Stewart Hillis
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William Stewart Hillis (28 September 1943 − 21 July 2014) was a Scottish
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
who held a professorship in
cardiology Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...
and
exercise medicine Exercise medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the prevention and treatment of injuries and illness with exercise. In some countries, Sport and Exercise Medicine (SEM) is a recognized medical specialty (with simi ...
. He was doctor for the
Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in men's international Association football, football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. They compete in three major professional tournaments: the FIFA World Cup, UEFA ...
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 The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
medical committee and medical advisor to
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
.


Early life

William Stewart Hillis was born on 28 September 1943 in
Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...
, 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 Clydebank High School is a non-denominational secondary school in Clydebank, Scotland. It is one of three non-denominational secondary schools in West Dunbartonshire. History The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 created for the first time mandatory ...
. He studied medicine at the
University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
, graduating in 1967. He married Anne and they had three sons and a daughter.


Academic medicine

Hillis spent a year working at
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1977, he was appointed as a
consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...
cardiologist at Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow, then working at the Western Infirmary in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. Hillis started
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
and Masters courses in Sports Medicine at the University of Glasgow in 1995 and was course director until 2012. In 1997, the University of Glasgow awarded Hillis a personal chair in cardiology and exercise medicine.


Sports medicine


Club football

In 1970 Hillis became the team doctor for
Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...
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 Daniel "Didi" Claudiu Prodan (23 March 1972 – 16 November 2016) was a Romanian professional association football, footballer who played mainly as a centre-back. In a career marred by injuries, he played mainly for FC Steaua București, Steaua ...
in 1998 without some significant medical problems being discovered before the completion of the deal. 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.


International football

In 1976, he began working with the
Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...
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 Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
, the Scotland team manager
Jock Stein John Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He was the first manager of a club from a Northern European country to win the European Champio ...
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 Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...
, 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 and he had several stints as vice-chairman of the committee. He was a medical adviser to FIFA.


Commonwealth Games

Hillis had been working with the medical team to prepare for the
2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...
. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in May 2014, however he continued to work until the middle of June.


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 July 2015 a project to look at how best to treat mental health issues encountered by footballers in Scotland was funded by the UEFA Research Grant Programme and was dedicated to Hillis. In October 2015, he was posthumously admitted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.


References


External links


profile
at the Scottish Football Hall of Fame website {{DEFAULTSORT:Hillis, Stewart 1943 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Scottish medical doctors 21st-century Scottish medical doctors Alumni of the University of Glasgow People from Clydebank People educated at Clydebank High School Rangers F.C. non-playing staff Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees British cardiologists Academics of the University of Glasgow Officers of the Order of the British Empire Clydebank F.C. (1965) non-playing staff