Hamilton Academical F.C.

Football club infobox
clubname = Hamilton Academical


fullname = Hamilton Academical Football Club
nickname = The Accies
founded = 1874
ground = New Douglas Park, Hamilton
capacity = 6,096
chairman = flagicon|Scotland Ronnie MacDonald
manager = flagicon|Scotland Billy Reid
assistant = flagicon|Scotland John McCormack
league = Scottish Premier League
season = 2007-08
| position = Scottish First Division, 1st (promoted)
pattern_la1=_red_hoops|pattern_b1=_whitehoops|pattern_ra1=_red_hoops
leftarm1=FFFFFF|body1=FF0000|rightarm1=FFFFFF|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=FFFFFF|
pattern_la2=_greenborder|pattern_b2=_greenshoulders|pattern_ra2=_greenborder
leftarm2=FFcc00|body2=FFcc00|rightarm2=FFcc00|shorts2=003399|socks2=FFcc00

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. This was followed up by promotion to the Scottish Premier League in the 2007-08 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.

In 1906 they were promoted into the old First Division, despite finishing 4th place (although they had won the championship two years before, they had not been promoted due to the ballot-promotion system in place then). The club reached the Scottish Cup Final twice during this period, losing to Celtic and Rangers in 1911 and 1935, respectively, but never made much of an impact in the League, often hovering at mid-table or below. They were finally relegated in 1947. Returns in 1953 and 1965 proved ephemeral and they were relegated after one season each time. 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.

Another era of success came in the late 1980s when Hamilton was promoted to the Premier League twice (in 1986 and 1988), but, again, 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.

In 1996, Hamilton were relegated to the third tier (Second Division) for the first time in their history, and although they won promotion the next season, they were relegated again two years later. Hamilton also endured a much publicised forced relegation to the Third at the end of the 1999-2000 season. This was because of a 15-point deduction imposed on them by the league for failing to turn up to a match at Stenhousemuir; at the time, the players were on strike over a pay dispute and were out boozing with the flame-haired Liam Sanders, who now works in finance. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/720888.stm (BBC Sport report)] Retrived on 11 August 2008]

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 gain promotion to the Scottish Premier League. On 19 April Hamilton secured the championship and promotion to the Scottish Premier League, for a sixth stint in the Scottish top flight. In the league 2008/09 Accies have signed a few new players like Lucas Akins, Mark Corcoran, Derek Lyle, Sean Murdoch, Sebastian Sorsa and Brian Carrigan.

Honours

*Scottish First DivisionKnown as second division prior to 1975] :
**Winners (4): 1903-04, 1985-86, 1987-88, 2007-08
**Runners-up (2): 1952-53, 1964-65

*Scottish Second Division:
**Runners-up (2): 1996-97, 2003-04

*Scottish Third Division:
**Winners (1): 2000-01

*Scottish Cup:
**Runners-up (2): 1910-11, 1934-35

*Scottish Challenge Cup:
**Winners (2): 1991-92, 1992-93
**Runners-up (1): 2005-06

*Lanarkshire Cup:
**Winners (10): 1901-02, 1904-05, 1905-06, 1909-10, 1919-20, 1923-24, 1933-34, 1938-39, 1951-52, 1985-86

Minor honours

*Reserve League Cup:
**Winners (1): 1983–84
**Runners-up (1): 1992–93

*Reserve League West:
**Winners (1): 1997–98

*Second XI Cup:
**Winners (1): 1933–34

*Wilton Cup (Hartlepool United tournament):
**Winners (1): 2008–09

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)

Current squad

"As of 2008-09-17" [cite web|url=http://www.scotprem.com/content/default.asp?page=s23_2_3 |accessdate=2008-09-17 |publisher=Scottish Premier League |title=Hamilton Football Club Squad List]

Famous players

* Robert Howe
* James King
* Colin Miller

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
*2007-08 First Division Player of the Year: Richard Offiong
*2007-08 SFL Young Player of the Year: James McCarthy

Non-playing staff

* Manager: Billy Reid
* Assistant Manager:
* First Team Coach: Stuart Taylor
* Sports Therapist: Avril Downes
* Physiotherapist: Allan Rankin
* Sports Scientist: Ross Hughs
* Kit Man: Danny Cunning
* Head of Youth Development: Frankie MacAvoy
* Club Development Officer: Andy Goldie
* Chief Scout: Dennis McDaid
* Official Scouts: Graeme Piggott, Thomas Riley, Paul Mulholland, Kevin Muirhead, Mark Hughes, Micheal Toal

Managers

Rivalry

Below is a list of the club's main local rivals:

*Airdrie United
*Albion Rovers
*Clyde
*Motherwell

Famous fans

*Craig Brown
*Jock Brown
*Jamie Burnett
*Jimmy Greaves
*Alison Walker

References

External links

Official
* [http://www.acciesfc.co.uk/ Hamilton Academical official website]
* [http://www.accies-youth.fsnet.co.uk/ Hamilton Academical Youth Initiative website] Unofficial
* [http://www.setbb.com/acciesworld/index.php Hoops Apocalypse]
* [http://forums.icscotland.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=37 Net Natter]
*cite book | title=Hamilton Academical Who's Who: 1946/47-1996/97 | author=Peter McLeish | publisher=Soccerdata |isbn=1-899468-80-3 | year = 1997
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hamilton_academical/default.stm BBC Sport page]
* [http://sport.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=696 Scotsman page]
* [http://iclanarkshire.icnetwork.co.uk/football/hamiltonaccies/ icLanarkshire - Hamilton Accies Football Club News]
* [http://stats.football365.com/dom/SCO/teams/HamiltonAc.html Statistics from Football365]
* [http://www.soccerbase.com/teams2.sd?teamid=1187 soccerbase]
* [http://www.hamiltonacciessaver.co.uk/ Hamilton Accies Saver]
* [http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Hamilton_Academical/Hamilton_Academical.htm Hamilton Academical - Historical Football Kits]