Hands Off Hibs was one of the most successful movements of its kind in British football. The audacious attempts of Wallace Mercer, the then Heart of Midlothian chairman, to purchase a major shareholding in Hibernian met with shock, vehement opposition and outright hostility. The bid, announced casually in an Edinburgh hotel, was a leading item on the Six O’Clock News on 4 June 1990.
Mercer’s plan was flawed on umpteen levels. Threats to his life and the necessity for 24-hour security around the businessman emphasised that not all of his detractors were rational. Nonetheless, the byproduct of his merger bid was the mobilising of the Hibs support to a level that sufficiently impressed Tom Farmer. Under Farmer, Hibs were not only saved as a Scottish sporting institution but stabilised.
