Billy Hamilton (footballer)
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Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | William Robert Hamilton | ||
Date of birth | 9 May 1957 | ||
Place of birth | Gilnahirk, County Down, Northern Ireland | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1975–1978 | Linfield | 66 | (25) |
1978–1979 | Queens Park Rangers | 12 | (2) |
1979–1984 | Burnley | 200 | (58) |
1984–1987 | Oxford United | 92 | (25) |
1987–1989 | Limerick | 29 | (4) |
1989 | Coleraine | 1 | (0) |
1989 | Sligo Rovers | 18 | (4) |
1989–1992 | Distillery | 50 | (28) |
Total | 468 | (146) | |
National team | |||
1979–1986 | Northern Ireland | 41 | (5) |
Teams managed | |||
1987–1989 | Limerick | ||
1989–1995 | Distillery | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
William Robert Hamilton (born 9 May 1957 in Gilnahirk, County Down) is a former Northern Ireland international footballer who played as a forward.
Club career[]
At club level, Hamilton played for Linfield, QPR, Burnley, Oxford United,[1] Limerick,[2] Sligo Rovers,[citation needed] Coleraine[citation needed] and Distillery.[citation needed]
He joined Distillery as Player/Manager in December 1989,[citation needed] after leaving Limerick City of the League of Ireland Premier Division, having managed them to a third-place finish in the 1988–89 season.[citation needed] He made his playing debut for the Whites on 22 March 1990 and in his three seasons made 72 appearances and scored 33 goals including one hat-trick.[citation needed]
International career[]
Hamilton is best remembered by Northern Ireland fans as the man who crossed the ball for Gerry Armstrong to score for Northern Ireland in their famous win against the hosts Spain at the 1982 FIFA World Cup.[3] He played in every game and scored two goals in the second-round game against Austria,[4] and also played at the 1986 World Cup.[5] He also twice won the Home Internationals in 1980 and 1984, scoring the winning goal against Scotland. Northern Ireland never lost when Hamilton scored.[citation needed] In total, Hamilton played 41 games for his country, scoring five goals.[citation needed]
Management and coaching[]
Knee injuries forced Hamilton to end his playing career in February 1992,[citation needed] but he continued to manage Distillery until February 1995. He guided the club to the Gold Cup victory in the 1993/94 season.[citation needed]
Personal life[]
Hamilton has the distinction of designing a board game,[6] Billy Hamilton's Football Academy, which was released in 1985.
International goals[]
Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first
Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 16 May 1980 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Scotland | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1980 Home Internationals |
2 | 25 March 1981 | Glasgow, Scotland | Scotland | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification |
3 | 1 July 1982 | Madrid, Spain | Austria | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1982 FIFA World Cup |
4 | 1 July 1982 | Madrid, Spain | Austria | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1982 FIFA World Cup |
5 | 21 September 1983 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Austria | 1–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 1984 qualification |
References[]
- ^ Marshall, Tyrone (18 November 2014). "Billy Hamilton: Clarets move saved me from my Loftus Road hell". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ "Big Sam can complete unique Limerick 'hat-trick'". Limerick Post. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ Billy Hamilton Statistics Archived 5 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine FIFA; Retrieved 25 January 2010
- ^ "1982 World Cup: Billy Hamilton scores for Northern Ireland against Austria". BBC. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ Beacom, Steven (5 June 2014). "Billy Hamilton: When Northern Ireland hit the World Cup big time". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ Billy Hamilton's Football Academy. Board Game Geek; Retrieved 25 January 2010
External links[]
- Billy Hamilton at FIFA
- Billy Hamilton at UEFA
- Billy Hamilton at National-Football-Teams.com
Further reading[]
- Hugman, Barry (2005). The PFA Premier and Football League Players' Records 1946–2005. Queen Anne Press.
- 1957 births
- Living people
- Association football forwards
- Association footballers from Belfast
- Association footballers from Northern Ireland
- Expatriate association footballers from Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland international footballers
- Queens Park Rangers F.C. players
- Burnley F.C. players
- Oxford United F.C. players
- Linfield F.C. players
- Lisburn Distillery F.C. players
- Lisburn Distillery F.C. managers
- 1982 FIFA World Cup players
- 1986 FIFA World Cup players
- Limerick F.C. players
- Limerick F.C. managers
- Sligo Rovers F.C. players
- Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland
- League of Ireland managers
- League of Ireland players
- NIFL Premiership players
- English Football League players
- Burnley F.C. non-playing staff
- Football managers from Northern Ireland