George Smith (20 November 1908 – 1986) was an English footballer who played as a left half or centre half in the Football League for Watford, Clapton Orient and Darlington. He also played non-league football for Easington Colliery Welfare, Yeovil & Petters United and Bath City.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | George Smith[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 20 November 1908[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Sunderland[1] England | ||
| Date of death | 1986[2] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Left half, centre half | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 19??–1930 | Easington Colliery Welfare | ||
| 1930–1932 | Watford | 1 | (0) |
| 1932–1933 | Clapton Orient | 2 | (0) |
| 1933–1934 | Darlington | 13 | (1) |
| 1934–1936 | Yeovil & Petters United | ||
| 1936–19?? | Bath City | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Football career
editSmith was born in Sunderland, which was then in County Durham.[1] He began his football career with the Easington school team,[4] and had been playing football as a centre half for Easington Colliery Welfare for "two or three seasons" when he joined Third Division South club Clapton Orient on trial in December 1929.[5] The trial came to nothing, but a year later – by which time he was reportedly "one of the best half-backs in the Wearside League"[4] – he signed for Watford.[6]
He made his Football League debut in the last match of the season, a 1–0 win at Norwich City in the Third Division South, which proved to be his only senior appearance for the club. In August 1932, he signed for Clapton Orient on a free transfer,[6] but played only twice in the league,[1] and in the summer of 1933 returned to the north-east of England to join Darlington.[3] He appeared more frequently for Darlington, playing 13 times in the Third Division North and scoring once.[1]
In June 1934, he joined Southern League club Yeovil & Petters United.[7] He scored 11 goals over the season,[8] helping the club win the Western Section of the Southern League and reach the third round proper of the 1934–35 FA Cup, in which they lost to First Division Liverpool.[9] He played twice for Bath City in the 1936–37 season.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 242. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
- ^ George Smith at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- ^ a b Argus (12 July 1933). "Sports review. Quaker signing". Sunderland Echo. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b Reflector (4 August 1932). "Sporting news of the day reviewed. Orient bound". Sunderland Echo. p. 8 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "A trial with Orient". Daily Mail. Hull. 2 December 1929. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b "Players: Smith to Strouts" (PDF). Watford Football Club archive 1881–2017. Trefor Jones. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ Reflector (27 June 1934). "Under the searchlight. Joined Yeovil". Sunderland Echo. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Season 1934–35 Goals". Ciderspace. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ "Yeovil Town Story part 8: Season 1934–1935: First Division Liverpool come to Huish in the F.A. Cup". Ciderspace. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ "Past players: S". Bath City F.C. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.