Hamish Robert McAlpine (born 21 January 1948) is a retired 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, rugb ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

. He played for Dundee United for twenty years, between 1966 and 1986. Whilst with the club, he won the

Scottish Football 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 ...

title once and the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existe ...

twice. Among numerous cup runs in European football he played in the 1983-84 European Cup semi-final. He ended his playing career with spells at Raith Rovers and

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. Th ...

. McAlpine represented Scotland at under-21 international level and was named SFWA Footballer of the Year in 1985.

Early life

McAlpine was born in the village of Kilspindie, Perthshire. His father, Ian McAlpine, was a promising footballer whose career was disrupted by the Second World War, although he did sign for

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 ...

in 1946 and played for their reserve team. Although his father had been a

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, Hamish always played as a goalkeeper from primary school onwards. As a teenager, he played in goal for Butterburn Youth Club.

Club career

McAlpine played junior football for Dundee North End prior to signing provisionally for Dundee United in June 1966. He combined part-time football with a job at United chairman George Fox's accountancy firm until signing a professional contract in the close season of 1967.Gracie, p.145 Initially third choice goalkeeper behind Donald Mackay and

Sandy Davie Alexander Grimmond Davie (born 10 June 1945) is a Scottish former footballer, who played as goalkeeper. Davie spent most of his career with Dundee United and represented Scotland at under-23 level and New Zealand at senior level. In 1967, T ...

, McAlpine spent most of the 1967-68 season on loan to Montrose, and came close to signing for them permanently. Returning to United, he made his debut appearance for the first team in a pre-season friendly against

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County D ...

in August 1968.Gracie, p.314 Davie left the club in October 1968, which made McAlpine second choice. Following an injury to Mackay, he made his competitive debut for Dundee United on 8 March 1969, in a 1–0 defeat against Heart of Midlothian at Tynecastle. That proved to be his only appearance that season, and he missed most of the following season following an operation for ligament damage. In October 1970, McAlpine came on as a substitute for the injured Mackay in a Fairs Cup tie against

Sparta Prague ) but refer to Spartans as "''Rudí''" ( en, The Dark Reds/The Maroons).'' Letenští'' , ground = Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena , capacity = 19,416 , clubname = Sparta Prague , image = Sparta Praha logo.png , image_size = 160px , fu ...

to make his European debut and only his second competitive appearance overall. That proved to be a breakthrough for McAlpine, who went to make thirty appearances in all competitions that season and establish himself as first choice. Mackay was allowed to leave the club in 1972 by new manager Jim McLean, who brought back Davie as competition. McAlpine was still in the team until knee surgery ruled him out for a spell in 1974, which meant Davie played in United's first Scottish Cup final appearance. Davie's subsequent departure left McAlpine as the club's undisputed first choice goalkeeper, a position he would retain for the next decade. In 1977, he set a club record by not conceding a goal for 615 minutes of play. He was also building a reputation for eccentricity and becoming a cult favourite with United supporters, often leaving his penalty area to take on opponents. In 1976, United were struggling to avoid relegation and had missed several penalties. McAlpine volunteered to take over as penalty taker, scoring on his first attempt against Hibernian in the penultimate match of the season. Another McAlpine penalty, in the final match away to Rangers, was missed, but United retained their Premier Division status with a goalless draw. McAlpine scored twice more during the 1976-77 season, but was relieved of penalty duties after further misses. He later came close to scoring another United goal, hitting the bar with a shot whilst playing outfield in a reserve match. McAlpine's carefree attitude sometimes put him in conflict with his disciplinarian manager. In his autobiography, McLean describes his frustration with McAlpine's unwillingness to undertake specialist goalkeeping training, saying, "Hamish McAlpine was the one player who was able to destroy single-handedly everything I have ever thought or believed about the game of football". The pair's most serious disagreement occurred in 1979, resulting in McAlpine being sent home from a tournament in Japan. McAlpine was suspended by the club and temporarily replaced by former

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

goalkeeper Peter Bonetti. Having won his place back from Bonetti, McAlpine was part of the United side that reached the club's first ever Scottish League Cup final in December 1979. After a goalless draw against

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

, a 3–0 replay win at Dundee's

Dens Park Dens Park, officially known as Kilmac Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland, which is the home of club Dundee F.C. and has a capacity of . Tannadice Park, the home of rivals Dundee United, is just 200 yard ...

gave the club their first ever major trophy. A year later, United were again at Dens in the League Cup Final, this time facing local rivals Dundee. After another 3–0 victory for United, club captain

Paul Hegarty Paul Anthony Hegarty (born 25 July 1954 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish football player and manager. He was captain of Dundee United during their most successful era in the 1970s and 1980s, winning the Scottish league championship in 1983 and the ...

was about to collect the trophy when he stepped aside, instead ushering McAlpine forward to receive it, in recognition of his service to the club. Later the same season, the goalkeeper made his first appearance in a

Scottish Cup Final The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, is a knockout cup competition in Scottish football. Organised by the Scottish Football Association, it is the third oldest existing football competition in the w ...

, against Rangers. With the match goalless, McAlpine saved a last minute penalty to secure a replay, but United lost the second game 4–1. McAlpine was dropped for a

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

tie against

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had ...

in August 1982, with reserve goalkeeper John Gardiner taking his place. Despite McLean hinting that Gardiner might be set for an extended run in the first team, McAlpine was restored to the team for the next match. He went on to be ever-present in League matches during the 1982–83 season as Dundee United won the

title for the first time in the club's history. At the beginning of the following season, McAlpine's seventeen-year career at the club was marked with a

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

. United's league title success qualified the club for the

1983–84 European Cup The 1983–84 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won for a fourth time by Liverpool in a penalty shootout in the final against Roma. The game had finished 1–1. Phil Neal had scored for Liverpool and Roberto Pruzzo for Rom ...

, with McAlpine featuring in all eight matches as the team went on to reach the semi-finals. He faced competition for his place in the side, however, when McLean signed Scottish international goalkeeper Billy Thomson in June 1984. Although Thomson began the 1984-85 season as first choice, McAlpine had re-established himself in the team by the end of September. He went on to feature in two more cup finals that season, although United lost to Rangers in the

and Celtic in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Footballer of the Year for 1985. McAlpine was injured in October 1985 and lost his place in the side to Thomson. He played one match on loan to Dunfermline Athletic in April 1986, shortly before it was announced that he would be leaving Dundee United at the end of the season after twenty years at the club. He joined Raith Rovers in the close season of 1986, helping them win promotion from the

Scottish Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...

in his first season. In September 1987, McAlpine added a fourth goal to his career total, scoring directly from a kick-out for Raith against

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

. Intending to retire, McAlpine left Raith after two seasons but was asked to assist Celtic during a pre-season tour of Switzerland in July 1988, as cover for the injured Pat Bonner and Andy Murdoch. He subsequently joined Second Division

for a short spell prior to retiring in 1989.Gracie, p.315

International career

McAlpine gained international recognition in his mid-thirties, featuring as a permitted overage player for the Scotland Under-21 team. He made his debut in a 2–0 win over

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

on 12 October 1982. The last of his five appearances came against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

on 11 October 1983 when he was 35 years old, in a goalless draw played on McAlpine's club ground,

Tannadice Park Tannadice Park ( gd, Pàirc Thanachais), usually referred to as Tannadice, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland. It is the home ground of Dundee United F.C., who have played at Tannadice since the club was founded as Dundee Hibernian in 1 ...

After playing

McAlpine has worked intermittently for Dundee United in various part-time capacities, including as a goalkeeping coach, in the commercial department and as a matchday host. He was appointed as a club ambassador in 2014.He opened a pub called Goalie's in

in 1986. Since retiring as a player he has worked as a sales representative.

Personal life

Amongst his other sporting interests, McAlpine has appeared for Rossie Priory Cricket Club, where his brother Derek McAlpine was a long-serving player. Also a keen golfer, McAlpine became captain at Alyth Golf Club in 2010. His son Kevin McAlpine was

Scottish Amateur The Scottish Amateur is the national amateur match play golf championship of Scotland. It has been played since 1922 and is organised by the Scottish Golf Union. It is a "closed" event with entry currently restricted to those who were either bor ...

golf champion in 2006, subsequently turning professional and later caddying for

Lexi Thompson Alexis Noel Thompson (born February 10, 1995) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 12, she was the youngest golfer ever to qualify to play in the U.S. Women's Open. She turned professional in June 2010 at age 1 ...

Amy Yang Amy Yang, also known as Yang Hee-Young ( ko, 양희영, born 28 July 1989) is a South Korean professional golfer, currently playing on the United States-based LPGA Tour and on the Ladies European Tour (LET). Amateur career Yang began playing gol ...

and

Martin Laird Martin Laird (born 29 December 1982) is a Scottish professional golfer, playing on the PGA Tour. He has won four PGA Tour events in his career, most recently the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in 2020. Until Russell Knox earned his card vi ...

. Kevin is engaged to Swedish golfer

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Career statistics

Honours and accolades

The song "Hamish (the Goalie)", by Dundonian singer-songwriter

Michael Marra Michael Marra (17 February 1952 – 23 October 2012) was a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician from Dundee, Scotland. Known as the Bard of Dundee, Marra was a solo performer who toured the UK and performed in arts centres, theatres, folk clu ...

(though a Dundee F.C. supporter), was originally written to mark McAlpine's testimonial year. It was later released on Marra's 1991 album, ''On Stolen Stationery'', and has also been covered by

Leo Sayer Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...

. The lyrics of the song pay tribute to McAlpine's goalkeeping prowess as well as alluding to

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

's appearance as a spectator at Tannadice for a

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

tie against

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Frenc ...

Club

; Dundee United *

Scottish Football League Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...

: 1982–83 *

: 1979–80, 1980–81