John Smith (15 September 1886 – 4 September 1916) 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 ...

and one of the most prolific goal-scorers in the history of Hull City, notching 102 goals from only 168 outings for the club. His 32 goals in 1909–10 made him the top goal-scorer in Europe that season.

Family

John was married in

Sculcoates Sculcoates is a suburb of Kingston upon Hull, north of the city centre, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. For many centuries, much of what was called Hull came within the parish of St Mary's Church. Sculcoates railway station closed ...

, Kingston upon Hull to Annie Bosworth in 1907.

Career

John "Jacky" Smith was born September 1883 in the Tyneside pit village of Wardley. After establishing himself as a rare goal-scoring talent at Hebburn Argyle, Smith was signed by Second Division Hull City whilst still a teenager in June 1905 and, following a prolific spell in the reserves, quickly established himself in the first team under player manager

Ambrose Langley Ambrose Langley (10 March 1870 – 29 January 1937) was an English football player and manager. He was the manager of Hull City from 1905 until 1913. He was born in 6 South Street, Horncastle and played over 300 games for Sheffield Wednesday. ...

. Equally accomplished as an inside right or a centre-forward, Smith consolidated his position as a fans favourite during the 1906–07 season with 19 goals in 34 League appearances before setting a new club record of 31 goals from 37 games in 1907–08. Such was Smith's form around this time, that he belied his Second Division status by becoming Hull City's first representative player when called up to play for 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 ...

against the Scottish League. Despite being the subject of attention from bigger First Division Clubs, Smith stayed loyal to the Hull City cause and, though a series of injuries restricted him to just 10 goals in 23 appearances during 1908–09, he bounced back to spearhead his club's promotion challenge in 1909–10, notching no fewer than four hat-tricks in a haul of 32 goals from only 35 outings, making him the top scorer in Europe that season. Despite Smith's efforts, Hull City agonisingly missed out on promotion to the First Division on goal difference to Oldham Athletic. Smith desperately wanted to prove himself in the First Division and, though he began the 1910–11 season as a Hull City player, he was soon enticed to Sheffield United for a transfer fee of £500 where he was to score seven times in only 12 league games for the Blades, before Nottingham Forest signed him to spearhead an ultimately futile bid to avoid relegation. Back in the Second Division with Forest, Smith quickly became disillusioned with the professional game and went on to spend time at non-league Nelson FC and York City before seeing out his career as a full-back for Heckmondwike in the Yorkshire League.

Playing style

Jacky Smith was only 5 ft 7in tall, but what he lacked in height he more than made up for in heart. According to a report in the ''

Hull Daily Mail The ''Hull Daily Mail'' is an English regional daily newspaper for Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The ''Hull Daily Mail'' has been circulated in various guises since 1885. A second edition, the ''East Riding Mail'', covers ...

'' he was described as:

''"Although only a small man, he is endowed with any amount of trickery, yet prefers to bustle his opponents and seems to take glory in charging a six-foot back."''

Death

Following the outbreak of World War I, Smith was enlisted in the

York & Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment o ...

and was aged 29 when he was killed in action during the early days of September 1916 in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

, leaving a widow and six children. Two of his sons, Jack Smith and Jim Smith, went on to play professional Rugby league for the Hull Kingston Rovers.A Century of City: The Official History of Hull City 1904-2004 - Mike Peterson

References

External links

Before Gboot

Hull City All-Time Top Scorers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jackie English men's footballers Hebburn Argyle F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players 1880s births 1916 deaths English Football League players English Football League representative players British military personnel killed in the Battle of the Somme Men's association football forwards West Stanley F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Nelson F.C. players York City F.C. (1908) players British Army personnel of World War I York and Lancaster Regiment soldiers Military personnel from Tyne and Wear Footballers from Gateshead