Bernard Smith (footballer)

Bernard Smith (1908 – after 1938) was an English professional footballer who made 68 appearances in the Football League playing for Birmingham and Coventry City.[2] He played as a left back.

Bernard Smith
Personal information
Full name Bernard Smith
Date of birth 1908
Place of birth Sileby, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Position(s) Left back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Loughborough Corinthians
1932–1935 Birmingham 12 (0)
1935–1939 Coventry City 56 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Smith was born in Sileby, Leicestershire. He played for Loughborough Corinthians, and after an unsuccessful trial with Derby County, joined Birmingham in February 1932.[3]

At the start of the 1932–33 season, Birmingham's regular left back Ned Barkas was recovering from an appendicitis operation,[4] so left-half Jimmy Cringan took his position. Cringan broke a collarbone in his first game,[5] and was replaced by reserve left-back Jack Randle, who played four games[6] before Smith, the second reserve, was drafted in for his debut at Derby County on 17 September 1932,[1] which finished as a 2–2 draw. This was the first of a run of games, but when the experienced Barkas returned to the side Smith could not dislodge him.[6]

Smith moved on to Coventry City in August 1935, and contributed to their Third Division South championship in his first season.[3] He played 56 league games for Coventry,[2] and retired in 1939.[3]

Smith is the grandfather of The Times' football journalist Rory Smith.[7]

Honours

with Coventry City

References
  1. "Three League Clubs With New Players". Daily Express. 16 September 1932. p. 15.
  2. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 241. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  3. Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  4. "Hundred-Per-Cent. Football Test". Daily Express. 9 September 1932. p. 12.
  5. Rex (29 August 1932). "Injuries Mar First Day of Football". Daily Mirror. p. 18.
  6. Matthews, p. 175.
  7. Rory Smith [@RorySmithTimes] (29 April 2015). "Spent the day reading old newspapers. Found this, from 1932. Young Bernard is (well, was) my grandad" (Tweet) – via Twitter.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.