John Hamilton (7 February 1876 – 10 April 1947[1]) was a Scottish footballer who played as a goalkeeper and defender for Spanish club FC Barcelona.
[6] 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.
[6] Whilst out in the Catalan capital, Hamilton developed a deep interest in football, which he played in his free time with his friends and co-workers.
[9] 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.
[citation needed] In November 1900, Escocés FC folded and Hispania AC took advantage of its dissolution to incorporate several of its most prominent players, such as Hamilton, Gold, and J.
[5] Together with captain Gustavo Green, Black, and Morris, Hamilton played a pivotal role in helping Hispania become the very first Spanish club to win an official title.
[5] In the chronicle of this match published a week later on Los Deportes, it was stated that "in the second half, Hispania changed the position of some players, moving Mr. Hamilton to forward, undoubtedly believing that with his play, he would be able to score the decisive goal or a few more, which he could not achieve thanks to the backs and half-backs of Barcelona".
[7] Despite the absence of Samuel, Hamilton kept playing as a defender, and he also kept thriving in that position, and together with the likes of José Quirante, Romà Forns, Udo Steinberg and Carles Comamala, he helped Barça win the 1904–05 Catalan championship.
[12] 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.