Joe Smith

Personal information
Full name	Joseph Smith[1]
Date of birth	(1889-06-25)25 June 1889[1]
Place of birth	Dudley, England[1]
Date of death	11 August 1971(1971-08-11) (aged 82)[1]
Place of death	Blackpool, England[1]
Height	5 ft7+1⁄4 in (1.71 m)[2]
Position	Inside left
Youth career
1904–1908	Newcastle Parish Schools
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	(357)
International career
1913–1920	England	5	(1)
Managerial career
1929–1931	Darwen (player-manager)
1931–1935	Reading
1935–1958	Blackpool
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Joseph Smith (25 June 1889 – 11 August 1971) was an English professionalfootball player andmanager. He is eleventh on the list of England's top-flight goal scorers, scoring 243 league goals. He was manager ofBlackpool for 23 years and guided them to victory in the1953 FA Cup final, the only time they have won the competition since their 1887 inception.

Aforward, he began his career atCrewe Alexandra but did not play a first-team game for the club. He instead made his name atBolton Wanderers, where with 277 league and cup goals between 1908 and 1927, he is theclub's second highest goalscorer, only eight behindNat Lofthouse. He won theSecond Division title with Bolton1908–09, and played in FA Cup final victories in1923 and1926. He later hit 61 goals in 70 league games forStockport County, before being appointed player-manager atDarwen in 1929. Two years later, he was appointed manager ofReading and narrowly missed out onpromotion during his four seasons in charge. He became Blackpool manager in August 1935 and remained in this position until April 1958. He led the "Seasiders" to one victory in three FA Cup final appearances (1948,1951, and 1953), and also led the club to runners-up spot in the Second Division in 1936–37, second place in theFirst Division in 1955–56, and runners-up in the1953 FA Charity Shield.

Joseph Smith was born in 1889, with the birth registered inDudley, and the family moved toNewcastle-under-Lyme when he was three months old.^[1] His father, also named Joseph, was an iron puddler, and his mother was named Rosina.^[1] He was the youngest of three sons, and one brother,Philip, played professional football and was killed during theFirst World War.^[3] He married Priscilla (Cissie) Bond on 7 June 1921, atManchester Cathedral.^[1]

Smith began his junior career at the age of 15 with Newcastle Parish Schools Association in the North Staffordshire Sunday School League.^[1] BothStoke andCrewe Alexandra showed an interest in him, before he signed withBolton Wanderers for a£10transfer fee in 1908.^[1] Wanderers won theSecond Division title in1908–09, but were immediatelyrelegated out of theFirst Division in1909–10. They regained their top-flight status after securing a second-place finish in the Second Division in1910–11. Smith then became theclub's top-scorer in1911–12 with 24 goals, as Bolton posted a fourth-place finish, six points behind championsBlackburn Rovers. He scored 22 goals in1912–13, as Bolton dropped to eighth position.George Lillycrop then became the club's leading scorer in1913–14, before Smith finished as the club's top-scorer for the third time in four seasons with 36 goals in1914–15. During the First World War he guested forChelsea andPort Vale.^[4]

After the war, Bolton finished sixth in1919–20. With the help of "Trotters" teammateTed Vizard, during the1920–21 season Smith scored aclub record 38 goals, which put him top of the First Division goalscoring chart for that season; the club recorded a third-place finish. However, Bolton dropped to sixth position again in1921–22. Smith recorded 19 goals in1922–23 to become the club's top-scorer for the fifth time. His goals helped Bolton to reach the1923 FA Cup final – the firstFA Cup final to be held atWembley. Smithcaptained Bolton to a 2–0 victory overWest Ham United.David Jack then took the mantle as the club's main source of goals in1923–24 and1924–25, as Bolton posted two top-four finishes in succession. Smith scored 21 goals in1925–26 to finish as the club's top-scorer for the sixth and final time. He also captained the club to another FA Cup final victory, as a goal from namesakeJack Smith was enough to beatManchester City1–0. The1926–27 season was then his last at the club, as he led Bolton to fourth in the league, eight points behind leadersNewcastle United. In his 19 years with Bolton, Smith scored 277 goals in 492 games (his league record being 254 goals in 449 appearances).^[5]

On 16 March 1927, Smith signed forStockport County for a fee of £1,000.^[1] However, an administration error meant that County were deducted two points and fined £125.^[1] He went on to score 61 goals in 70 league games atEdgeley Park. With 38Third Division North goals in1927–28, he was the division's top-scorer that season, though the "Hatters" could only manage a third-place finish.^[6] County then finished second in1928–29, just one point behind championsBradford City.

Upon leaving County, Smith joinedManchester Central on 22 June 1929, reuniting with his old Bolton teammate, Frank Roberts.^[1] In 1930, aged 41, and without a club for the1930–31 season, rumours regarding Smith's retirement arose, but they were abated when he signed on forDarwen, also in the Lancashire Combination, on 8 September 1930, being appointed as club captain.^[1] Darwen had hoped to have him for another year, but Smith went on to end his career withHyde United.^[5]

The first of Smith's five England caps came on 15 February 1913, in a 2–1 defeat toIreland atBelfast'sWindsor Park in theHome Championship.^[7] He then scored the opening goal of a 2–0 win overWales atNinian Park on 16 March 1914.^[8] He then played England's next three games either side of World War I: a 3–1 defeat toScotland atHampden Park (14 April 1914), a 1–1 draw with Ireland at Windsor Park (25 October 1919), and a 2–1 defeat to Wales atHighbury (15 March 1920).^[9][10][11]

In 1929, Smith becameplayer-manager ofDarwen. As a player, he scored 42 goals in 51 games. Asmanager, he guided them to wins in the 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 ofReading. In each of his four seasons atElm Park, he took the club to within a few places ofpromotion out of theThird Division South. He led the "Biscuitmen" as they were then known to a second-place finish in1931–32 – two points behind championsFulham, a fourth-place finish in1932–33 – 11 points behind leadersBrentford, third in1933–34 – seven points short ofNorwich City, and second in1934–35 – eight points behind promotedCharlton Athletic.

His success was due mostly to his phenomenal home record. In 84 matches at Elm Park, he won 66 and lost only 3, scoring an average of three goals per game and steering the club on a 55-game unbeaten home run that lasted from April 1933 until after he left in 1935.^[12]

In August 1935, Smith was approached to become the new manager ofBlackpool, in place of the departedSandy MacFarlane, an offer he immediately accepted; a love of the seaside being one of the main deciding factors. After a tenth-place finish in1935–36, he led the club to promotion in1936–37 with a second-place finish in theSecond Division. He then secured the club'sFirst Division status with mid-table finishes in1937–38 and1938–39. On 10 March 1939, Smith and club director Albert Hindley made the football headlines when they completed the £10,000 record signing ofJock Dodds fromSheffield United.^[13] However,World War II ensured that Smith's big signing barely featured in theFootball League, though he went on to score well over 200 goals atBloomfield Road during the war.

After the war, Smith built a formidable "M" forward line ofStan Mortensen,Stanley Matthews andJackie Mudie. Mortensen and Mudie began their professional careers at the club, whilst Smith signed Matthews fromStoke City for an £11,500 fee in May 1947. Other key signings Smith made during his time at the club include: defenderDanny Blair (joined fromAston Villa in 1936),George Farrow (defender signed fromBournemouth & Boscombe Athletic for £1,250 in 1936),Scotland wingerAlex Munro (signed fromHearts in March 1937 for £3,500), inside-forwardWillie Buchan (signed fromCeltic for £10,000), defenderEric Hayward (free signing fromPort Vale in May 1937),Eddie Shimwell (signed fromSheffield United for £7,000 in December 1946), full-backJackie Wright (signed fromMossley), goalkeeperGeorge Farm (joined on afree transfer fromHibernian), midfielderAllan Brown (signed fromEast Fife in December 1950), forwardErnie Taylor (signed fromNewcastle United for £25,000 in October 1951), defenderJimmy Kelly (signed fromWatford in October 1954 for £15,000), and strikerRay Charnley (signed fromMorecambe for a £750 fee in May 1957). Many significant players also began their professional careers under Smith, includingBarrie Martin,Ron Suart,Ewan Fenton,Tommy Garrett,Bill Perry,Dave Durie,Roy Gratrix,Brian Peterson,Hughie Kelly, andJimmy Armfield. Though he was at Bloomfield Road before Smith, after the war, defenderHarry Johnston went on to win caps for England whilst at Blackpool.

Blackpool finished fifth in the league in1946–47, just seven points behind championsLiverpool. The next season,1947–48, they reached theFA Cup final atWembley, which ended in a4–2 defeat toManchester United. The "Seasiders" dropped to 16th place in1948–49, but rose to seventh in1949–50, just four points behind championsPortsmouth. Though they finished in third place in1950–51, they ended the campaign ten points behind championsTottenham Hotspur. Smith led the club to another FA Cup final in1951, where they were beaten 2–0 by Newcastle United after a brace fromJackie Milburn. Blackpool could only finished ninth and seventh in1951–52 and1952–53, but reached another FA Cup final in1953. Known as the "Matthews final",Stan Mortensen scored ahat-trick againstBolton Wanderers to secure Blackpool a 4–3 victory and their first-ever FA Cup title. The club finished sixth in the league in1953–54 and then dropped down to 19th place in1954–55. Smith then led the club to a record high league finish of second in1955–56. However, they ended up with 11 points short of the champions, Manchester United. They finished fourth in1956–57 and seventh in1957–58. After 714 Football League games in charge of Blackpool, Smith resigned in 1958, at 68, due to poor health. The Blackpool board rewarded his services by giving him a hefty "golden handshake" and bought him a house in the town.

According toRSSSF, Smith scored over 616 career goals in 903 official matches, making him the highest goalscorer in football history at the end of the 1920s, with the next closest being HungarianImre Schlosser at +570 goals (1905–1928).^[16]

Bolton Wanderers

• FA Cup:1923,1926^[1]
• Football League Second Division:1908–09^[1]
• Football League Second Division 2nd place promotion:1910–11^[1]

Darwen

• Lancashire Combination:1930–31^[1]
• Lancashire Combination Cup: 1931^[1]
• East Lancashire Charity Shield: 1931^[1]

England

• British Home Championship:1912–13^[1]

Blackpool

• FA Cup:1953; runner-up:1948,1951^[1]
• Football League Second Division 2nd place promotion:1936–37^[1]
• FA Charity Shield runner-up:1953^[1]

Smith died in 1971, aged 82.^[1]

• List of men's footballers with 500 or more goals

• Calley, Roy (1992).Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992. Breedon Books Sport.ISBN 1-873626-07-X.

• 1889 births
• Footballers from Dudley
• 1971 deaths
• English men's footballers
• England men's international footballers
• England men's wartime international footballers
• Men's association football forwards
• Bolton Wanderers F.C. players
• Chelsea F.C. wartime guest players
• Port Vale F.C. wartime guest players
• Stockport County F.C. players
• Darwen F.C. (1870) players
• Manchester Central F.C. players
• Hyde United F.C. players
• English Football League players
• First Division/Premier League top scorers
• Men's association football player-managers
• English football managers
• Reading F.C. managers
• Blackpool F.C. managers
• English Football League managers
• 20th-century English sportsmen

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