History of Hamarkameratene
At the time there was a severe lack of pitches in Hamar, and the club would to begin with often sneak into unused venues and play until they were chased by the groundskeeper.
At the time a club by the name of "Freidig" was already playing in the series, so the boys from Hamar were forced to rename their team.
The Czechoslovakian, Willem Cerveny, on the other hand, proved to be an influential asset to club and the development of a football culture in the region.
The '80s continued in much the same fashion as the latter part of the '70s, with the club going back and forth between the two top levels in Norwegian football.
In addition, interest rates rose quickly, making the club unable to meet its financial obligations.
[5] In 1990, Hamar Municipality gave Ham-Kam a grant of NOK 1.7 million in an attempt to save the club's finances.
A successful season in 1991 saw Hamarkameratene once again win promotion to the highest division (now called Tippeligaen/Norwegian Premier League), under Swedish coach Peter Engelbrektsson.
The club managed to avoid relegation in 1992 by virtue of a better goal difference, and entered into 1993 with renewed confidence.
After struggling for seven years, the hiring of Ståle Solbakken as the team's coach before the start of the 2003-season marked the beginning of another short stay at the top of Norwegian football for the green and white.
Under Solbakken's leadership, HamKam were in contention for a spot among the final four and a place in the UEFA Cup qualifying rounds.
Thought by many to be unable to cope in the company of wealthier clubs, this was an impressive feat by the team with the second-smallest budget of them all.
Expectations were high in 2005, but despite early prospects of a good season (in their first game, they defeated would-be champions Vålerenga), HamKam were unable to perform consistently and ended up in a disappointing tenth place.
HamKam picked up where they left off in 2005, scoring some spectacular wins against top teams while again being unable to perform consistently.
As the season neared its end, however, Frode Grodås failed where Solbakken had succeeded, namely in keeping HamKam away from the relegation zone.
As a result of this, the board decided to fire Grodås from his position as head coach, and on 13 November Arne Erlandsen was hired as his replacement.
[14] In the 2010 season, Ham-Kam played in the Second Division, resulting in the entire VIP area remaining unused.
[18] After a strong spring the team fell behind during the fall and failed short of a promotion, finishing sixth.
[22] Sponsor and ticket revenue dwindled and to save the club from bankruptcy all administrative personnel were laid off and the players' wage halved.
