Billy Hamilton (footballer)

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Billy Hamilton
Personal information
Full name William Robert Hamilton
Date of birth (1957-05-09) 9 May 1957 (age 64)
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[]

  1. ^ Marshall, Tyrone (18 November 2014). "Billy Hamilton: Clarets move saved me from my Loftus Road hell". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Big Sam can complete unique Limerick 'hat-trick'". Limerick Post. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  3. ^ Billy Hamilton Statistics Archived 5 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine FIFA; Retrieved 25 January 2010
  4. ^ "1982 World Cup: Billy Hamilton scores for Northern Ireland against Austria". BBC. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  5. ^ Beacom, Steven (5 June 2014). "Billy Hamilton: When Northern Ireland hit the World Cup big time". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  6. ^ Billy Hamilton's Football Academy. Board Game Geek; Retrieved 25 January 2010

External links[]

Further reading[]

  • Hugman, Barry (2005). The PFA Premier and Football League Players' Records 1946–2005. Queen Anne Press.
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