Fred "Freddy" Smith (birth registered second quarter 1935 – 24 April 2004) was an English professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played at representative level for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

(despite being born in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

), and at club level for

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

and

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home fixtures at the DIY Kitchen Stadium, Belle Vue (Wakefield), Belle Vue and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier o ...

, as a .

Background

Smith was born in

Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the southeast of Manchester city centre. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England, and he died in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Fred Smith was a non-playing substitute for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

while at Wakefield Trinity.

County honours

Fred Smith represented

(despite being born in

) while at Wakefield Trinity.

Championship final appearances

Fred Smith played on the , and scored a try in

's 3–27 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in the

Rugby Football League Championship The Rugby Football League Championship First Division was the top division of rugby league in Great Britain between 1895 and 1996, when it was replaced by the Super League. History 1895–1904: Foundations The first season of rugby leagu ...

Final during the 1959–60 season at

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium (known as Bartercard Odsal Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a multi-purpose stadium, multipurpose stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium is currently the home of Bradford Bulls rugby league football club and ...

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

on Saturday 21 May 1960.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Fred Smith played on the , and scored a try in

's 38–5 victory over

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the ...

in the

1959–60 Challenge Cup The 1959–60 Challenge Cup was the 59th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final The 1959–60 Challenge Cup tournament ended in a final between Wa ...

Final during the 1959–60 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on Saturday 14 May 1960, and played in the 12–6 victory over

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

in the

1961–62 Challenge Cup The 1961–62 Challenge Cup was the 61st staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Wakefield Trinity beat Huddersfield 12-6 in the Challenge Cup Fina ...

Final during the 1961–62 season at

on Saturday 12 May 1962.Hoole, Les (2004). ''Wakefield Trinity RLFC - FIFTY GREAT GAMES''. Breedon Books.

County Cup Final appearances

Fred Smith played on the , and scored 2- tries in

's 25–3 victory over

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

in the

1956–57 Yorkshire Cup The 1956 Yorkshire Cup was the forty-ninth occasion on which the rugby league competition known as the Yorkshire County Cup had been held. Featuring clubs from the 1956–57 Northern Rugby Football League season, matches were played over Septem ...

Final during the 1956–57 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

on Saturday 20 October 1956, played on the in the 20–24 defeat by

in the 1958–59 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1958–59 season at

on Saturday 18 October 1958, played on the , and scored a try in the 16–10 victory over

in the

1960–61 Yorkshire Cup The 1960–61 Yorkshire Cup was the fifty-third occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition was held. Wakefield Trinity won the trophy by beating Huddersfield by a score of 16-10 in the final played at Headingley, Leeds, now in West Yorkshi ...

Final during the 1960–61 season at

on Saturday 29 October 1960, and played on the , and scored a try in the 19–9 victory over

in the

1961–62 Yorkshire Cup The 1961–62 Yorkshire Cup was the fifty-fourth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. Wakefield Trinity winning the trophy by beating Leeds by the score of 19-9 The match was played at Odsal in the City of Bradford, n ...

Final during the 1961–62 season at

on Saturday 11 November 1961.

Notable tour matches

Fred Smith played on the in

's 17–12 victory over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the

1956–57 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France The 1956–57 Kangaroo tour was the ninth Kangaroo tour, in which the Australian national rugby league team travelled to Great Britain and France and played twenty-eight matches, including the Ashes series (rugby league), Ashes series of three Ru ...

match at Belle Vue,

on Monday 10 December 1956.

Transfer from Leeds to Wakefield Trinity

Fred Smith was transferred from

in January 1956, with Don Robinson going the other way. In addition,

also received £3,000 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £155,300 in 2013).

Career records

Fred Smith's record for the most tries for

in a match set against

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

in 1959 with 7-tries has since been equalled by Keith Slater in 1971, and the record for the most tries for Wakefield Trinity in a season set during the 1959–60 season with 38-tries has since been equalled by David Smith in the 1973–74 season, but over fifty years on, both of Fred Smith's records for Wakefield Trinity remain unbeaten.

Contemporaneous article extract

"''Fred Smith: When Don Robinson moved to

in January 1956, Fred Smith came to Belle Vue as part of the transfer agreement. In his first full season of 1956/57 he scored 30 tries – only one other player had ever scored more for the

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises * ...

. In 1958/59 he extended Denis Boocker's and Neil Fox's joint record to 37 and in 1959/60 took his seasons total to 38. Also holds the record of tries in a match – seven against

in 1958/9''".Lindley, John (1960). ''Dreadnoughts - A HISTORY OF Wakefield Trinity F.C. 1873 - 1960 age118'. John Lindley Son & Co Ltd. ISBN n/a

References

External links

Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
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Search for "Smith" at rugbyleagueproject.orgRugby League Cup Final 1960Wakefield Win Cup 1962
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Fred 1935 births 2004 deaths English rugby league players Leeds Rhinos players Sportspeople from Gorton Place of death missing Rugby league players from Manchester Rugby league wingers Wakefield Trinity players Yorkshire rugby league team players 20th-century English sportsmen