title: Willie Hamilton (footballer, born 1889)
text: # Willie Hamilton (footballer, born 1889)
  
  William Hamilton (9 October 1889 – 14 August 1921) was a Scottish footballer who played as a centre half, primarily for Partick Thistle.
  
  Initially signed from Dunfermline Athletic (still to become members of the Scottish Football League at that point) as a left half before moving to the central 'pivot' role when Alex Raisbeck retired in 1913, Hamilton amassed 294 appearances for the Jags in all competitions and scored 15 goals across nine seasons. He finished on the losing side in five minor cup finals (1911, 1917, and 1919 Glasgow Cup, 1916 and 1918 Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup) and missed out on the biggest match in Partick's history, the final of the Scottish Cup in 1921, due to an ankle injury having played in all earlier rounds. Despite his absence (and that of Jimmy McMullan), highlighted in the press pre-match as a blow to Thistle's chances, the team defeated Rangers 1–0 to claim the trophy for the only time.
  
  Within a few months of that cup win Hamilton had contracted tuberculosis, his health declined rapidly and he returned to his home region of Fife where he died in August 1921, aged 31.
  
  