Hamish McAlpine

Football player infobox2
playername = Hamish McAlpine
fullname = Hamish Robert McAlpine
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1948|1|21|mf=y
cityofbirth = Kilspindie
countryofbirth = Scotland
position = Goalkeeper
youthyears =
youthclubs = Butterburn Youth Club
years =
1966–86
1967–68
1986
1986–88
1988–89
clubs = Dundee North End
Dundee United
Montrose (loan)
Dunfermline (loan)
Raith Rovers
Arbroath
caps(goals) = n/a
477 (3)
25 (0)
1 (0)
72 (1)
10 (0)

Hamish Robert McAlpine (born 21 January 1948) is a Scottish former professional football goalkeeper. He spent the majority of his career playing for Dundee United, who he served for twenty years. He represented Scotland at under-21 international level and was named SFWA Footballer of the Year in 1985.

Playing career

McAlpine was born in the village of Kilspindie, Perthshire (now part of Perth and Kinross). He joined Dundee United from local junior side Dundee North End in 1966, and after spending a season on loan to Montrose made his first team debut for the Tannadice club in March 1969. By 1974 he had established himself as the club's undisputed first choice goalkeeper, a position he would retain for the next decade. This coincided with Dundee United's most successful era, and McAlpine assisted the club to the Scottish League title in 1982-83 as well as two Scottish League Cup triumphs. During this period he gained belated international recognition when, in his mid-thirties, he featured as a permitted overage player for the Scotland Under-21 team. In 1986 he played one match on loan to Dunfermline Athletic before leaving United later that year. He had spells with Raith Rovers and Arbroath prior to retiring in 1989.

Playing style

McAlpine's eccentricities made him very much a cult favourite at Tannadice. A frustrated outfield player, he was often to be found abandoning his penalty area to take on opponents. At one time he was Dundee United's regular penalty taker, netting three times from the spot in League matches. He later took his goal tally to four when he scored directly from a kick out while playing for Raith.

Other information

Since retiring as a player, McAlpine has worked intermittently for Dundee United in various capacities: as a goalkeeping coach, in the commercial department and as a matchday host. He also ran a pub in Dundee for a while.

An all-round talented sportsman, McAlpine was reputedly a good enough golfer to have turned professional, and he also played cricket for Perthshire club Rossie Priory.

His other claim to fame is that he has had a song written about him, "Hamish the Goalie", by Dundonian musician Michael Marra.

Honours

With Dundee United:
*Scottish League Premier Division: 1982-83
*Scottish League Cup: 1979-80, 1980-81