Eugene Victor Charles Smith (1878 – 29 December 1951) was an English

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

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 half-back for Southampton St. Mary's in the late 1890s/early 1900s.

Football career

Smith was born in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and was employed in the town's

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headquarters. He made his first appearance for Southampton St. Mary's on 28 March 1896, when he took the place of

Alf Littlehales Alfred Littlehales (1867 – 18 November 1942) was an English professional footballer who played at centre-half for Southampton in the 1890s. Football career Littlehales was born in Wellington, Shropshire and started his football career with W ...

in a 5–0 victory over New Brompton. He spent most of his time with "the Saints" in the reserves, where he became team captain. It was not until January 1900 that he made his next Southern League appearance when he was called up in place of

Jimmy Yates James Yates (2 November 1869 – 5 September 1922) was an English professional footballer who played as a right winger in the 1900 FA Cup Final for Southampton. Playing career Yates was born in Tunstall, Stafordshire, but started his professi ...

away to Swindon Town. He made a further appearance in the penultimate match of the season, before another long spell in the reserves. Noted for "the prodigious distance he was able to kick the ball", he was able to dispatch it the full length of the pitch. His final league appearances came in January 1902, when he took over from

Tommy Bowman Thomas Bowman (26 October 1873 – 27 August 1958) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a half back in the 1902 FA Cup final for Southampton. Playing career Bowman began his professional career at Blackpool in 1896, making hi ...

for two matches. He played on in the reserves for another season before retiring.

Life outside football

In 1903, he became a full-time

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and remained in the police force for 28 years, reaching the rank of

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

. He remained a keen supporter of "the Saints" throughout his life, rarely missing a home match. He died on 29 December 1951 on his way home after a match (a 4–1 defeat by

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Victor 1878 births 1951 deaths Footballers from Southampton English men's footballers Southampton F.C. players Southern Football League players British police officers Men's association football defenders