'Mad' Arthur Smith ( – 17 December 1946) was an English

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Yorkley

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and

Cinderford R.F.C. Cinderford RFC is a rugby union club based in the town of Cinderford, Gloucestershire. The first team play in the National League 1, third tier of the English rugby union system, English league system following promotion as champions of Nationa ...

, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

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and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and at club level for

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

and Halifax, as a

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. He served in the

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and was wounded by a

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bullet.

Playing career

International honours

Arthur Smith won

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s for

(RL) while at Oldham in 1906 against

Other Nationalities The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ...

, in 1908 against New Zealand, and Wales, in 1909 against Australia (3 matches), and won

s for

(RL) while at Oldham in 1908 against New Zealand (3 matches), and in 1908–09 against Australia (3 matches).

Championship final appearances

Arthur Smith played as a

's 3–7 defeat by

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in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

Final during the 1908–09 season at

The Willows, Salford The Willows was a rugby league stadium in Weaste, Salford, England. It had a final capacity of 11,363 with 2,500 seats. History In 1900, Salford agreed a 14-year lease on of land belonging to the Willows Estate Company, named after the abunda ...

on Saturday 1 May 1909.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Arthur Smith played as a

in Oldham's 3–17 defeat by

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

in the

1907 Challenge Cup Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

Final during the 1906–07 season at

Wheater's Field Wheater's Field was a rugby ground in Broughton, Salford, England. It was home to the Broughton Rangers rugby league club of the Northern Union. On 19 October 1907, the stadium hosted a match between Rangers and the New Zealand All Golds. It ...

Broughton, Salford Broughton is a suburb and district of Salford, City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, on the east bank of the River Irwell, it is northwest of Manchester and south of Prestwich. Historically in Lancashire, Broughton was a township an ...

on Saturday 27 April 1907 in front of a crowd of 18,500, and played as a

in the 5–8 defeat by

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

in the

1912 Challenge Cup Year 191 ( CXCI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Apronianus and Bradua (or, less frequently, year 944 ''Ab urbe condit ...

Final during the 1911–12 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

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on Saturday 27 April 1912 in front of a crowd of 16,000.Hoole, Les (1998). ''The Rugby League Challenge Cup – An Illustrated History''. Breedon Books.

County Cup Final appearances

Arthur Smith played as a

's 9–10 defeat by

in the

1908 Lancashire Cup Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

Final during the 1908–09 season at

on Saturday 19 December 1908.

Nickname

Smith's

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

of 'Mad' was due to his forceful and enthusiastic style of play.

References

External links

Statistics at orl-heritagetrust.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Arthur Year of birth uncertain 1946 deaths British military personnel of World War I Cinderford R.F.C. players England national rugby league team players English rugby league players English rugby union players Footballers who switched code Great Britain national rugby league team players Halifax R.L.F.C. players Lancashire rugby league team players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Place of birth missing Place of death missing Rugby league forwards Rugby league players from Gloucestershire Rugby union players from Gloucestershire