Hamilton Academical F.C.
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| Full name | Hamilton Academical Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Accies The Underachievers | ||
| Founded | 1874 | ||
| Ground | New Douglas Park, Hamilton | ||
| Capacity | 5,396 | ||
| Chairman |  Ronnie MacDonald | ||
| Manager | Billy Reid | ||
| League | Scottish First Division | ||
| 2006-07 | Scottish First Division, 4th | ||
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Hamilton Academical is a football club from Hamilton, Scotland. They were established in 1874 from Hamilton Academy. More commonly known as "Hamilton Accies" the team won promotion from SFL Division 2 to SFL Division 1 in the 2003-04 season. The club have played at New Douglas Park from 2001, having previously played at Douglas Park.
Club History
Hamilton Academical FC were formed in late 1874 by the Rector and pupils of the local school, Hamilton Academy. Membership of the Scottish Football League came in November 1897 when Renton were forced to resign.
The club has reached the Scottish Cup Final twice in their history, losing to Celtic and Rangers in 1911 and 1935, respectively.
In 1971 Accies became the first football club in the United Kingdom to recruit players from behind the Iron Curtain when three Polish players were signed to the club amid great publicity.
Success came in the late 1980s when Hamilton was promoted to the Premier League twice (in 1986 and 1988), but both spells in the top division lasted for one season only. In 1991 and 1992 the club won the Scottish League Challenge Cup. In 1994 new ground regulations saw the club vacate Douglas Park, their home since 1888, and sell the land to make way for a retail park. The club shared a ground with Albion Rovers and Partick Thistle (2 spells) for the next seven years. Hamilton also endured a much publicised forced relegation to the Third at the end of the 1999-2000 season.
The club's fortunes have since turned: in the 2001-02 season the club finally returned to Hamilton to a stadium just yards from the old site, and also secured a place in Division One for the 2004-05 season. Hamilton remained in the Scottish First Division over the next few seasons and achieved a very respectable 4th place position in the 2006-2007 season. The 2007-08 season has seen the Accies pushing for promotion to the Scottish Premier League. With only three games remaining they are top of their league and four points ahead of their nearest rivals, Dundee. Hamilton have recently completed a third stand that will seat up to 1000 additional spectators should they be promoted to the Scottish Premier League.
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Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Honours
- Division One: Champions 1985-86, 1987-88
- Division Two: Champions 1903-04 Runners-up 1952-53, 1964-65, 1996-97, 2003-04
- Division Three: Champions 2000-01
- Scottish Cup: Runners-up 1910-11, 1934-35
- Scottish Challenge Cup: Winners 1991-92, 1992-93 Runners-Up: 2005-06
- Reserve League Cup: Winners 1983-84 Runners-Up: 1992-93
- Second XI Cup: Winners 1933-34
- Reserve League West: Champions 1997-98
- Lanarkshire Cup: Winners 11 times
Club Records
- Record Attendances:
- 28,690 v Heart of Midlothian, 1937 (Douglas Park)
- 5,078 v Dundee, 15 March, 2008 (New Douglas Park)
- Record Victory: 11-1 v Chryston, 1885
- Record Defeat: 1-11 v Hibernian, 1965
- Most League Goals in a Season: 35, David Wilson, 1936-37
- Most International Caps: 29, Colin Miller, (Canada)
Managers since 1914
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Managerial stats since 1999
As of 25 September 2007.
| Name | From | To | Games | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ally Dawson | 1999 | 2002 | 125 | 48 | 36 | 41 | 38.40 |
| Chris Hillcoat | 2002 | 2003 | 45 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 33.33 |
| Allan Maitland | 2003 | 2005 | 85 | 34 | 29 | 22 | 40.00 |
| Billy Reid | 2005 | Present | 103 | 45 | 25 | 33 | 43.69 |
Further information can be found via this link.
Source: soccerbase.com
Famous players
Scottish Player of the Year Awards
- 1985-86 First Division Player of the Year: John Brogan
- 1987-88 First Division Player of the Year: Alex Taylor
- 1996-97 Second Division Player of the Year: Paul Ritchie
Local Derbies
Below is a list of the club's main local rivals:
Famous Fans
Songs
Scarlet Ribbon
She Wore, She Wore, She Wore A Scarlet Ribbon,
She Wore A Scarlet Ribbon In The Merry Month Of May,
And When I Asked Her Why She Wore That Ribbon,
She Said It's For The Accies And We're Going To Win The League,
Win The League, Win The League,
Oh She Said It's For The Accies And We're Going To Win The League.
We Are Hamilton
We Are The Hamilton FC,
We Hate Motherwell And We Hate Airdrie,
Follow You Where You'll Be,
We Are The Boys Of The HAFC.
Books
- Peter McLeish (1997). Hamilton Academical Who's Who: 1946/47-1996/97. Soccerdata. ISBN 1-899468-80-3.
External links
Official
Unofficial
Other