Billy Hamilton (footballer)

Billy Hamilton
Personal information
Full name	William Robert Hamilton
Date of birth	9 May 1957 (age 68)
Place of birth	Gilnahirk, County Down, Northern Ireland
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team
1975–1978	Linfield
1978–1979	Queens Park Rangers
1979–1984	Burnley
1984–1987	Oxford United
1987–1989	Limerick
1989	Coleraine
1989	Sligo Rovers
1989–1992	Distillery
Total
International career
1979–1986	Northern Ireland
Managerial career
1987–1989	Limerick
1989–1995	Distillery
	* Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Robert Hamilton (born 9 May 1957) 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,^[2] Limerick,^[3] 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.^[4] He played in every game and scored two goals in the second-round game against Austria,^[5] and also played at the 1986 World Cup.^[6] He also twice won the Home Internationals in 1980 and 1984, scoring the winner against Scotland in the 1980 competition. 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,^[7] Billy Hamilton's Football Academy, which was released in 1985. He is married to Isabella.

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

^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 306. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
^ Marshall, Tyrone (18 November 2014). "Billy Hamilton: Clarets move saved me from my Loftus Road hell". Lancashire Telegraph. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
^ "Big Sam can complete unique Limerick 'hat-trick'". Limerick Post. 22 July 2016. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. 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. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
^ Beacom, Steven (5 June 2014). "Billy Hamilton: When Northern Ireland hit the World Cup big time". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
^ Billy Hamilton's Football Academy. Board Game Geek; Retrieved 25 January 2010