Bobby Smith (footballer, born 1933)

Bobby Smith
Bobby Smith c. 1990 (age 57)
Personal information
Full name Robert Alfred Smith
Date of birth (1933-02-22)22 February 1933
Place of birth Lingdale, North Riding of Yorkshire, England
Date of death 18 September 2010(2010-09-18) (aged 77)
Place of death Enfield, London, England
Playing position Centre-forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1950–1955 Chelsea 74 (23)
1955–1964 Tottenham Hotspur 271 (176)
1964–1965 Brighton & Hove Albion 31 (19)
1965–1967 Hastings United
National team
1960–1963 England 15 (13)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Robert Alfred Smith (22 February 1933 – 18 September 2010) was an English footballer, who played for Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton and Hove Albion and England.

Career

Smith was born in Lingdale, North Riding of Yorkshire, and was spotted by Chelsea when playing for Redcar Boys' Club and signed professional for the London club in 1950.[1] He scored 23 League goals in 74 appearances, and 7 FA Cup goals in 12 appearances.[2] Despite the fact he never really became established as a regular with Chelsea between 1950 and 1955, Tottenham Hotspur paid £18,000 for his transfer in December 1955.[1]

Smith was an integral part of Bill Nicholson's famous double winning Tottenham team of 1960/1961 (scoring in the final of the FA Cup), which went on to retain the FA Cup in 1962 (scoring in the Final again) and win the 1963 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. He is one of Spurs' all-time top goal scorers, second only to Jimmy Greaves, with 208 goals scored in 317 senior matches.[3]

Smith played for Brighton and Hove Albion from 1964 to 1965, scoring 19 goals in 31 appearances.

England career

Smith won 15 full international caps for England which included two goals in the 9-3 defeat of Scotland at Wembley in 1961. He played for England from 1960 to 1963, scoring 13 goals.

Post-playing career

Smith published a book in 2002 to celebrate his achievements, Memories of Spurs, with a foreword by Jimmy Greaves.

He died on 18 September 2010 following a short illness at a hospital in Enfield, London.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Soccer Who's Who compiled by Maurice Golesworthy The Sportsmans Book Club London 1965
  2. Chelsea Football Club The Full Statistical Story 1905-1986 by Scott Cheshire and Ron Hockings
  3. "Bobby Smith". The Daily Telegraph. 22 September 2010.
  4. Bobby Smith THFC official website, Accessed 11 June 2013


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