David Hamilton (31 January 1882 – 25 January 1950) was a Scottish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as an outside left (winger). He played for

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

for ten years between 1902 and 1912.

Career

Club

Born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Hamilton played for junior side Cambuslang Hibernian as a teenager. He was selected for the

Scotland Junior international team The Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA) is an affiliated national association of the Scottish Football Association and is the governing body for the junior grade of football in Scotland. The term "junior" refers to the level of footbal ...

, alongside future

teammate

Alec Bennett Alec Bennett (1897–1973) was an Irish-Canadian motorcycle racer famous for motorcycle Grand Prix wins and five career wins at the Isle of Man TT races. Biography A native of Craigantlet in Ireland's County Down, Bennett emigrated with his pa ...

. Having attracted the attention of Celtic with a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a Junior test against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

played at their ground in March 1902, Hamilton was soon signed by the ''Hoops'' and within a few weeks was selected for the

British League Cup The British League Cup was a football competition that was set up in April 1902 to raise money for the disaster at Ibrox Stadium, in which 25 people were killed and 517 injured at an international match between Scotland and England at the start of ...

final against Rangers which Celtic won. He spent part of that season on loan at

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

then

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

. Hamilton secured his place in the Celtic team for the following season and appeared regularly over the next decade. He established a reputation as a wide man with great pace and dribbling skills, which earned him the nickname 'the Dancer'. He was part of a successful forward line which won six consecutive

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...

titles between 1904–05 and 1909–10 to establish Celtic as a national force – their manager

Willie Maley William Patrick Maley (25 April 1868 – 2 April 1958) was an Irish-born Scottish international football player and manager. He was the first manager of Celtic Football Club, and one of the most successful managers in Scottish football histor ...

commented ''"The Bennett, McMenemy, Quinn, Somers and Hamilton forward line was a treat to watch in their sinuous movement and deadly attacks"''. In 1905, it was Hamilton who scored the winning goal in a unique playoff match against Rangers to determine the champions. Celtic team 1908

The 1907–08 season was particularly eventful for Hamilton. In the October he was suspended for two months for using 'obscene and threatening language' towards the referee during the

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rules ...

Final against Rangers, with the remark believed to be ''"I wish I had a revolver!"''. He missed the replay of that final but returned in time for the

Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...

derby on

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

and scored the opening goal (one of a total of 10 strikes against Rangers). Celtic finished as league champions, secured the Scottish Cup – with Hamilton scoring in the 5–1 win over St Mirren – and finalised a clean sweep of trophies available by winning the

Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup The Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup was a knockout football tournament open to teams from in and around Glasgow and later on in the tournament's history, teams from outwith Glasgow. Invitations were made and sent out by the Glasgow Charity Cup ...

. In total, Hamilton played 259 League and

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,wagon A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

) from the

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and employment opportun ...

area had his portrait displayed on their banner. In 1912 Hamilton left Celtic and joined

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

where he spent one year; he thereafter played for

Bathgate Bathgate ( sco, Bathket or , gd, Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, Blackburn, Linlithgow, Livingston, West Calder and Whitburn. Situated sout ...

(

Central Football League There have been at least three competitions in Scotland known as the Central Football League The first was originally formed in 1896 by five clubs - Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline Athletic, Fair City Athletic, Kirkcaldy and St Johnstone. In 1897 this v ...

) but retired in 1914.

International

Despite his success at club level Hamilton never appeared for the

Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the t ...

nor in the regular trials of the period, but was selected for one

Scottish Football League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

fixture against

in 1903. He featured twice for the Glasgow FA's annual challenge match against

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, in 1906 and 1909.

Later life and legacy

Hamilton suffered a family tragedy just as his sporting career was ending when his wife Mary-Ann died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in 1915 (aged 33), leaving him to bring up their five children alone. He died in Glasgow in 1950. In 2011 a Celtic delegation including descendants of Hamilton and club representatives Jim Craig and

Bobby Lennox Robert Lennox, MBE (born 30 August 1943, in Saltcoats, Ayrshire) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played for Celtic and was a member of their 1967 European Cup-winning team, known as the Lisbon Lions. He earned ten internation ...

attended Dalbeth Cemetery in the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

of Glasgow to mark his grave with a tributary headstone.

Honours

(6): 1904–05, 1905–06, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1908–09, 1909–10 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1903–04, 1907–08, 1910–11 **Finalist: 1908–09 *

: 1904–05, 1905–06, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1909–10 *

: 1904–05, 1907–08 *

: 1902

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Davie 1882 births 1950 deaths Footballers from Glasgow Scottish men's footballers Dundee F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Cambuslang Hibernian F.C. players Ayr F.C. players Clyde F.C. players Bathgate F.C. players Men's association football outside forwards Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players Scotland men's junior international footballers Scottish Junior Football Association players