Lionel Smith (23 August 1920 – 6 November 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 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 ...

as a full back for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and

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 ...

. He was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

six times for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the 1950s.

Biography

Born in

Mexborough Mexborough is a town in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. Situated between Manvers and Denaby Main, it lies on the River Don close to where it joins the River Dearne, and the A6023 road runs through the town. It is contiguous ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, Smith played for local non-league sides before signing as an amateur with

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

club

in April 1939. He turned professional that summer, only for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to break out; Smith joined the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

and served as a

sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...

, but also played in some wartime matches for Arsenal (17 in all). An injury incurred in a crane accident threatened to disrupt his career, but when first-class football resumed in 1946-47, Smith had made a full recovery, and was made captain of the Gunners' reserve side. Smith primarily played as a full back, but his initial chances were few and far between; Arsenal already had experienced full backs in Laurie Scott and

Walley Barnes Walley Barnes (16 January 1920 – 4 September 1975) was a Welsh footballer and broadcaster. Whilst playing as a defender he featured for Southampton and Arsenal and captained the Welsh national side. Early career He was born in Brecon to Engli ...

. Smith made his debut at

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, deputising for

Leslie Compton Leslie Harry Compton (12 September 1912 – 27 December 1984) was an English sportsman who played football and cricket for Arsenal and Middlesex, respectively. He gained two England caps late in his football career, and remains the oldest outfi ...

, in an 8–0 victory over

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

on 1 May 1948, the final match of their 1947-48 First Division-winning season. Smith finally gained a regular place at left back, after Scott suffered a series of injuries and Barnes switched sides to cover for him. Smith was known for his pace and the quality of his distribution (whenever possible, he eschewed "hoofing" the ball up the pitch), and finally picked up a medal when he played in the Gunners'

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

final victory over

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 ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

. Smith got international recognition when he was picked for

for a match against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

on 15 November 1950, making his debut at the relatively late age of 30. He went on to win six caps for his country. Having only played once in the Gunners' 1947-48 title-winning season, Smith finally picked up a League winners' medal in 1952-53, making 31 appearances that season. However, by now he was 33, and his age was starting to count against him, especially with the younger Dennis Evans threatening his place. He only played ten matches in 1953-54, and at the end of that season he left the club on a free transfer. In all he had played 181 games for Arsenal, never scoring a goal. He spent a single season at

, before moving to Gravesend & Northfleet as manager, where he won the 1957-58 Southern League title. Smith stepped down as Gravesend manager in 1960, and retired from football altogether. He died in 1980, aged 60.

Honours

;Arsenal *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

* First Division: 1952-53

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Lionel 1920 births 1980 deaths Footballers from Mexborough Footballers from Doncaster English men's footballers England men's international footballers Men's association football fullbacks Denaby United F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Watford F.C. players English football managers Ebbsfleet United F.C. managers British Army personnel of World War II Royal Engineers soldiers