Stewart Hillis
| Stewart Hillis | |
|---|---|
| Born |
William Stewart Hillis 28 September 1943 Clydebank, Scotland |
| Died |
21 July 2014 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Education | University of Glasgow |
| Occupation | professor of cardiology and exercise medicine |
| Known for | doctor for Scotland national football team |
|
Medical career | |
| Institutions |
Western Infirmary University of Glasgow Scottish Football Association |
William Stewart Hillis OBE (28 September 1943 − 21 July 2014), was a Scottish physician who held a professorship in cardiology and exercise medicine. He was doctor for the Scotland national football team for 228 full international matches, part of his involvement with football that spanned more than 40 year during his medical career. He was vice-chairman of the UEFA medical committee and medical advisor to FIFA.
Early life
William Stewart Hillis was born on 28 September 1943 in Clydebank, but was always known as Stewart. He was the son of a foreman at John Brown's shipyard. He was educated at Linnvale Primary and then Clydebank High School. He studied medicine at the University of Glasgow, graduating in 1967. He married Anne and they had three sons and a daughter.[1]
Team doctor
Club football
In 1970 Hillis became the team doctor for Clydebank F.C. and remained in this position for 27 years.[2]
He had a brief spell as club doctor at Rangers F.C. but during this period the club signed Daniel Prodan in 1998 without some significant medical problems being discovered before the completion of the deal.[3] When the club's owner David Murray rushed the deal for the player through, Hillis hadn't been allowed the normal amount of time to complete his medical checks.[4]
International football
In 1976 he began working with the Scottish Football Association to provide medical support for the Scotland national under-21 football team and he covered 54 matches.[1] In 1982 he was promoted to cover the Scotland national team doctor.[5] In 1985, at the Wales vs Scotland football match in Cardiff, the Scotland team manager Jock Stein collapsed and although Hillis and the team attempted resuscitation, Stein died from a heart attack.[6] Hillis helped establish the Sports Medicine Centre inside Hampden Park, the first of its kind in a national stadium.[7] He stepped down as the Scotland team doctor in 2010, but remained involved research and he continued to be involved with the SFA.[8] He became the Medical Director of the SFA.
In 1986 he became a member of UEFA's Medical Committee.[2] He was the second vice-chairman of the UEFA Medical Committee.[9] He was a medical adviser to FIFA.[1]
Academic medicine
Hillis was appointed as a consultant in 1977, working as a cardiologist at the Western Infirmary in Glasgow.[7]
Hillis developed Bachelor of Science and Masters courses in Sports Medicine at the University of Glasgow.[10] In 1997, the University of Glasgow awarded Hillis a personal chair in cardiology and exercise medicine.[11]
Awards and honours
In 2008, Hillis was awarded the prestigious Sir Robert Atkin prize by the Institute of Sport and Exercise Medicine.[7] He was awarded an OBE in the 2010 New Year Honours list for services to medicine and sport.[12]
In 2014, the British Association for Sports and Exercise Medicine (BASEM) awarded him the Roger Bannister medal, recognising an outstanding contribution to the field of Sport and Exercise Medicine over his lifetime.[13]
In 2015, he was admitted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.[14]
References
- 1 2 3 Shaw, Phil (16 September 2014). "Stewart Hillis: Expert in sports science who served the Scotland football team 228 times but couldn't save Jock Stein". The Independent. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- 1 2 "Former Clydebank FC doctor inducted into hall of fame". Clydebank Post. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ↑ "I made a mistake - Hillis". The Herald. 26 September 1998. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ↑ Grant, Michael (23 July 2014). "'Prof' found humour in all he saw, even Prodan's knee". The Herald. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
- ↑ "Scotland team doctor Professor Stewart Hillis dies aged 70". Evening Times. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ↑ McCallum, Andrew; Reynolds, Jim (11 September 1985). "Manager Stein dies at match". The Glasgow Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- 1 2 3 "University of Glasgow Story: People: Stewart Hillis". University of Glasgow. 28 Aug 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ↑ Gordon, Moira (25 March 2012). "Getting to the heart of footballers' health". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ↑ "Professor Stewart Hillis passes away" (Press release). Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). 22 July 2014.
- ↑ Hannan, Martin (23 July 2014). "Obituary: Professor W Stewart Hillis OBE, professor of sports medicine". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ↑ "News and views" (PDF). British Journal of Sports Medicine. 31: 355–356. 1997.
- ↑ "Mone and McGeechan head New Year Honours list". BBC News. 31 December 2009.
- ↑ "Awards: Sir Roger Bannister Medal". British Association for Sports and Exercise Medicine (BASEM). Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ↑ Mullen, Scott (18 October 2015). "Ally MacLeod one of five inducted into Scottish Football Hall of Fame". Evening Times. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
External links
- profile at the Scottish Football Hall of Fame website