd to Beechwood Park when 10,000 people saw Irvine Meadow knock the holders out in the 3rd round. The ground was expanded for the occasion with thousands of tons of mining spoil added to build up the terracing and the "bing" was a feature of the park for a number of years.