19 November 1967 - O'Connor's Quick 1-2-3

On 19 November 1967, 19-year old Shelbourne forward Jimmy O'Connor scored a hat-trick against Bohemians in the record time of 2 minutes and 13 seconds.

An inside right, O'Connor was in his third year with the Dublin club, having joined them for the 1965-66 season. And before he left in 1972, he scored a total of 26 goals in 109 league appearances, but none more memorable than the three he netted against Bohemians.

His first goal came in the 54th minute, as a seven-player build-up ended with O'Connor firing a right-footed shot past the opposing goalkeeper from a tight angle. One minute and 25 seconds later, O'Connor latched on to a cross from Mick Conroy and chipped the keeper for his second goal of the day. Then, only 49 seconds after that, he headed the ball into the net from a cross to complete his rapid-fire hat-trick. Shelbourne won the match, 3-2.

For a time, many believed O'Connor's hat-trick was a world record, but evidence later surfaced of an even faster one--Tommy Ross had scored three goals in a total of 90 seconds for Scottish club Ross County against Nairn County in 1964. But O'Connor's performance remains an Irish record and a tremendous accomplishment.

28 November 1964 - A Real Hat-Trick Hero

On 28 November 1964, 18-year old Ross County striker Tommy Ross scored three times in 90 seconds to record the world's fastest hat-trick.

Ross County were hosting Nairn County in a Scottish Highland League match when Ross got his record. And that wasn't his only hat-trick of the day; he put the ball in the net a total of seven times, with Jim Hosie adding the other as Ross County won 8-1.

Although Ross's hat-trick beat the previous record of two and a half minutes, set by Motherwell's Ian St. John against Hibernian, the club did not submit the achievement to the Guinness Book of World Records because they mistakenly believed that they needed two timekeepers to authenticate it and they had only one. The mistake was eventually corrected, however, and Ross now holds the official record.

Hat-tricks were not unusual for Ross, who had scored four of them in the team's previous eleven games of the season. And he got four more by May, carrying his total goal tally to 35 for the season.

19 November 1967 - O'Connor's Quick 1-2-3

On 19 November 1967, 19-year old Shelbourne forward Jimmy O'Connor scored a hat-trick against Bohemians in the record time of 2 minutes and 13 seconds.

An inside right, O'Connor was in his third year with the Dublin club, having joined them for the 1965-66 season. And before he left in 1972, he scored a total of 26 goals in 109 league appearances, but none more memorable than the three he netted against Bohemians.

His first goal came in the 54th minute, as a seven-player build-up ended with O'Connor firing a right-footed shot past the opposing goalkeeper from a tight angle. One minute and 25 seconds later, O'Connor latched on to a cross from Mick Conroy and chipped the keeper for his second goal of the day. Then, only 49 seconds after that, he headed the ball into the net from a cross to complete his rapid-fire hat-trick. Shelbourne won the match, 3-2.

For a time, many believed O'Connor's hat-trick was a world record, but evidence later surfaced of an even faster one--Tommy Ross had scored three goals in a total of 90 seconds for Scottish club Ross County against Nairn County in 1964. But O'Connor's performance remains an Irish record and a tremendous accomplishment.