George Hamilton (footballer)
Encyclopedia
George Hamilton was a Scottish
international footballer, who spent most of his 21-year career with Aberdeen
. He also played for Queen of the South
, Heart of Midlothian
and Hamilton Academical
.
, aged 19. Hamilton was comfortable with the ball on either foot and had an obvious love of playing the game. After a single season in Dumfries
(scoring nine goals in 31 league games), Aberdeen managed by Dave Halliday
(another ex Queen of the South player) purchased him for £3000 in April 1938.
Like many of his contemporaries, George Hamilton's career was significantly disrupted by the Second World War and, when League
football in Scotland went into abeyance in 1939, he returned to his native Ayrshire
. Eventually, temporary Regional Leagues were established, and, due to war-time travel restrictions, players would guest for local sides. This resulted in Hamilton turning out for first Ayr United
, then Rangers
between 1940 and 1945.
George Hamilton returned to Aberdeen at the end of global hostilities and enjoyed his most successful period, lifting the transitional 1945-46 League Cup then scoring the winner in the 1947 Scottish Cup Final
against Hibernian
. Despite this, when Heart of Midlothian
offered £8000 plus the younger Archie Kelly
for his services in December 1947, the Reds considered it good value for a 30 year old, and accepted.
and with Hamilton pulling the strings, the Dons were three goals up after 15 minutes playing some fine football. A Doug McAvoy goal reduced the deficit to two goals at half time. Queens unleashed a second half onslaught. Amid some frantic play Queens pulled a goal back with nine minutes remaining from Doug McBain. Billy Houliston
playing out of position on the right wing then crossed for McAvoy's second goal to level the scores at 3-3. Frank Watson in the Aberdeen goal pulled off an outstanding last minute save to force a replay back in Aberdeen. In the 28th minute Aberdeen again went a goal up before Houliston (playing at his preferred centre forward after a tactical reshuffle during the game) lashed home the equaliser from a McAvoy pass. A minute later Queens were ahead for the first time in the tie - McAvoy again the provider for Charlie Johnston this time to trouble the score keeper. With no more goals Queens went through to the semi final for the first time in their history.
Despite Aberdeen’s erratic league results, Hamilton helped the side to two further (losing) Scottish Cup Final appearances, in 1953
and 1954
.
Age eventually caught up with Hamilton and he was transferred to Hamilton Academical
in 1955, having largely watched from the sidelines as a young Dons side won the 1954-55
League title with the long serving Halliday still at the helm.
debut against Northern Ireland
.
Hamilton twice earned an international recall, initially in 1951, when he scored a hat-trick against Belgium, then remarkably in 1954 when aged 36. He played 2 games against Norway scoring the only goal of the game played in Scotland.
This latter return coincided with the 1954 FIFA World Cup
and Hamilton was selected in the 22 man squad for Switzerland
. Scotland decided to take only 13 players to the finals with Hamilton one of the players to stay at home on reserve with the likes of Bobby Combe
and Jimmy Binning
. However Hibs' Bobby Johnstone
withdrew through injury with Hamilton called in to replace him in the 13 to travel. However Hamilton did not play in either of Scotland’s two games.
George Hamilton was the first former Queen of the South player to travel to the World Cup Finals. Sam Malcolmson
in Spain in 1982
and Bernie Slaven
at Italia 90
are the others to have done so.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
international footballer, who spent most of his 21-year career with Aberdeen
Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
. He also played for Queen of the South
Queen of the South F.C.
Queen of the South Football Club is a Scottish professional football club founded in 1919 and located in Dumfries. The club currently plays in the Scottish First Division, the second tier of Scottish football. They are officially nicknamed The Doonhamers, but usually referred to as Queens or QoS...
, Heart of Midlothian
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
and Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical F.C.
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Academical, or Accies, are a Scottish football club from Hamilton in South Lanarkshire. They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilton Academy. They remain the only professional club in British football to have...
.
Queen of the South
Born in Irvine, George Hamilton started out with local junior side Irvine Meadow before moving South to join top division Queen of the SouthQueen of the South F.C.
Queen of the South Football Club is a Scottish professional football club founded in 1919 and located in Dumfries. The club currently plays in the Scottish First Division, the second tier of Scottish football. They are officially nicknamed The Doonhamers, but usually referred to as Queens or QoS...
, aged 19. Hamilton was comfortable with the ball on either foot and had an obvious love of playing the game. After a single season in Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
(scoring nine goals in 31 league games), Aberdeen managed by Dave Halliday
Dave Halliday
David "Dave" Halliday was a Scottish footballing prolific goalscorer and trophy winning manager. His 38 goals in 1923-24 made him top scorer in Scotland's top flight that season and 43 goals in 1928–29 gave him the same distinction in England's top flight that season. He scored 376 senior goals as...
(another ex Queen of the South player) purchased him for £3000 in April 1938.
Aberdeen
George Hamilton would prove as shrewd a signing as Halliday would ever make as Hamilton would emerge as an inspirational player of real quality.Like many of his contemporaries, George Hamilton's career was significantly disrupted by the Second World War and, when League
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
football in Scotland went into abeyance in 1939, he returned to his native Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
. Eventually, temporary Regional Leagues were established, and, due to war-time travel restrictions, players would guest for local sides. This resulted in Hamilton turning out for first Ayr United
Ayr United F.C.
Ayr United Football Club are a Scottish association football team based in Ayr, South Ayrshire, that plays in the First Division of the Scottish Football League. Formed in 1910 after the merger of former clubs Ayr Parkhouse F.C. and Ayr F.C...
, then Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
between 1940 and 1945.
George Hamilton returned to Aberdeen at the end of global hostilities and enjoyed his most successful period, lifting the transitional 1945-46 League Cup then scoring the winner in the 1947 Scottish Cup Final
1947 Scottish Cup Final
-External links:*...
against Hibernian
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
. Despite this, when Heart of Midlothian
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
offered £8000 plus the younger Archie Kelly
Archie Kelly
Archibald "Archie" Kelly was a Scottish footballer who played as a centre forward. He is best remembered for his time with Motherwell, his goals helping the side to their first victories in both the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup...
for his services in December 1947, the Reds considered it good value for a 30 year old, and accepted.
Heart of Midlothian
After only 17 appearances (scoring six goals in thirteen league games) for Hearts, an unsettled George Hamilton returned to Aberdeen.Return to Aberdeen
In March 1950 Hamilton played in a titanic Scottish Cup quarter final tussle against former club Queen of the South, now also a top division side. Playing at Palmerston ParkPalmerston Park
Palmerston Park is a multi-purpose stadium on Terregles Street in Dumfries, south west Scotland. The site of the ground was formerly a farm called Palmers Toun. This is on the Maxwelltown side of the River Nith in Dumfries. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of...
and with Hamilton pulling the strings, the Dons were three goals up after 15 minutes playing some fine football. A Doug McAvoy goal reduced the deficit to two goals at half time. Queens unleashed a second half onslaught. Amid some frantic play Queens pulled a goal back with nine minutes remaining from Doug McBain. Billy Houliston
Billy Houliston
William "Billy" Houliston was a Scottish footballer who played for Crichton, Queen of the South, Berwick Rangers, Third Lanark and the Scotland national team.-Early years:...
playing out of position on the right wing then crossed for McAvoy's second goal to level the scores at 3-3. Frank Watson in the Aberdeen goal pulled off an outstanding last minute save to force a replay back in Aberdeen. In the 28th minute Aberdeen again went a goal up before Houliston (playing at his preferred centre forward after a tactical reshuffle during the game) lashed home the equaliser from a McAvoy pass. A minute later Queens were ahead for the first time in the tie - McAvoy again the provider for Charlie Johnston this time to trouble the score keeper. With no more goals Queens went through to the semi final for the first time in their history.
Despite Aberdeen’s erratic league results, Hamilton helped the side to two further (losing) Scottish Cup Final appearances, in 1953
1952-53 in Scottish football
The 1952–53 season was the 56th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish League Division A:Rangers won the title with a 1–1 draw in their last match, away to Queen of the South...
and 1954
1953-54 in Scottish football
The 1953–54 season was the 57th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish League Division A:Champions: CelticRelegated: Airdrieonians, Hamilton Academical-Scottish League Division B:...
.
Age eventually caught up with Hamilton and he was transferred to Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical F.C.
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Academical, or Accies, are a Scottish football club from Hamilton in South Lanarkshire. They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilton Academy. They remain the only professional club in British football to have...
in 1955, having largely watched from the sidelines as a young Dons side won the 1954-55
1954-55 in Scottish football
The 1954–55 season was the 58th season of competitive football in Scotland.Aberdeen won their first League Title.-Scottish League Division A:Champions: Aberdeen...
League title with the long serving Halliday still at the helm.
Hamilton Academical
George Hamilton retired a matter of months after joining Accies, just after his 38th birthday. In his 11 league games for the club, George scored twice.International career
Hamilton's consistent good form in 1945-46 earned him a Scotland national teamScotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
debut against Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
.
Hamilton twice earned an international recall, initially in 1951, when he scored a hat-trick against Belgium, then remarkably in 1954 when aged 36. He played 2 games against Norway scoring the only goal of the game played in Scotland.
This latter return coincided with the 1954 FIFA World Cup
1954 FIFA World Cup
The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament set a number of all-time records for goal-scoring, including the highest average goals scored per game...
and Hamilton was selected in the 22 man squad for Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Scotland decided to take only 13 players to the finals with Hamilton one of the players to stay at home on reserve with the likes of Bobby Combe
Bobby Combe
James Robert "Bobby" Combe was a Scottish international association football player, who spent his entire senior career with Hibernian....
and Jimmy Binning
Jimmy Binning
Ian "Jimmy" Binning was a Scottish footballer who played for Arbroath and Dumfries side Queen of the South.-Arbroath:From season 1948-49 until his departure Jimmy Binning scored six goals in his 84 league games for Arbroath....
. However Hibs' Bobby Johnstone
Bobby Johnstone
Robert "Bobby" Johnstone was a Scottish association football player, mainly remembered as one of the Famous Five forward line of Hibernian....
withdrew through injury with Hamilton called in to replace him in the 13 to travel. However Hamilton did not play in either of Scotland’s two games.
| # | Date | Opponent | Result | Hamilton goals | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 November 1946 | Scotland 0–0 Northern Ireland | 0 | 1947 British Home Championship 1947 British Home Championship The 1947 British Home Championship was a football tournament played between the British Home Nations during the 1946–47 seasons, the first professional football seasons in Britain since the end of the Second World War... |
|
| 2 | 20 May 1951 | Belgium 0–5 Scotland | 3 | Friendly match | |
| 3 | 27 May 1951 | Austria 4–0 Scotland | 0 | Friendly match | |
| 4 | 5 May 1954 | Scotland 1–0 Norway | 1 | Friendly match | |
| 5 | 19 May 1954 | Norway 1–1 Scotland | 0 | Friendly match |
George Hamilton was the first former Queen of the South player to travel to the World Cup Finals. Sam Malcolmson
Sam Malcolmson
Samuel "Sam" A. Malcolmson was an association football player who represented New Zealand. He was a capable defender who liked to attack and was very strong in the air, he was often used as a striker and scored more than 50 goals in New Zealand National League.Malcolmson served in the Royal Navy...
in Spain in 1982
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final.-Host selection:...
and Bernie Slaven
Bernie Slaven
Bernard Joseph "Bernie" Slaven is a Scottish-born former Republic of Ireland international footballer. A striker, with 162 goals in 423 league games, in a 12 year career, he also earned seven caps for the Republic of Ireland....
at Italia 90
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
are the others to have done so.
Honours
-
Scottish CupScottish CupThe Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
: 1
-
- 1946-47
- Scottish League CupScottish League CupThe Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...
: 1
-
- 1945-46
- 1946-47