George Herbert Smithies (22 November 1906 – 1980) 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

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

in the Football League for

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

and Birmingham. He was capped several times for the England national amateur football team.

Football career

Smithies was born in

Ribchester Ribchester is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston. The village has a long history with evidence of Bronze ...

, Lancashire. He played for leading amateur team Northern Nomads while training to be a teacher, and maintained his amateur status throughout his football career. He played for

in the 1929–30 season, making his

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 ...

debut in the Second Division on 2 November 1929 in a 4–1 win at home to

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

. In 20 league games for the club, Smithies scored 10 goals, enough to make him Preston's joint leading scorer for the season. While a Preston player, he was selected to play at inside right for The Rest, to play against the England amateur team in an international trial. The Rest outplayed England, particularly in the

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 ...

play, winning 7–0. Smithies scored three and was involved in two others, a performance which secured his selection for the forthcoming international in which England's amateurs beat their Welsh counterparts 2–0. Smithies scored both goals, and was described as having "led the forwards with dash". He appeared in England amateurs' next match, though with less success, and then reverted to playing for Northern Nomads and, in a brief return to the Football League on the opening day of the 1931–32 season, alongside

Joe Bradford Joseph Bradford (22 January 1901 – 6 September 1980) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Born in Peggs Green, near Coalville, Leicestershire, Bradford made nearly 450 appearances for Birmingham in all comp ...

and

Johnny Crosbie John Crosbie (9 October 1895 – 1 February 1982) was a Scottish professional association football, footballer who played as an inside forward in the Scottish Football League for Ayr United F.C., Ayr United and made more than 400 appearances in ...

for Birmingham in the First Division. He was called up again for the England amateur XI in November 1931, as a replacement for the injured

Vivian Gibbins William Vivian Talbot Gibbins (10 August 1901 – 21 November 1979) was an English amateur footballer who played as a striker. West Ham and Clapton Born in Forest Gate, Gibbins joined West Ham United in 1923 and made his debut as an amat ...

of West Ham United. Smithies made his debut for Corinthian on 13 February 1932, when he scored in a 4–3 defeat at

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

. In April 1933, he toured Denmark with the Corinthians, scoring in a 2–2 draw with Boldklub 1903. In all he only made three appearances for the Corinthians, scoring twice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smithies, George 1906 births 1980 deaths People from Ribchester English footballers England amateur international footballers Association football forwards Northern Nomads F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Corinthian F.C. players English Football League players Date of death missing Place of death missing