 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Billy Smith" footballer, born 1895 – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Henry Smith | ||
| Date of birth | (1895-05-23)23 May 1895 | ||
| Place of birth | Tantobie, England | ||
| Date of death | 13 April 1951(1951-04-13) (aged 55) | ||
| Place of death | Huddersfield, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Outside left | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1914–1934 | Huddersfield Town | 521 | (126) |
| 1934–1935 | Rochdale | ||
| International career | |||
| 1922–1928 | England | 3 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1934–1935 | Rochdale (player-manager) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Henry Smith (23 May 1895 – 13 April 1951) was a professionalfootballer who played most of his career atHuddersfield Town.
He is one of Huddersfield's all-time top goal-scorers with 126 goals in his career between 1913 and 1934. Smith scored Huddersfield's winning goal in the1922 FA Cup Final againstPreston North End atStamford Bridge. He also won three caps forEngland. He was also the first person in English football to score directly from acorner, in a match againstArsenal in October 1924.[2] He made 574 appearances for the Terriers, scoring 126 goals.
For a Huddersfield legend, the story opened in an unlikely manner. It was September 1913 when at a board meeting a letter of W.H. Smith of Tantobie in County Durham was discussed. The content of the note was short and to the point for the writer made it clear he was not prepared to accept terms of less than 50/- a week (£2.50) and for that reason did not wish to present himself to further trials.
During a Division I match against Stoke he had a fight with a Stoke player. They were both sent off and it meant they would both miss a game. This caused Smith to miss the1920 FA Cup Final against Aston Villa. After Huddersfield went on appeal he would miss the next league game. Huddersfield lost the cup final 1-0 asBilly Kirton scored in extra time.
In the 2nd half of the 1922 F.A. Cup final, Smith was brought down on the edge of the area. The referee pointed to the spot. Smith, shaken stepped up himself to take the penalty. Preston goalkeeper Mitchell jumped around on his line in attempt to distract Smith butClem Stephenson said, "Never mind the dancing devil, just shove it in the net. Smith did."
Smith was a key member of the team that won a hattrick of First Division titles under Herbert Chapman andCecil Potter and in the final championship year (in 1926) received his first England cap. He was one of five Huddersfield players who played in the "Wembley Wizards" 5–1 defeat of England. He,Bob Kelly,Roy Goodall andTom Wilson played for England, andAlex Jackson for Scotland; Jackson scored a hat-trick, while Kelly scored a consolation for England in the 89th minute. On 11 November 1933 he received his fourth benefit from the president of the football league. He later had a small player - manager stint at Rochdale.
Smith faded out from the game in the 1940s and died of cancer in 1951, after having his left leg amputated due to a mistreated football injury.
He and his sonConway Smith were the first father and son to score 100 goals each. His grandson Robert played in the last ever match at theLeeds Road ground before it was knocked down.
Huddersfield Town
"Huddersfield Town - 75 Years On. A book by George S. Binns."[1]
