Wallace Smith (footballer)

Infobox Football biography
playername = Wallace Smith


fullname = Wallace Smith
dateofbirth = 1883
cityofbirth = Bradford
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath = July 1917
cityofdeath = Worksop
countryofdeath = England
height =
position = Striker
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years =
1904–1905
1905–1909
1909
1909–1912
clubs = Rothwell Town
Kettering Town
Northampton Town
Bradford City
Leicester Fosse
Hull City
caps(goals) =
112 (54)
005 0(0)
091 (32)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =

Wallace Smith (born 1883 in Bradford, England; died July 1917 in Worksop, England) was an English footballer who played for six clubs during his career, including three league clubs.

Smith was born in the Allerton area of Bradford in 1883. He moved to Northamptonshire with his family when he was five-years-old.cite book
last = Frost
first = Terry
title = Bradford City A Complete Record 1903-1988
publisher = Breedon Books Sport
year = 1988
pages = p140
isbn = 0907969380] He returned to West Yorkshire when he started his playing with Rothwell Town, where he was their leading goal-scorer. He moved on to Kettering Town where he continued to find the net, scoring 23 goals in his third and final season. He moved on to Southern League side Northampton Town in 1904 for one season.

He was then signed for £50 in March 1905 by Bradford City. He scored the only goal on his debut in a 1–0 win over Leeds City on September 2 1905, finishing the 1905–06 season as top goal-scorer with 20 goals, including a goal in the 5–0 victory against First Division Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup. [ [http://www.freewebs.com/captainbeecher/1906.htm Giant Killers 1906] ] He again topped the scoring charts for City the following season with 14 goals as City came fifth.

In 1907–08 he and Frank O'Rourke formed a lethal partnership to guide City to the Division Two title. Smith finished with 20 goals, one behind O'Rourke, including four against Chesterfield in an opening day 8–1 win. Smith struggled in Division One and he failed to find the net in 16 games, leaving in January 1909 for Leicester Fosse. His Leicester career lasted just six games as they finished bottom of Division One, with his former club staying up on goal average.

Instead he moved to Hull City for the start of the 1909–10 season, when they narrowly missed out on promotion. Smith was forced to retire through injury in 1912 and died in his Worksop home five years later.

References