most of the 1975 season—Hamilton remained the leader of the Oilers' defence corps for the whole of the WHA's history. When the Oilers joined the NHL for the 1979–80 NHL season, Hamilton had set the record for most games played (455) and most points scored (311) by any player while a WHA Oiler. Retirement Hamilton finished his career back in the NHL, playing 31 games with the Edmonton Oilers in 1979–80; however, beset by a lingering eye injury from the previous season, he retired at season's end. His number "3" was the first retired by the franchise. As of 2021, Hamilton is the only Oiler not to be a member of the 1980s Stanley Cup teams to have his number retired. For the WHA all-time, he is 13th in games played, 15th in assists, 40th in points and 38th in penalty minutes. He was also the franchise leader for the WHA Oilers in games, assists and points, and second in penalty minutes. Hamilton remains active with the Oiler alumni and community affairs in the Edmonton area. Family His son, Steve Hamilton (born 1973) is the current head coach with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League. Awards and achievements Memorial Cup Championship (1966) CPHL Second All-Star Team (1967) WHA Second All-Star Team (1974) Member of Team Canada in the 1974 Summit Series WHA First All-Star Team (1978) "Honoured Member" of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame Inaugural member of the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame Career statistics Regular season and playoffs International References External links 1946 births Living people Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian people of Scottish descent Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) players Edmonton Oilers (WHA) players Edmonton Oilers players Ice hockey people from Manitoba National Hockey League players with retired numbers Sportspeople from Flin Flon St. Paul Rangers players New York Rangers players