Arthur Hoyle Smith (8 May 1915 – 21 August 2021) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. At age 106 he was, at the time of his death, the oldest living former professional

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

player.

Career

Smith's career started with

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

, where he signed as an amateur in November 1934. The following month, he made his debut for the club against

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

, and turned out for the club three more times over the course of the 1934–35 season. In September 1935, Smith signed for Bury as a professional, but found himself playing regularly for the reserve side. As a result, he did not feature for the first team again, and in 1938, he joined

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

on a free transfer. Smith's time at Leicester was brief, owing to the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In his first season with Leicester, he made eight appearances, and in his second, he made two more, with a brace against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

. In the 1940–41

Wartime League The Wartime League was a football league competition held in England during World War II, which replaced the suspended Football League. The exclusion of the FA Cup in these years saw the creation of the Football League War Cup and it was a friendly ...

, Smith then made five more appearances for the club, and although he was registered with Leicester until 1946, he never played another match for them. From 1935 to 2015 (with the exception of five years' war service in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

), Smith was the organist and choirmaster at Christ Church,

Walmersley Walmersley is a suburban village in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. History Historically in Lancashire, the name Walmersley is said to be derived from Old English, and translates as Waldmer's wood, or clearing. O ...

. Because of his dedication to the church, he was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

in the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hon ...

. He retired as organist on his 100th birthday. Smith died in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

in August 2021 at the age of 106.

References

1915 births 2021 deaths English centenarians English men's footballers Bury F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Recipients of the British Empire Medal British Army personnel of World War II Men's association football wingers English Anglicans 20th-century organists 21st-century organists Men centenarians British Army soldiers Military personnel from Lancashire {{England-footy-midfielder-1910s-stub