| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph Smith | ||
| Date of birth | 25 June 1889 | ||
| Place of birth | Dudley, England | ||
| Date of death | 11 August 1971 (aged 82) | ||
| Place of death | Blackpool, England | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Crewe Alexandra | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1908–1927 | Bolton Wanderers | 449 | (254) |
| 1927–1929 | Stockport County | 70 | (61) |
| 1929–1931 | Darwen (player-manager) | 51 | (42) |
| Total | 570 | (380) | |
| National team | |||
| 1913–1920 | England | 5 | (1) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1929–1931 | Darwen (player-manager) | ||
| 1931–1935 | Reading | ||
| 1935–1958 | Blackpool | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Joseph "Joe" Smith (25 June 1889 – 11 August 1971) was an English professional football player and manager. He was manager of Blackpool for 23 years and guided them to victory in the 1953 FA Cup Final, the only time they have won the competition since their 1887 inception.
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Born in Dudley in the West Midlands, after leaving Crewe Alexandra Smith spent almost his entire playing career with Bolton Wanderers, for whom he signed in 1908, either as an inside or centre-forward. During World War I he guested for Chelsea and Port Vale.[1] He helped Bolton to reach two FA Cup finals, in 1923 and 1926, as well as playing for England on five occasions, either side of the war.[2]
With the help of Trotters teammate Ted Vizard, during the 1920–21 season Smith scored a then club record 38 goals, which put him top of the First Division goalscoring chart for that season. In his nineteen years with Bolton, Smith scored 277 goals in 492 games[3] (League: 449 appearances; 254 goals).[4] He is currently tenth in the list of England's top-flight goal scorers with 243 league goals to his name.
Upon leaving Wanderers in 1927, Smith signed for Stockport County and went on to score 61 goals in 70 league games.
Smith went on to play for Darwen (see "Managerial career" section below) and Manchester Central, before finishing his playing career with Hyde United.[4]
The first of Smith's five England caps came on 15 February 1913, against Ireland at Belfast's Windsor Park in the Home Championship. The hosts won 2–1, despite being positioned 21 places below England in the ELO Ranking at the time.
His other caps came against Wales (a 2–0 victory, with Smith scoring the opening goal), Scotland (a 3–1 loss), Ireland (a 1–1 draw), and Wales (a 2–1 loss).
In 1929, Smith became player-manager of Darwen (see a 1931 team photo with Smith — front row, fourth from left — as captain here). As a player, he scored 42 goals in 51 games.[5] As manager, he guided them to wins in Lancashire Combination Championship (twice), the Combination Cup (twice), the Lancashire Junior Cup, and the Lancashire Challenge Trophy.
Upon hanging up his playing boots in 1931, Smith became manager of Third Division South outfit Reading. In his four years at Elm Park, he led the club to runners-up spot twice and to third and fourth in the other two seasons.
In August 1935, Smith was approached to become the new manager of Blackpool, in place of the departed Sandy MacFarlane, an offer he immediately accepted; a love of the seaside apparently being one of the main deciding factors.
In 1936–37, only his second season at Bloomfield Road, Smith achieved promotion to Division One after leading the club to second place in the league.
On 10 March 1939, Smith and club director Albert Hindley made the football headlines when they completed the £10,000 record signing of Jock Dodds from Sheffield United.[6]
The early 1950s "M" forward line of Mortensen, Matthews and Mudie that Smith constructed was responsible for three FA Cup final appearances (two losses, one win – see below) and several challenges for the League Championship. Of his 23 seasons at the seaside, 21 were spent in the top flight.
His most notable achievement was guiding Blackpool to the 1953 FA Cup Final victory over his former club, Bolton.
After 714 Football League games in charge of Blackpool, Smith resigned in 1958, at the age of 68, due to poor health. Blackpool had won 306 (a 42.8% percentage), drawn 164 and lost 244 under his guidance. The Blackpool board rewarded his services by giving him a hefty "golden handshake" and bought him a house in the town.
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Reading | 1 July 1931 | 1 August 1935 | 184 | 92 | 49 | 43 | 50.00 | |
| Blackpool | 1 August 1935 | 30 April 1958 | 730 | 317 | 247 | 166 | 43.42 | |
| Total | 914 | 409 | 296 | 209 | 44.75 | |||
Smith died in Blackpool on 11 August 1971, aged 82.
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