Robert Cumming Hamilton (13 May 1877 – 2 May 1948) was a Scottish international footballer who played as a Centre forward and was known for his prolific scoring record and for his ten-season association with Rangers.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Cumming Hamilton | ||
| Date of birth | 13 May 1877 | ||
| Place of birth | Elgin, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 2 May 1948 (aged 70) | ||
| Place of death | Elgin, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Centre forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Elgin City | |||
| 1896–1897 | Queen's Park | 0 | (0) |
| 1897–1906 | Rangers | 164 | (154) |
| 1906–1907 | Fulham | 29 | (11) |
| 1907–1908 | Rangers | 11 | (3) |
| 1908 | Heart of Midlothian | 5 | (1) |
| 1908–1910 | Morton | 52 | (25) |
| 1910–1913 | Dundee | 93 | (37) |
| Elgin City | |||
| Total | 354 | (231) | |
| International career | |||
| 1899–1911 | Scotland | 11 | (15) |
| 1898–1904 | Scottish Football League XI | 7 | (9) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
editClub
editHamilton started his footballing career with local side Elgin City in the Highland League. He relocated to Glasgow in 1896 to attend the city's University, and joined Queen's Park.[1] A year later he joined Rangers where he remained until 1907, earning a reputation as a potent goal-scorer who was particularly accurate from long range.[1]
Hamilton played every match, was top scorer and captained the team during the 1898–99 season, in which they won every league match.[2] He earned further League winners medals in 1899–1900, 1900–01 and 1901–02 and was part of Rangers' Scottish Cup-winning sides in 1898 and 1903.[2][3] He became Rangers all-time top scorer against rivals Celtic during his time at Ibrox, was the club's top goalscorer for nine consecutive seasons and the highest overall in Scottish League Division One on six occasions (including two shared awards), his highest total being 28 from 24 appearances in 1903–04.[4]
Hamilton moved south of the border to join Fulham in May 1906, helping them to win the 1906–07 Southern League title,[1] before returning to Rangers a year later. He left the Govan club for a second time in 1908, briefly moving to Heart of Midlothian before joining Morton.[3] He signed for Dundee at the end of the 1909–10 season to late to be involved in the side which defeated Clyde to win the Scottish Cup, Dundee's first, that year.[1] After three full seasons and part of a fourth at Dens Park,[5] he returned to first club Elgin City in 1913 where he finally retired.
International
editHamilton won a total of eleven caps for Scotland between 1899 and 1911, scoring fifteen goals, four of which came in Scotland's 11–0 win over Ireland in 1901, their biggest ever margin of victory.[6] He was also selected seven times for the Scottish League representative side, scoring nine goals.[1][7]
Post football
editAfter retiring from football Hamilton went into education, and after graduating from the University of Glasgow he became a school 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.[1] 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 was the Provost of Elgin.[1] Hamilton died in May 1948, aged 71. In the late 1950s/early 1960s a new road in a private housing estate overlooking the River Lossie at the north side of Elgin was named after him as Hamilton Drive, which still remains today.
Career Statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rangers[2] | 1897–98 | SFL | 15 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 35 | 40 |
| 1898–99 | 18 | 21 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 31 | 32 | ||
| 1899–1900 | 16 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 9 | 35 | 32 | ||
| 1900–01 | 19 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 12 | 35 | 32 | ||
| 1901–02 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 25 | 12 | ||
| 1902–03 | 19 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 33 | 22 | ||
| 1903–04 | 24 | 29 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 32 | ||
| 1904–05 | 17 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 21 | ||
| 1905–06 | 20 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 10 | ||
| Total | 175 | 157 | 34 | 27 | 77 | 52 | 286 | 236 | ||
| Fulham | 1906–07 | Southern FL | 29 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 11 |
| Rangers[2] | 1907–08 | SFL | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 3 |
| Hearts[3] | 1907–08 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
| Morton[3] | 1908–09 | 26 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 13 | |
| 1909–10 | 26 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 14 | ||
| Total | 52 | 25 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 27 | ||
| Dundee[5] | 1910–11 | SFL | 31 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 20 |
| 1911–12 | 30 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 15 | ||
| 1912–13 | 28 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 7 | ||
| 1913–14 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Total | 93 | 37 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 105 | 44 | ||
| Career total | 354 | 231 | 52 | 36 | 77 | 52 | 483 | 319 | ||
International
edit| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1899 | 3 | 3 |
| 1900 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1901 | 2 | 5 | |
| 1902 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1903 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1904 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1911 | 1 | 2 | |
| Total | 11 | 15 | |
- Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hamilton goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 March 1899 | Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Ireland
|
3-0 | 9-1 | Friendly | [9] |
| 2 | 7-1 | ||||||
| 3 | 7 April 1899 | Villa Park, Birmingham, England |  England
|
1-2 | 1-2 | Friendly | [10] |
| 4 | 2 February 1900 | Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen, Scotland |  Wales
|
4-0 | 5-2 | Friendly | [11] |
| 5 | 22 February 1901 | Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland | Ireland
|
7-0 | 11-0 | Friendly | [12] |
| 6 | 8-0 | ||||||
| 7 | 10-0 | ||||||
| 8 | 11-0 | ||||||
| 9 | 29 March 1901 | Crystal Palace Stadium, London, England | England
|
2-1 | 2-2 | Friendly | [13] |
| 10 | 1 March 1902 | Grosvenor Park, Belfast, Ireland | Ireland
|
1-0 | 5-1 | Friendly | [14] |
| 11 | 3-0 | ||||||
| 12 | 4-0 | ||||||
| 13 | 26 March 1904 | Dalymount Park, Dublin, Ireland | Ireland
|
1-0 | 1-1 | Friendly | [15] |
| 14 | 6 March 1911 | Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales | Wales
|
1-1 | 2-2 | Friendly | [16] |
| 15 | 2-2 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Lamming, Douglas (1987). A Scottish Soccer Internationalists Who's Who, 1872–1986. Hutton Press. ISBN 0-907033-47-4.
- ^ a b c d (Rangers player) Hamilton, Robert C., FitbaStats
- ^ a b c d John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine.
- ^ Scotland – List of Topscorers, RSSSF, 20 June 2019
- ^ a b "1910–11". DundeeFC.net. 23 April 2002.
"1911–12". DundeeFC.net. 23 April 2002.
"1912–13". DundeeFC.net. 23 April 2002.
"1913–14". DundeeFC.net. 23 April 2002. - ^ (Scotland player) Bob Hamilton, London Hearts Supporters Club
- ^ (SFL player) Robert Cumming Hamilton, London Hearts Supporters Club
- ^ "Robert Hamilton". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "Scotland vs. Ireland". National Football Teams. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "England vs. Scotland". National Football Teams. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "Scotland vs. Wales". National Football Teams. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "Scotland vs. Ireland". National Football Teams. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "England vs. Scotland". National Football Teams. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "Ireland vs. Scotland". National Football Teams. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "Ireland vs. Scotland". National Football Teams. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "Wales vs. Scotland". National Football Teams. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
