Tom_Smith_(footballer_born_1909)

Tom Smith (footballer, born 1909)

Tom Smith (footballer, born 1909)

Scottish footballer and manager

Thomas McCall Smith (4 October 1909 – 21 June 1998)[3] was a Scottish association football player and manager who played as a centre half for Kilmarnock, Preston North End and Scotland.

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Club career

Player

Smith, who was born in Fenwick, East Ayrshire, played in juvenile football before signing for Kilmarnock in late 1927.[3] He was out on loan at non-league Galston when the club won the Scottish Cup in 1929, but was part of the Killie team that lost the 1932 final to Rangers after a replay.[4]

A good performance for the Scottish Football League XI in a 1936 inter-league match against Football League XI attracted the interest of Preston North End, and Smith agreed to sign for the Lancashire club soon afterwards.[3] He initially had to compete for the position with Billy Tremelling, and did not play in the 1937 FA Cup Final defeat by Sunderland.[3] Smith played more regularly during the following season, when Preston finished third in the First Division.[3] The club also had a significant cup run, culminating in the 1938 FA Cup Final win against Huddersfield,[3] with Smith lifting the trophy as captain (he was one of seven Scots, including four from Ayrshire, in the Preston team).[5]

The outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 effectively curtailed Smith's playing career.[3] He continued to play for Preston during the War, winning the Football League War Cup in 1941.[3][6]

Manager

He returned to Kilmarnock in 1945 to serve as their manager – the club were struggling, having been mothballed during the conflict and its Rugby Park pitch requisitioned by the military.[7] Smith took charge of the last wartime season in 1945–46 and the first on the resumption of regular competitions in 1946–47, which ended in relegation.[8]

International career

Smith first won international recognition while with Kilmarnock when he played for Scotland against England in the 1934 British Home Championship.[3][9] He then took part in a Scottish Football Association tour of the US and Canada in the summer of 1935, but none of the fixtures counted as full internationals.[10] To cap a highly successful year at with Preston, Smith made his second and last official appearance in the 1938 British Home Championship, a 1–0 victory over England;[3][11] Three of his teammates at club level also played for Scotland in that match.[11] He additionally played in one wartime international against England.[12]

References

  1. [1]
    "[Scotland player, including unofficial matches] Tom Smith". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  2. [2]
    "[SFL player] Thomas M. Smith". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 30 October 2020. Entry includes an appearance by another player of the same name in 1937
  3. [3]
    Tom Smith, Spartacus Educational.
  4. [4]
    (Kilmarnock player) Smith, Tom, FitbaStats
  5. [5]
    Glenbuck created legends in the world of football, Cumnock Chronicle, 16 March 2018
  6. [6]
    What happened last time football was put on hold, Lancashire Evening Post, 24 April 2020
  7. [7]
    Rugby Park, KillieFC.com
  8. [8]
    (Kilmarnock manager) Smith, Tom, FitbaStats
  9. [9]
    Sat 14 Apr 1934 England 3 Scotland 0, London Hearts Supporters' Club.
  10. [10]
    1935 TOUR OF CANADA AND USA BY THE SCOTTISH FA, RSSSF.
  11. [11]
    Sat 09 Apr 1938 England 0 Scotland 1, London Hearts Supporters' Club.
  12. [12]
    Sat 18 Apr 1942 Scotland 5 England 4, London Hearts Supporters' Club.
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