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.

Team doctor

Club football

In 1970 Hillis became the team doctor for Clydebank F.C. and remained in this position for 27 years.

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.

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. In 1982 he was promoted to cover the Scotland national team doctor. 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. Hillis helped establish the Sports Medicine Centre inside Hampden Park, the first of its kind in a national stadium. He stepped down as the Scotland team doctor in 2010, but remained involved research and he continued to be involved with the SFA. He became the Medical Director of the SFA.

In 1986 he became a member of UEFA's Medical Committee. He was the second vice-chairman of the UEFA Medical Committee. He was a medical adviser to FIFA.

Academic medicine

Hillis was appointed as a consultant in 1977, working as a cardiologist at the Western Infirmary in Glasgow.

Hillis developed Bachelor of Science and Masters courses in Sports Medicine at the University of Glasgow. In 1997, the University of Glasgow awarded Hillis a personal chair in cardiology and exercise medicine.

Awards and honours

In 2008, Hillis was awarded the prestigious Sir Robert Atkin prize by the Institute of Sport and Exercise Medicine. He was awarded an OBE in the 2010 New Year Honours list for services to medicine and sport.

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.

In 2015, he was admitted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.

External links

• profile at the Scottish Football Hall of Fame website