James Smith (24 September 1911 – 5 December 2003) was a Scottish professional
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 ...
, who played for
East Stirlingshire
East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in the , in the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club's origins ca ...
and Rangers. During his time at Rangers he scored 249 goals in 259 games.
Club career
Smith moved from East Stirlingshire to Rangers aged 17 in December 1928, having scored more than a goal per game in
Scottish Division Two
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...
during his five-month spell at Firs Park, and made his professional debut against
Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...
in March 1929. He was only selected twice in his first season at Ibrox and just once the following season, although he scored in that match, a 3–1 win against Dundee. In season 1930–31, he scored 21 goals in 21 games, including five in an 8–0 defeat of
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, as Rangers won the League championship for the fifth season running.(Rangers player) Smith, Jimmy FitbaStats
After Rangers missed out on a sixth successive title in season 1931–32 (during which Smith only featured eight games, scoring five times), the championship returned to Ibrox the following season and Smith finished top scorer with 34 goals, including four
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
Bob McPhail
Robert Lowe McPhail (25 October 1905 – 24 August 2000) was a Scottish professional footballer, who played for Airdrieonians, Rangers and represented Scotland.
Career Airdrieonians
Born in Barrhead, McPhail started his career at Glasgow Jun ...
, notched up 72 goals between them in 47 games as Rangers continued their dominance of Scottish football. Smith also collected his first
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,St Mirren in the final at Hampden.
Success for Smith and Rangers continued. The League title was again won in 1934–35 with Smith scoring 43 goals in 38 matches, including six in a 7–1 defeat of
Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...
. He also collected his second Scottish Cup medal, scoring twice in the 2–1 against
Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...
in the final. Rangers went on to win two of the next four League championships before
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 opposing ...
and Smith was Rangers' top scorer in three of the four, including 31 goals from 38 games in the 1936–37 success.
Smith continued to play for Rangers during the unofficial matches played during the war (scoring 100 further goals) but retired from football upon the return of official domestic football in 1946–47. After he retired he continued as a club trainer then chief scout until 1967.
International career
Despite his incredible goalscoring record, he only ever won two
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...
for
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, both against
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. He won his first cap on 20 October 1934 in a 2–1 defeat in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
and his second cap was on 10 November 1937, where Smith scored the equaliser in a 1–1 draw at
Pittodrie
Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they wer ...
Scottish Football League XI
The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...
(though this was also unofficial to an extent, being a
RAF Benevolent Fund
The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund (RAF Benevolent Fund or RAFBF) is the Royal Air Force's leading welfare charity, providing financial, practical and emotional support to serving and former members of the RAF – regardless of rank – as wel ...
List of footballers in Scotland by number of league goals
The following is a list of footballers who have scored at least 200 domestic league goals in Scottish league football. This includes the appearances and goals of former players, in the following domestic league competitions only:
* Scottish Pre ...