William Smith (6 June 1931 – 24 April 2009) was a Scottish footballer who played as a left back, primarily for Aberdeen.[1][2][3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Smith | ||
| Date of birth | 6 June 1931 | ||
| Place of birth | Aberdeen, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 24 April 2009 (aged 77) | ||
| Place of death | Vereeniging, South Africa | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Left back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Woodside Thistle | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| – | Sunnybank | ||
| 1949–1957 | Aberdeen | 71 | (0) |
| 1957–1958 | Third Lanark | ||
| 1958–1967 | Deveronvale | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
He was a regular in the team which won the club's first Scottish Football League championship in the 1954–55 season, although towards the end of that campaign he broke a leg in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup against Clyde, and was out of action for 18 months.[1][2] He had also played at the same stage in the 1952–53 Scottish Cup to help Aberdeen progress, but was not selected for the final which they lost to Rangers after a replay (the veteran Davie Shaw taking the position in what were his last appearances before retirement). In 1954 the Dons reached the showpiece event again – being defeated by Celtic – but that season David Caldwell was generally first choice.
After being released by Aberdeen in 1957, Smith later played for Third Lanark and for Deveronvale in the Highland League before emigrating to South Africa.[2][1]
Career statistics
edit| Club | Seasons | League | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aberdeen | 1951–52 | Scottish Division One | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1952–53 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | ||
| 1953–54 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| 1954–55 | 25 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 | ||
| 1955–56 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1956–57 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Total | 71 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 93 | 0 | ||
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Billy Smith, AFC Heritage Trust
- ^ a b c Billy Smith, The Herald, 18 May 2009
- ^ "Former Don Billy Smith". Aberdeen FC. 24 April 2009. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  | This biographical article related to association football in Scotland, about a defender born in the 1930s, is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |