Henry Smith (27 August 1930 – 22 April 2020) was an English footballer who played as an

inside 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 ...

. He made 73 appearances in

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 his local club of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

in the 1950s.

Playing career

Smith spent time on the books of Chester and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

after leaving school and then had a spell with Connah's Quay Nomads after serving with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

.''Player Memories'', Chester City v Shrewsbury Town matchday programme, 18/2/95, p 15 In the early 1950s he rejoined Chester, initially as an amateur and then as a part-time professional from 1955 as he combined playing with working as a

milkman Milk delivery is a delivery service dedicated to supplying milk. This service typically delivers milk in bottles or cartons directly to customers' homes. This service is performed by a milkman, milkwoman, or milk deliverer. (In contrast, a cow ...

. Smith made his league debut on the final day of 1952–53 against Barrow and went on to score seven times in his 73 league appearances in the next five years. His final league appearance came against

Hartlepools United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Har ...

on 28 December 1957, after which he left the club to set up his own milk business. Smith dropped into non–league football with Flint Town United and then played for

Pwllheli Pwllheli () is a market town and community of the Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn) in Gwynedd, north-western Wales. It had a population of 4,076 in 2011 of whom a large proportion, 81%, are Welsh language, Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the pl ...

Honours

Chester *

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...

runners–up: 1954–55 (played in final replay).

References

{{authority control 1930 births 2020 deaths Military personnel from Chester 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Royal Air Force airmen Footballers from Chester English men's footballers English Football League players Men's association football inside forwards Chester City F.C. players Connah's Quay Nomads F.C. players Flint Town United F.C. players Pwllheli F.C. players