History
Hall of Fame
1875-77 - WYT Philip1878-79 - J Andrew1880 - A Greener1881-82 - WV Simkins1883 - CWP Douglas de Fenzi1884-86 - AH McLeod1887 - JA Gibbs1888-89 - CL van der Byl1890-91 - J Versfeld1892-93 - BR Duff1894 - M Versfeld1895-97 - HC Wood1897-99 - E Allen1900-01 - J Pritchard1902-03 - CB Brown1903-05 - L van Breda1906 - TEC Hobson1907 - CB Brown1908-09 - R Pritchard1910 - A Reid1911 - JD Luyt1912-13 - RR Luyt1914 - TM Moll 1915 - RR Luyt1916-18 - DS Bam1919 - EA Botha1920-25 - PJ Bayly1926 - MW Humphrey1927-28 - BL Osler1929 - JC Tindall1930 -...
Hamilton Provincials and Internationals
In 1891 the first British touring team came to South Africa, referred to as the “English” team, though they were an Anglo-Scottish combination, captained by WE Maclagan, a Scot. They won all their matches with ease and had only a single point scored against them – a try by Hasie Versfeld of Hamiltons when he played for “Cape Clubs”, the very first match played on South African soil against a touring team. The Hamiltons members in that team were Ben Duff, John, Hasie and Marthinus Versfeld, and Bertie Heatlie, brother of the great Barry...
Personalities
In 125 years a club like Hamiltons has had many personalities amongst its players and administrators at various levels. What follows is a selection from the past, some of whom may be unknown or forgotten. (born: Port Elizabeth, 7 October 1850; deceased: Port Elizabeth, 16 August 1922) William Yalden Thomson Philip was the first Hamiltons captain, way back in 1875. He was a partner in the firm Philip Bros, a general merchant, which was sold in 1897, and then of W Yalden Philip & Son. His father was the son of John Ross Philip, the fourth...
20th Century
Grand Challenge Victories Hamiltons won the Grand Challenge in the Western Province 14 times, in the following years: 1883 (inaugural year), 1885, 1886, 1887, 1889, 1890, 1895, 1898, 1900, 1906, 1908, 1927, 1929 and 1936. World War II World War II again saw many Hamiltons men in action. The WPRFU split over support for the Governor-General’s War Fund. The Weskaaplandse Rugbybond was formed, in which George van Reenen played a prominent part. The split occurred largely along language lines. Rugby went on in the WPRFU. There were two teams of...
Foundation
Hamiltons was founded in 1875. No other rugby club in South Africa dates back to 1875. When Hamilton's claims to be the oldest in South Africa, it does so with justification. The form of football played at the Cape in 1875 was not rugby football, according to the rules of Rugby School in England. The rules did not reach the Cape until 1878. Before that people here played a game based on a form of football played at Winchester College, brought to the Cape by Canon G. Ogilvie, principal of Diocesan College (Bishops), in 1861. This was...
The Track
In the 1920s there was much negotiation with the Cape Town City Council for ground at “The Track”. Several sporting codes joined in the negotiations. In October 1921 Hamilton's and Green Point Cricket Club joined forces to attend to the field, granted on a year’s lease by the City Council. The cost of levelling and rolling was £21. In those days there was great respect for the seasons. Hamilton's would have its first practice on 1 April 1922, thereby not interfering with cricket. And that practice would be on the side ground at the...
Our Colours
As early as 1875 the Club decided on colours. In those early days club members frequently played amongst themselves in various kinds of teams - Colonial Born vs Home Born, Ugly vs Handsome, Married vs Unmarried , for example. But in 1875 Hamiltons had opponents and the opponents had colours. Bishops wore dark blue jerseys - for practical reasons. These boys played in shirts which were not very hardy and so some bright fellow decided to use the rough dark blue jerseys which workmen on ships used and in many cases still use. Bishops had...
Golden Jubilee
In 1925 Hamilton's and Villagers, believing it was founded in 1875, celebrated their golden jubilees. The two clubs had a joint jubilee committee to organise the celebrations. The Hamiltons members involved were AR Burmeister, JD de Villiers, WE Lawton, AJ Pienaar and HA Solomon. The Villagers men were PS Twentyman-Jones, WFR Schreiner, RB McIntyre, ED Tudhope and EF van der Riet. But the workhorse behind it all was Mrs Stephan. The rugby match was played at Newlands on 2 May. The WP Rugby Union allocated 250 stand tickets for the...
The Union
The Union was founded on 30 May 1883 at a meeting in the Masonic Hotel in Cape Town, scheduled for 10.30 a.m. The man responsible for calling the meeting was FJ Aicheson, the Hamilton's Secretary. The club representatives who attended were: Hamilton FC: WV Simkins, J Miller, FJ Aitcheson, HJ Budler Villager FC: RW Shepstone Giddy, JB van Renen, V Sampson Woodstock FC: CWP Douglas de Fenzi, J Robb Rugby FC: JT Apsey, J Tennant United Banks: JA Cooper, M Burdon These were delegates at a...
The Early Years
On 19 June 1875 the Green Point club played a match against SACS. On 3 July the return match was played. This time the Green Point club is called Hamilton Football Club. The first match between Hamiltons and Villagers was played on Rondebosch Common on 1 July 1876. The result was a draw as neither side scored. For some twenty years the game at the Cape was Gog’s Game. Then along came two men from Britain, one a Villager and the other a Hamiltonian – Joey Milton and Billy Simkins. Joey Milton had played for England, as did two of his...
Merger
In 1910 Hamilton's merged with Sea Point. There had been other clubs in the area before that - Sea Point Villagers, Headlands RFC and Green Point RFC, all of short duration. Sea Point Club had been formed in 1900 by old boys of Green and Sea Point Boys' High School after the school team had won the Schools Championship in 1899. The club made regular progress but lost players to Hamiltons. Nevertheless it won the Junior Challenege in 1909. At the suggestion of LB Smuts, the president of WPRFU, the two clubs amalgamated in 1910. ...