Hibernian

"Hibernian The Players 1949-2009" seeks to capture all of the stories of the Hibernian players through the clubs history. The all-time great Hibees are all in the book - Baker, Smith, Reilly, Sauzee, Cormack, Turnbull and Combe - but they jostle for space with the likes of Hamilton, Stein, Wright, Riordan, Goram, Rae, Best and a host of others. Some wonderful players, some wonderful stories, and above all a host of memories. Hibernian players have come in all shapes and sizes. They have written their part in the club's history in a variety of ways and this book seeks to capture all of their stories. Every player who has featured in a Hibernian competitive match since 1946 is to be found between these covers. There had to be a cut-off point therefore only players who have made a senior appearance in a competitive match are included. I have made League, Scottish Cup, League Cup and European outings the criteria for inclusion. How best to sum up the range of players covered in this book? There is the Hibernian goalkeeper who played only one match for the club...a European Cup semi-final. There is the player who played well over 200 games as a Hibee without ever scoring, but did just that in his one and only Scotland appearance. There is the Hibernian player who edited the Hearts match programme. There are two Hibs players who did some male modelling. There is the strange case of the farmer who became a reluctant Hibernian goalkeeper. There was the tragic debutant who broke his leg just 20 seconds into his career. There are brothers and fathers and sons serving the club. There are men who both played for and managed Hibs. There is the young winger who played only one game for Hibs...a League Cup Final at Hampden. The above, in a nutshell, is the essence of this book.