Edmund William Alfred "Eddie" Smith (23 March 1929 – April 1993) was an English

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 ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

the 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 ...

for

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

and

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. He was also on the books at

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

but failed to make an appearance for either team.

Career

Born in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, London, Smith joined

from non-league

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone. The area accommodates ...

in May 1950. He spent two seasons at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

but couldn't break into the first-team. He then moved to

where he spent a further season with no first-team appearances. In the 1953–54 season, Smith accumulated 12 goals in 38 games for

, where he moved following his frustrating season with Bournemouth. After a dispute with one of the Watford directors, Smith signed for

for a fee of £5,000 but again fell out with his employers after notching 12 goals in 53 league appearances.

manager

Benny Fenton Benjamin Robert Vincent Fenton (28 October 1918 – 29 July 2000) was an English professional association football, football player and manager. He played for West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Millwall F.C., Millwall, Charlton Athletic F.C. ...

signed Smith in June 1956 and scored 13 times in 35 appearances in a season where Colchester ran rivals

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

close for the

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

title. Smith's Colchester debut came in the

Essex derby In English football, the Essex derby is the local derby between the two professional teams in the English county of Essex – Colchester United and Southend United. The first Essex derby match that took place was a 4–2 victory for Southend ...

on the opening day of the 1956–57 season where the U's won 3–2 at

Layer Road Layer Road was a Football League stadium in Colchester, England. It was only used for football matches and was the home ground of Colchester United before being replaced by the Colchester Community Stadium. The stadium held spectators and was ...

. He opened his account four days later at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...

with a hat-trick, and scored a further treble against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

on 19 January 1957. While playing for Colchester, Smith lived in London and requested a transfer in June 1957 to reduce the amount of travelling required. The U's sold Smith to

for more than they initially paid for him, ending his spell with the club with a record of 13 goals in 35 league matches. QPR did not get a great return on their investment in Smith as he could score only one goal in 17 games during a stint blighted by injury, including a several-month stay on the sidelines with a knee injury. After a single season with the R's, Smith again moved on, this time to

Chelmsford City Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium. History Chelmsford Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members o ...

and then

Wisbech Town Wisbech Town Football Club is a football club based near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Fenland Stadium. History Although a Wisbech Town existed in the 1890s, the current club was estab ...

. After Smith retired from the game, he started his own electrical business in the

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed ...

area. He died in April 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Eddie 1929 births 1993 deaths Footballers from the City of Westminster People from Marylebone English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Wealdstone F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Watford F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players Wisbech Town F.C. players English Football League players