John Hamilton

John Hamilton (7 February 1876 – 10 April 1947 ) was a Scottish footballer who played as a goalkeeper and defender for Spanish club FC Barcelona.

Although little has been recorded of his life, he was one of the most important figures in the amateur beginnings of football in Catalonia, being noted for his prominent role in promoting football in the city and as the main driving force of Escocès FC, a team made up of Scottish workers from a Sant Andreu factory, which he served as its captain. He was a member of the side that won the first official title in Spanish football, the 1900–01 Copa Macaya with Hispania AC. And in addition to being a player, he was also a referee, overseeing at least one match in the 1900–01 Copa Macaya, tens of Catalan championship games, In 1893, he was one of around 40 young Scottish workers who was sent over to work in the company's newly opened factory at Sant Martí de Provençals, known in Catalonia as La Escocesa. He and defender Jim Dykes were the only members of this group who had previously played an official match in the city, having covered the losses of Team Anglès in a match against FC Barcelona on 6 January 1900, keeping a clean-sheet in a 3–0 win. As such, and also due to his higher experience and leadership skills, Hamilton was named the team's captain in a time when the captain had the duty of dictating the tactics to be followed (since the coach as we know him today did not exist back then) and was in charge of orienting the team and making up the line-ups. In addition to Hamilton and Dykes, this team also had the likes of Willie Gold, Peter Mauchan, the Black brothers (Alexander and Joseph) and Geordie Girvan, with all of them, except for Gold, going on to play for FC Barcelona.

In a match against FC Barcelona on 11 February, Escocès started with only 10 men, and the superiority of the Blaugrana team was such that they played throughout the first half of the game within the field of their opponents, which inevitably allowed Hamilton the opportunity to shine, as he put up a spectacular performance and electrified the stands with his brilliant stops that the public applauded with enthusiasm. Despite his heroics, however, 10-men Escocès FC still lost 0–4. Most of the remaining players, including Hamilton and Black, joined FC Barcelona, thus becoming one of the first Scottish players to wear the Barça shirt along with his fellow Escocès FC teammates.

International career In 1903, Hamilton played several friendly matches between teams made up of the best players in Barcelona, contesting the position of goalkeeper with the likes of Joaquim Carril, Emilio Rudolf Gass, and Arthur Witty. On 24 September 1903, he played in a test match between two "Barcelona teams" that was meant to decide who would integrate the first selection of the Catalonia national team the following year. In 1902 the Official College of Catalan Referees was created by Catalan Football Federation, and Hamilton of Hispania was elected as the entity's first-ever president.

After ending his playing career in 1904, Hamilton became a referee full-time, whose most important task was to referee the matches of the Catalan championship, and if available, the Copa del Rey. In fact, he refereed tens of championship matches, and in 1912, aged 36, he was the referee of the Copa del Rey Final between FC Barcelona and Sociedad Gimnástica, which ended in a 2–0 victory in favor of his former club.

Death Hamilton died in Darvel, East Ayrshire on 10 April 1947, at the age of 71.

Honours Hispania AC Copa Macaya: Champions: 1900–01

FC Barcelona Catalan championship: Champions: 1904–05