George Smith (footballer born 1879)

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George Smith
Personal information
Full name	George Smith
Date of birth	July 1879
Place of birth	Preston, England
Date of death	3 July 1908 (Age 28)
Place of death	Southampton, England
Playing position	Half back Inside-forward
Youth clubs
	Leyland
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1899–1901 1901–1902 1902–1903 1903–1906 1906–1907 1907–1908	Preston North End Aston Villa New Brompton F.C. Blackburn Rovers Plymouth Argyle Southampton	028 00(1) 005 00(0) 058 00(4) 021 00(5)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

George Smith (July 1879 – 3 July 1908) was an English professional footballer who played for several clubs at the beginning of the 20th century.

[edit] Playing career

Smith was born in Preston and played his youth football with Leyland. In July 1899 he started his professional career playing as a half-back at Preston North End where he stayed for two seasons. At the end of his second season, Preston were relegated from the First Division.

He then spent part of the 1901–02 season at Aston Villa and then moved to non-league New Brompton F.C. In 1903 he joined Blackburn Rovers where he stayed for three years, before joining Plymouth Argyle.

In the summer of 1907 he signed for Southampton of the Southern League, where he was converted into an inside forward, playing alongside Frank Jefferis, John Bainbridge and John Lewis. As a forward he was prone to over-elaboration but had a powerful shot. He made 21 league appearances, scoring 5 goals, and also played in all six FA Cup matches as Saints reached the semi-finals, losing to Wolverhampton Wanderers who went on to take the cup in the final.

Everyone at the Saints was greatly shocked when George Smith suddenly collapsed and died, shortly before his 29th birthday in July 1908.

[edit] References

• Duncan Holley & Gary Chalk (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing, p.315. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.