Robert "Bobby" Smith (born March 29, 1951) is a retired U.S.

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

defender who spent nine years in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

and one in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

and the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned eighteen

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

and is a member of the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a private, non-profit institution established in 1979 and currently located in Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors soccer achievements in the United States. Induction ...

Youth

Smith grew up in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Steinert High School Steinert High School (also formally known as Hamilton High School East) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as one of three secondary high schools that are part of the Hamilton Towns ...

in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. After high school, he attended

Rider University Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey. It consists of four academic units: the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Services, and West ...

Lawrenceville, New Jersey Lawrenceville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Lawrence Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States.

from 1969 through 1972. While at Rider, he played four seasons on the men's soccer team. He holds the college record for most goals in a season (18) and career (46). In 1997, Rider University inducted Smith into its Hall of Fame.

Professional

The

Philadelphia Atoms The Philadelphia Atoms were an American soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1973 to 1976, at Veterans Stadium (1973–75) and Franklin Field (1976). The club's colors wer ...

, a

(NASL) expansion franchise, drafted Smith in the second round of the 1973 College Draft. That year, Smith took home second team All Star honors as the Atoms ran to the NASL championship title. They set a record that season for allowing only 14 goals. Smith returned each of the next two seasons, but the Atoms were unable to replicate their first-year success. Smith, on the other hand, continued to be recognized as one of the league's top defenders. In 1974, he was an All Star honorable mention (third team) and in 1975, he became the first native-born U.S. player in the NASL to earn first team All Star recognition. Part of the reason for his success in 1975 came from a loan spell with

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...

club,

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

during the 1974-1975 NASL off-season. In 1976, the Atoms sold Smith, and teammate

Bob Rigby Bob Rigby (born July 3, 1951, in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania) is a retired U.S. soccer goalkeeper. Rigby played twelve seasons in the North American Soccer League, three in the Major Indoor Soccer League, one in the Western Soccer Alliance and ear ...

, to the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independe ...

for $100,000. The move came as part of the condition put on the Cosmos when they signed

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...

. Pelé insisted the Cosmos surround him with good supporting teammates and the Cosmos went shopping.
/sup> Smith spent three seasons with the Cosmos, winning two more NASL championships with them and earning second team All Star honors in 1976. However, by his third season with the team, the influx of big-name international players saw Smith's playing time drop to an all-time low of nine games. At the end of the 1978 season, the Cosmos sent Smith to the San Diego Sockers (1978–96), San Diego Sockers. In 1979, he was named an honorable mention All Star, his fifth time on an All Star list. However, at the end of the season, the Sockers sent him to the

Philadelphia Fury The Philadelphia Fury was an American soccer team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that last competed in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). The club formerly competed in the American Soccer League and is currently owned by ...

for the 1980 season. The Atoms had folded while Smith was with the Cosmos and the Fury was a new expansion franchise in Philadelphia. Smith spent only one season with the Fury, but his time with the team led to his also playing for the Philadelphia Fever of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) during the 1980-1981 indoor season. The Fever had already played a season, but coach

George O'Neill George O'Neill may refer to: * George O'Neill (footballer, born 1942), Scottish footballer who was capped for the United States * George O'Neill (footballer, born 1923) (1923–2003), English footballer for Port Vale * George Bernard O'Neill (18 ...

—hoping to draw on seasoned pros the way defending champions New York Arrows had—remade the team with NASL veterans and drew on several Fury players, including Smith and teammate

. Despite the presence of Smith and other Fury players, the Fever performed poorly and soon vanished from the American soccer scene. Smith then moved to the

Montreal Manic The Montreal Manic or the Manic de Montréal were a professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that played in the North American Soccer League. The Montreal Manic were brought back in 2020 by Canadian businessman Gary Gaul as an ...

of one last season in the NASL. He retired at the end of the 1981 season.

National team

Smith earned 18

with the U.S. national team. His first appearance came in an August 12, 1973 victory over

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Smith became a regular on the team, seeing time in the rest of the U.S. games that year, as well as all of its games in 1974 and half the 1975 games. In 1976, he saw time in several games, the last being a 3–0 loss to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in a playoff in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, which eliminated the U.S. from qualification for the

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by t ...

. Smith would not play for the national team until 1980 when he played in his last game, a 1–1 tie with

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

on October 7.

Post-playing career

After retiring from playing professionally, Smith returned to New Jersey where he has coached youth soccer. He is the former owner of Smitty Kicks. He currently runs the Bob Smith Soccer Academy in

Robbinsville Township, New Jersey Robbinsville Township is a township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. The township is part of the New York Metropolitan area as defined by the United States Census Bureau, but directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and ...

. He resides in

Hamilton Square, New Jersey Hamilton Square is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Hamilton Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, that is the site of a historic colonial village. Until the 2000 Census the area was p ...

. Smith was selected as the Grand Marshal for the 2008 Trenton St. Patrick's Day Parade. In 2007, he was inducted into the

References

External links

National Soccer Hall of Fame profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bobby 1951 births Living people American expatriate soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Canada American expatriate sportspeople in Ireland American soccer coaches Soccer players from Trenton, New Jersey Steinert High School alumni United States men's international soccer players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Philadelphia Atoms players New York Cosmos players Philadelphia Fury (1978–1980) players San Diego Sockers (NASL) players Montreal Manic players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Philadelphia Fever (MISL) players Dundalk F.C. players League of Ireland players Rider Broncs men's soccer players Expatriate soccer players in Canada Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland People from Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey American soccer players National Soccer Hall of Fame members Association football defenders