Gordon Smith (25 May 1924 – 7 August 2004) was a Scottish footballer. He is the only player to have won a Scottish league championship with three clubs: Hibernian, Heart of Midlothian, and

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

. Smith also represented

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and the Scottish League XI.

Club career

Hibernian

Born in Edinburgh, Smith spent most of his childhood in Montrose in Angus. He showed great footballing promise in his school days at Southesk and Montrose Academy, earning two Scottish schoolboy caps at aged 14. At the juvenile and junior level, he played for Bromford, Kirriemuir Harp (turning out a few times for junior sides Montrose Roselea and Kirriemuir Thistle) and Dundee North End. Smith scored an abundance of goals in his junior days, regularly netting a

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 Wick ...

and even as many as eight goals a match. On 14 April 1941, Smith played for a Scottish Junior select side against a Hearts and Hibs select to celebrate the opening of Lochee Harp's Beechwood Park, scoring a hat-trick. Afterwards, both Edinburgh club's quickly sought his signature. Smith had been due to sign for his boyhood favourites Hearts, but the 16-year-old was signed by Hibs as a professional and played against their Edinburgh rivals on his debut, scoring a hat-trick in a 5–3 victory at Tynecastle on 28 April 1941. The "Gay Gordon" soon established himself as an idol for a whole generation of post-war football fans. Alongside Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Eddie Turnbull, and Willie Ormond, Smith became part of the " Famous Five", the most celebrated forward line in Hibs' history. During the late 1940s and 1950s Smith and the Famous Five ensured Hibs were one of the most successful sides in Scotland, both sporting-wise and at the turnstiles. The League title was captured three times (

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

), while

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

saw Rangers pip Hibs only through the goal average system. Smith was less successful in cup competition however, reaching only one Scottish Cup Final with Hibs, which they lost 2–1 to

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

. A recurring ankle injury led to Hibs releasing him in 1959.

Heart of Midlothian

Smith believed that an operation could cure the injury. Smith paid for an operation on the offending ankle himself, and then he signed for Hearts. He was to enjoy immediate success at Tynecastle, winning both the league and the League Cup in his first season with the club. After an injury-plagued second season with Hearts, Smith was released and again the football writers prepared obituaries for the veteran's career.

Dundee

Smith was to again confound contemporary wisdom, signing for

and forming a part of their league winning side in

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

. At the age of 38, Smith had achieved the unique distinction of being the only player to win the league title with three different teams, none of them with either half of the traditionally dominant Old Firm. In the following season Smith was paired in a forward line with Alan Gilzean. They helped Dundee to the European Cup semi-finals, where they performed gallantly in an aggregate defeat to A.C. Milan. After leaving Dundee, he played briefly for Drumcondra in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

, before finally retiring at the end of the 1963–64 season.

International career

During his playing career, Gordon Smith was capped 19 times by

, scoring four goals. Smith was compared with his English contemporaries Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney, but he did not appear to have a "big-match temperament". Smith had to compete for selection with Rangers winger Willie Waddell, who was capped 17 times in the same period. In addition to his appearances for the national team, Smith appeared 11 times for the Scottish League XI.

Career statistics

International appearances

International goals

Honours

; Hibernian * Scottish Division A: 1947–48, 1950–51, 1951–52 * Southern League Cup: 1943–44 * Wilson Cup: 1944–45, 1945–46 * Rosebery Charity Cup: 1944–45 ; Heart of Midlothian * Scottish Division One: 1959–60 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

: 1959–60 ; Dundee * Scottish Division One: 1961–62 ; Scotland * British Home Championship: 1955–56 (shared) ; Dundee North End *Forfarshire Junior Consolation Cup: 1940-41 ; Individual * Rex Kingsley Footballer of the Year: Inaugural, 1951 * Scottish Sports Hall of Fame: 2003 * Scottish Football Hall of Fame: 2004 * Dundee Hall of Fame: Legends Award 2012 * Hibernian Hall of Fame: Inaugural inductee, 2010

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Gordon 1924 births 2004 deaths Footballers from Edinburgh Men's association football wingers Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Hibernian F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Drumcondra F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League players League of Ireland players Scottish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees Scottish Football League representative players Dundee North End F.C. players Scotland men's wartime international footballers Footballers from Montrose, Angus Montrose Roselea F.C. players Kirriemuir Thistle F.C. players