The Golden Years: Hibernian in the Days of the Famous Five

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Hibernian players have been capped at full international level for 27 different national teams, with 68 Hibernian players appearing for Scotland. [191] Hibernian rank fifth amongst all clubs in providing players for Scotland, behind the Old Firm, Hearts and Queen's Park. [192] James Lundie and James McGhee were the first Hibs players to play for Scotland, in an 1886 British Home Championship match against Wales. [193] Lawrie Reilly holds the record for most international caps earned while a Hibs player, making 38 appearances for Scotland between 1949 and 1957. [193] In 1959, Hibs forward Joe Baker became the first player who had not previously played for an English club to win a cap for England. [193]

Hardie, David (2 November 2010). "Easter Road set for biggest crowd in 17 years as Hibs take on Hearts". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Press. Archived from the original on 5 November 2010 . Retrieved 2 November 2010.

In those days it was common for teams to play with five up-front, two wingers, and 'inside right' and left and a centre forward. Gordon Smith, Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Eddie Turbull and Willie Ormond made up the greatest front line Scotland has ever seen. A significant change at this time was that players were no longer required to be members of the Catholic Young Men's Society. [17] [25] Hibs are not seen today as being an Irish or Roman Catholic institution, as it was in the early years of its history. [6] [7] For instance, the Irish harp was only re-introduced to the club badge when it was last re-designed in 2000. This design reflects the three pillars of the club's identity: Ireland, Edinburgh (the castle) and Leith (the ship). Geography rather than ethnicity or religion is now seen as the primary reason for supporting Hibs, [8] [9] who draw most of their support from the north and east of Edinburgh. [8] [9] [26] Another former Hibernian player, John Hughes, was soon appointed in place of Paatelainen. [57] Hughes, who made high-profile signings such as Anthony Stokes [58] and Liam Miller, [59] led Hibs to a good start to the 2009–10 season. [60] 2010s: Scottish Cup success [ edit ] For the '62/63 European campaign Shankly added Liverpool keeper Bert Slater and drew in younger players to freshen things up. En route to the semi-final they beat Cologne (8-1), Anderlecht (4-1; 2-1) and Sporting Lisbon before being stopped by AC Milan at the San Siro (despite beating them at Dens).

Hibs wore green and white hooped shirts during the 1870s, [94] which was the inspiration for the style later adopted by Celtic. [98] Hibs then wore all-green shirts from 1879 until 1938, when white sleeves were added to the shirts. [94] This was similar in style to Arsenal, who had added white sleeves to their red shirts earlier in the 1930s. [99] The colour of the shorts was changed to a green which matched the shirts in 2004, to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of a friendly win in October 1964 against Real Madrid. [100] Green shorts were used in that match to avoid a colour clash with the all-white colours of Real Madrid. Hibs also used green shorts in the 2006–07, 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons. [94] For the 2012–13 season, Hibs changed the primary colour of the shirts to a darker "bottle" green, instead of the normal emerald green. [101] A darker green had been used until the 1930s. [101] For the 2014–15 season, Hibs removed the traditional white sleeves from their home kit, as they changed to a darker green shirt in commemoration of the Famous Five forward line. [102] McLauchlin, Brian (15 April 2017). "Hibernian 3–0 Queen of the South". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 15 April 2017 . Retrieved 15 April 2017.A Brief History of Football Kit Design in England and Scotland". Historical Football Kits. Dave Moor. May 2009. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008 . Retrieved 24 February 2010. In December 2014, the club said it intended to sell up to 51% ownership of the club to its supporters. [159] By November 2017, supporters had increased their shareholding in the club to 34%. [160] The majority ownership of the club was sold in July 2019 to Peruvian-born US-based businessman Ronald Gordon, who became the executive chairman. [161] On 21 February 2023 Hibernian announced that Gordon had died of cancer at the age of 68, [162] and ownership of the club was passed to his family. [163] Players [ edit ] First team squad [ edit ] As of 21 September 2023 [164] [165] [166] [167] Vallely, Joanna (4 August 2006). "God squad signs up to play host to Hibs past". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Press. Archived from the original on 26 December 2008 . Retrieved 22 February 2010. a b Brown, Alan; Tossani, Gabriele (13 December 2018). "Scotland - International Matches 1956-1960". RSSSF . Retrieved 10 March 2019.

If you look up the word LEGEND in a dictionary you are very likely to find the following definition: Someone or something very famous and admired, usually because of their ability in a particular area. Those words pretty well sum up the Hibernian forward line Smith, Johnstone, Reilly, Turnbull and Ormond that played together in the 1940’s and 50’s and which would collectively become known to Hibs fans and indeed football fans the world over as The Famous Five. a b "Scottish Cup final: Rangers 2-3 Hibernian". BBC Sport. 21 May 2016. Archived from the original on 21 May 2016 . Retrieved 21 May 2016. Thomas Martin Devine and Richard J. Finlay (1996). Scotland in the 20th Century. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-0751-8 . Retrieved 16 August 2010. Sectarian loyalties became articulated in club support for, respectively, Glasgow's Celtic and Rangers, Edinburgh's Hibs and Hearts and, early on, for Dundee's Hibs (from 1923 United) and Dundee F.C.

Scottish Cup final: Hibs progress despite defeat – Pat Fenlon". BBC Sport. 26 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013 . Retrieved 28 May 2013. Before the Taylor Report demanded that the stadium be all-seated, Easter Road had vast banks of terracing on three sides, which meant that it could hold crowds in excess of 60,000. [108] The record attendance of 65,860, which is also a record for a football match played in Edinburgh, [109] was set by an Edinburgh derby played on 2 January 1950. [108] [110] Such vast crowds were drawn by the success of the Famous Five. [110] Leighton must be up there for showing the greatest character of any Hibee, as he completely rebuilt his reputation and career after being written off.

a b c d Bowditch, Gillian (9 August 2005). "Family and football". The Scotsman. Johnston Press . Retrieved 22 February 2010. I was glad to see P & G's mention of this man earlier in the thread. A forgotten Hibs hero but surely one of the greatest of them all. Jimmy was an inside-forward for the great 'Wembley Wizards' and vastly talented as a big money move to Everton will testify. Noted as something of a 'clown prince' of his time and a great entertainer with his intricate ball skills. Rangers unveil McLeish". BBC Sport. 11 December 2001. Archived from the original on 27 June 2009 . Retrieved 23 February 2010. Forget about Goram the man and concentrate on the player only and Andy is a shoe-in for addition here. In an era when Hibs boasted great goalkeeping from Rough and Leighton, Goram shone as the best-ever goalie for me - not only for Hibs but for Scotland too. a b "Hibernian Football Club". spfl.co.uk. Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014 . Retrieved 5 January 2014.

After an injury-plagued second season with Hearts, Smith was released and again the football writers prepared obituaries for the veteran's career. a b Smith, Tony (20 January 2012). Gordon Smith: Prince of Wingers. B & W Pub. ISBN 978-1845023515.