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Willie Hamilton (footballer, born 1889)

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Willie Hamilton
Personal information
Full name William Hamilton
Date of birth 9 October 1889
Place of birth Scoonie, Scotland
Date of death 14 August 1921(1921-08-14) (aged 31)[1]
Place of death Kingseat, Scotland
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Position(s) Centre half
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Cowdenbeath Vulcan Rovers[2]
1909–1911 Dunfermline Athletic
1911–1921 Partick Thistle 245 (12)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Hamilton (9 October 1889 – 14 August 1921) was a Scottish footballer who played as a centre half, primarily for Partick Thistle.[3]

Initially signed from Dunfermline Athletic (still to become members of the Scottish Football League at that point)[2] as a left half before moving to the central 'pivot' role when Alex Raisbeck retired in 1913, Hamilton amassed 294 appearances for the Jags in all competitions and scored 15 goals across nine seasons.[4] He finished on the losing side in five minor cup finals (1911, 1917, and 1919 Glasgow Cup, 1916 and 1918 Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup) and missed out on the biggest match in Partick's history, the final of the Scottish Cup in 1921, due to an ankle injury having played in all earlier rounds.[2] Despite his absence (and that of Jimmy McMullan), highlighted in the press pre-match as a blow to Thistle's chances, the team defeated Rangers 1–0 to claim the trophy for the only time.[5]

Within a few months of that cup win Hamilton had contracted tuberculosis, his health declined rapidly and he returned to his home region of Fife where he died in August 1921, aged 31.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Willie Hamilton, The Thistle Archive. Retrieved 31 December 2021
  2. ^ a b c d Death of Well-known Local Footballer, The Dunfermline Press, 20 August 1921, via Partick Thistle History Archive (archived version, 2015)
  3. ^ John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ Players H, Partick Thistle History Archive
  5. ^ Scottish Cup Final | Partick Thistle's First Victory, The Glasgow Herald, 18 April 1921