James Hamilton

Ireland's first goalkeeper, James Hamilton's two caps saw twenty goals scored past him, as Ireland suffered a difficult introduction to the international scene..

Name: James Henry Hamilton
Born: 1859, Belfast
Died: 19 July 1932, Sunnyside, Whitehead
Position: Goalkeeper

Representative Honours: Ireland: 2 Full Caps (1882).

Club Career:

Clubs	Seasons	Signed	Fee	FA Cup	Other
Knock	1879/80-1881/82	-	Amateur	-	-
TOTALS		£0		-	-

Biography:
James Hamilton originally played for Knock Lacrosse team and also the rugby team – a sure back, very fast, strong kick. He became the secretary of Knock Football Club in 1880 and took up the position of goalkeeper. In those early days the only competitive matches were in the Irish Cup and Knock progressed in both seasons to the second round only to succomb to Cliftonville on each occasion. Their most notable match was the 11-0 defeat of Distillery in Round 1 on the 5th February 1881.

As a result of a trial match on the 11th February 1882 the Irish Football Association selected a team to represent Ireland against England on the 18th February with the same team to play Wales the following week. Hamilton played in both these matches and although the final scores were somewhat embarassing, match report in The Times noted that "the Welsh ... were were frustrated by the excellent goalkeeping of Hamilton".

The son of a well respected business man who was the Collector of Rates it wasn’t surprising that Hamilton soon gave up football and concentrated on his business skills becoming a Justice of the Peace and a Mill Manager.

Ireland Cap Details:
18-02-1882 England. L 0-13 FR
25-02-1882 Wales... L 1- 7 FR

Summary: 2/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 2.

By George Glass.