Ex-owner among six new inductees to Hibs Hall of Fame

Former chairman and owner Tom Hart, 1972/73 League Cup winner Alec Edwards, long-serving defensive stalwarts and Scottish Cup winners Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson, and Hibs Women icons Joelle Murray and Suzy Shepherd were officially added to the club's honour roll during a presentation night at the club's stadium.

Hart, who bought the club from Bill Harrower towards the end of 1969, was a hands-on chairman, who used his demob money following the Second World War to establish the Hart housebuilding firm, which he sold in the early 1970s. 

Former Hibs owner Tom Hart (Image: SNS Group) While at the helm at Easter Road he was the driving force behind such innovations as undersoil heating, shirt sponsorship, and the electronic scoreboard. 

He was behind the signing of George Best and oversaw the Turnbull's Tornadoes years, eventually selling to Kenny Waugh in 1981. 

Winger Edwards, known as Micky, joined Hibs from hometown side Dunfermline in 1971 with whom he had won the Scottish Cup in 1968, and formed a formidable partnership on the right side with another Hibs Hall of Famer in John Brownlie.

Alex Edwards in action for Hibs (Image: SNS Group) He was part of the team that won the League Cup in 1972/73 and made more than 200 appearances for Hibs before joining Arbroath where he saw out his career. 

Murray, who won 14 major trophies during an illustrious 21-year playing career with Hibs Women remains at the club on the coaching staff but her six trophies won as captain of the women's team is a record for any Hibs skipper.

The only player to feature in all 19 matches in Hibs' six European campaigns, she became the first women's player to sign professional terms in February 2020 and retired in May after making her 507th and final appearance as a player. 

Suzy Shepherd, née Robertson (left) and Joelle Murray (Image: SNS Group) A Hibs fan since birth Shepherd, like Murray, is another key figure in the women's game and during her time with Hibs won three league titles, four Scottish Cups, and four SWPL Cups. She represented Scotland while with Hibs and made appearances in Europe before taking over as captain from Claire Smith. She is currently head coach of SWFPL side Dundee United. 

Hanlon and Stevenson need little introduction, having both spent nearly two decades at the club, most of them as regulars in the first team. Boyhood Hibee Hanlon was part of the team to win the Scottish Cup in 2016, playing a crucial role in scoring a late equaliser to force a replay against Hearts in the early stages of the competition. Appointed club captain in 2021 he made 565 total appearances for Hibs, sitting fifth in the club's list of all-time record appearance-makers. 

Lewis Stevenson, left, and Paul Hanlon (Image: SNS Group) Stevenson remains the only player in history to have won both the League Cup and Scottish Cup with Hibs. An academy graduate like close friend and defensive colleague Hanlon, he won the man of the match award as Hibs blew Kilmarnock away in the 2007 League Cup final. He joined hometown side Raith Rovers in the summer after making 600 appearances for Hibs, putting him just above Hanlon in the all-time record appearance-holders list. 

Both players were also capped by Scotland while with Hibs and won the Championship title in 2017.

Previous inductees

The first Hibernians to be inducted into the Hall of Fame were officially recognised in 2010. The Famous Five - Gordon Smith, Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Eddie Turnbull, and Willie Ormond - were joined by former chairman Harry Swan; club co-founder and first captain Michael Whelahan; former owner Sir Tom Farmer; Pat Stanton, who played for and managed the club, helping Hibs to League Cup glory in 1972/73 and two Drybrough Cup wins in 1972/3 and 1973/74; Hugh Shaw, who served Hibs as a player, assistant manager, and finally manager, when he led the team to three league titles in the 1940s and 1950s; goalkeeper Harry Rennie who won the Scottish Cup with Hibs in 1902; James McGhee who captained Hibs to the 1887 Scottish Cup and was the first Hibs player to be capped by Scotland along with team-mate James Lundie; prolific striker Joe Baker; former record appearance-holder and League Cup winner Arthur Duncan, and Jackie McNamara Sr., who played more than 200 games for Hibs and later served as assistant manager 

In 2012 they were joined by John Fraser, Jimmy O'Rourke, Alan Rough, and Eric Stevenson while in 2017 John Brownlie, Peter Cormack, Alex Cropley, Jimmy McColl, Tommy Preston, and Keith Wright were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Two years ago Laura Kennedy, who won three league titles, five Scottish Cup medals, and three League Cup medals, became the first woman inductee when she was joined by John Blackley, Bobby Combe, Gordon Hunter, Franck Sauzée, and Tommy Younger.