Ernest Edwin "Bert" Smith (born 4 January 1896, date of death unknown) was a 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 lea ...

who played for Cardiff and then Middlesbrough and Watford. He was born in Donegal. He was capped four times by Ireland, captaining the team against England in 1922. Smith was born of English parents and his father worked as a lighthouse keeper in Donegal. Smith's football career began during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

when he played for the

Indian army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

. On his return to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

he joined

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

for the start of the 1919–1920 season as they played in the

Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...

. He played more times than any other player in that season and remained with the club as they were elected into the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

the following year. Cardiff were promoted into division one after just one season in division two along with

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

. Smith scored the club's first ever goal in the first division when he found the net in a 2–1 defeat to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

, also scoring a goal for Cardiff in the FA Cup semi final in 1921 during a 2–1 defeat to eventual winners

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. He was allowed to leave the club in 1923 to join

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, but his opportunities at the side were limited so he moved on again in 1925, this time to join

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. He made 50 league appearances for the club before finishing his career at non-league Emsworth F.C.. He was also capped 4 times for Ireland."Bert Smith"
NIfootball.com Retrieved on 10 June 2009 After retiring from football he owned and ran a guest house in the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

References

;Sources * 1896 births Military personnel from County Donegal Irish association footballers (before 1923) Cardiff City F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Watford F.C. players English Football League players Year of death missing Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Irish soldiers in the British Indian Army Men's association football players not categorized by position Indian Army personnel of World War I Irish people of English descent Association footballers from County Donegal {{Ireland-footy-bio-stub