Robert Hamilton (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Robert Cumming Hamilton (13 May 1877 – 1948) was a Scottish
international footballer
, most notable for his ten season association with Rangers
.
. He moved to Queens Park in 1896, when he relocated to Glasgow
to attend the University of Glasgow
. A year later he joined Rangers, where he remained until 1907, earning a reputation as a potent goal-scorer, particularly accurate from long range.
Hamilton became Rangers all time top scorer against rivals Celtic
during his time at Ibrox
, and was the club's top goalscorer for nine consecutive seasons. He was top scorer, played every match and captained the team during the 1898-99 season
, in which they won every match. He earned further League winners
medals in 1899-00, 1900-01
and 1901-02
and was part of Rangers' Scottish Cup
winning sides in 1898 and 1903.
Hamilton moved south of the border
to join Fulham
in May 1906, helping them to win the 1906-07
Southern League
title, before returning to Rangers a year later. He left the Glasgow
club for a second time in 1908, briefly moving to Morton
before joining Hearts
. He joined Dundee
during the 1909-10 season
but was not part of the side which defeated Clyde
to win the Scottish Cup, Dundee's first, that year. He returned to first club Elgin City in 1913, where he finally retired.
for Scotland
between 1899 and 1911, scoring 15 goals, 4 of which came in Scotland's 11-0 win over Ireland
in 1901, their biggest ever margin of victory. He was also selected seven times for the Scottish League
representative side.
International goals
teacher then eventually master. He maintained an involvement in education throughout his life and eventually served upon the Moray and Nairn Education Board in the mid-1930s. He was also involved in local politics, serving in the Elgin Town Council
between 1914 and 1937. For the last six years of this period he held the position of Town Provost
. Hamilton died in May 1948, aged 71.
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
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, most notable for his ten season association with 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...
.
Playing career
Hamilton started his footballing career with local side Elgin CityElgin City F.C.
Elgin City Football Club are a semi-professional football team based in Elgin, Moray. They currently compete in the Scottish Third Division....
. He moved to Queens Park in 1896, when he relocated to Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
to attend the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
. A year later he joined Rangers, where he remained until 1907, earning a reputation as a potent goal-scorer, particularly accurate from long range.
Hamilton became Rangers all time top scorer against rivals Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
during his time at Ibrox
Ibrox Stadium
Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium located on the south side of the River Clyde, on Edmiston Drive in the Ibrox district of Glasgow. It is the home ground of Scottish Premier League club Rangers and has an all-seated capacity of 51,082...
, and was the club's top goalscorer for nine consecutive seasons. He was top scorer, played every match and captained the team during the 1898-99 season
1898-99 in Scottish football
1898–99 in Scottish football was the ninth season of the Scottish Football League.-Scottish Division One:Rangers were champions of the Scottish Division One.-Scottish Division Two:...
, in which they won every match. He earned further League winners
Scottish football champions
The Scottish football champions are the winners of the highest league in Scottish football, namely the Scottish Football League from 1890 until 1998 and the Scottish Premier League thereafter....
medals in 1899-00, 1900-01
1900-01 in Scottish football
The 1900–01 season was the 11th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish League Division One:Champions: Rangers-Scottish League division two:-Scottish Cup:...
and 1901-02
1901-02 in Scottish football
The 1901–02 season was the 12th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish League Division One:-Scottish League Division Two:-Scottish Cup:...
and was part of Rangers' Scottish Cup
Scottish Cup
The 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...
winning sides in 1898 and 1903.
Hamilton moved south of the border
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to join Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
in May 1906, helping them to win the 1906-07
1906-07 in English football
The 1906–07 season was the 36th season of competitive football in England.-Honours:-First Division:-Second Division:P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = PointsReferences...
Southern League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
title, before returning to Rangers a year later. He left the Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
club for a second time in 1908, briefly moving to Morton
Greenock Morton F.C.
Greenock Morton Football Club are a Scottish professional football club, who currently play in the Scottish Football League First Division. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs....
before joining Hearts
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...
. He joined Dundee
Dundee F.C.
Dundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...
during the 1909-10 season
1909-10 in Scottish football
The 1909–10 season was the 20th season of Scottish League football.-Overview:Celtic extended their record run of consecutive league titles to six, while Dundee were Scottish Cup winners for the first time...
but was not part of the side which defeated Clyde
Clyde F.C.
Clyde Football Club are a Scottish professional football team currently playing in the Third Division of the Scottish Football League. Although based for the last fifteen years in the new town of Cumbernauld, they are traditionally associated with an area that covers Rutherglen in South...
to win the Scottish Cup, Dundee's first, that year. He returned to first club Elgin City in 1913, where he finally retired.
International career
Hamilton won a total of 11 capsCap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
for Scotland
Scotland 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...
between 1899 and 1911, scoring 15 goals, 4 of which came in Scotland's 11-0 win over Ireland
Ireland national football team (IFA)
The Ireland national football team represented Ireland at association football, it was organised by the Irish FA , and is the fourth oldest international team in the world. It mainly played in the British Home Championship against England, Scotland and Wales...
in 1901, their biggest ever margin of victory. He was also selected seven times for the Scottish 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...
representative side.
International goals
- Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 March 25, 1899 Celtic Park Celtic ParkCeltic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
3-0 9-1 BHC British Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...2 March 25, 1899 Celtic Park Celtic ParkCeltic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
7-1 9-1 BHC British Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...3 April 8, 1899 Villa Park Villa Park, EnglandVilla Park is an association football stadium in the district of Witton, Birmingham, England with a seating capacity of 42,786. It has been the home of Aston Villa Football Club since 1897. The team previously played at Aston Park from 1874 to 1876 and Perry Barr from 1876 to 1897...
, BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
1-2 1-2 BHC British Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...4 February 3, 1900 Pittodrie, Aberdeen AberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
4-0 5-2 BHC British Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...5 February 23, 1901 Celtic Park Celtic ParkCeltic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
7-0 11-0 BHC British Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...6 February 23, 1901 Celtic Park Celtic ParkCeltic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
8-0 11-0 BHC British Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...7 February 23, 1901 Celtic Park Celtic ParkCeltic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
10-0 11-0 BHC British Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...8 February 23, 1901 Celtic Park Celtic ParkCeltic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
11-0 11-0 BHC British Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...9 March 30, 1901 Crystal Palace Crystal Palace National Sports CentreThe National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the former Crystal Palace, in the former parkland and also usurping part of the former grand prix circuit.It was...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
1-2 2-2 BHC British Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...10 March 1, 1902 Grosvenor Park, Belfast BelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
1-0 5-1 BHC British Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...11 March 1, 1902 Grosvenor Park, Belfast BelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
3-0 5-1 BHC British Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...12 March 1, 1902 Grosvenor Park, Belfast BelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
4-0 5-1 BHC British Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...13 March 26, 1904 Dalymount Park Dalymount ParkDalymount Park is an Irish football stadium situated on Dublin's Northside. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as 'Dalyer' by fans, it was also historically the "home of Irish football" holding Irish internationals and FAI Cup...
, Dublin1-0 1-1 BHC British Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...14 March 6, 1911 Ninian Park Ninian ParkNinian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship...
, CardiffCardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
1-1 2-2 BHC British Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...15 March 6, 1911 Ninian Park Ninian ParkNinian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship...
, CardiffCardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
2-2 2-2 BHC British Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...
Post football
After retiring from football he went into education and after graduating from the University of Glasgow, Hamilton became a schoolSchool
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
teacher then eventually master. He maintained an involvement in education throughout his life and eventually served upon the Moray and Nairn Education Board in the mid-1930s. He was also involved in local politics, serving in the Elgin Town Council
Town council
A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....
between 1914 and 1937. For the last six years of this period he held the position of Town Provost
Provost (civil)
A provost is the ceremonial head of many Scottish local authorities, and under the name prévôt was a governmental position of varying importance in Ancien Regime France.-History:...
. Hamilton died in May 1948, aged 71.