Bobby Smith (footballer, born 1933)

Robert Alfred Smith (22 February 1933 – 18 September 2010) was an English footballer who played as a centre-forward for Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton and Hove Albion and England. He finished as the First Division's top scorer in the 1957–58 season and he is Tottenham Hotspur's third-highest goal scorer with 208 goals.

This article is about the England international footballer. For other footballers called Bobby Smith, see Robert Smith#Association football.

Bobby Smith
Smith c. 1991
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
Position(s) Centre-forward
Youth career
Redcar Boys Club
Chelsea
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
Total 376 (218)
International career
1960–1963 England 15 (13)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Tottenham Hotspur in 1960 with Danny Blanchflower (captain) and both goalkeepers, Bill Brown and John Hollowbread, in the team with Cecil Poynton as trainer and Bill Nicholson as manager. Bobby Smith is from left the second player standing.

Club career

Smith was born in Lingdale, North Riding of Yorkshire, and was spotted by Chelsea when playing for Redcar Boys' Club, where he had originally started out as a full back.[1] He signed professional for the London club in 1950.[2] He scored 23 League goals in 74 appearances, and seven FA Cup goals in twelve appearances.[3] He was part of the 1954–55 Chelsea side that won the First Division, though he only made four appearances that season.[4] 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.[2]

Smith was an integral part of Bill Nicholson's famous double winning Tottenham team of 1960–61. He was Tottenham's top scorer in the double-winning season, with 33 goals scored in 43 games, including the first of the two goals in the 1961 FA Cup Final.[5] The team also 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, third behind Harry Kane and Jimmy Greaves, with 208 goals scored in 317 senior matches,[6] including 12 hat-tricks.[7]

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

International career

Smith won 15 full international caps for the England national team 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.[8]

Honours

Tottenham Hotspur

Brighton & Hove Albion

References
  1. "Bobby Smith". redcarfootball.com. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  2. Soccer Who's Who compiled by Maurice Golesworthy, The Sportsmans Book Club London 1965
  3. Chelsea Football Club The Full Statistical Story 1905–1986 by Scott Cheshire and Ron Hockings
  4. Henderson, Charlie (30 April 2005). "Champions of a different era". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  5. Welch, Julie (7 September 2015). "Chapter 13: What's the Story, Eternal Glory?". The Biography of Tottenham Hotspur. Vision Sports Publishing. ISBN 9781909534506.
  6. "Bobby Smith". The Daily Telegraph. 22 September 2010.
  7. "2016–17 in numbers – Harry's hat-tricks". www.tottenhamhotspur.com. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  8. Bobby Smith THFC official website, Accessed 11 June 2013
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