Harold Smith (10 March 1904 – after 1928) was an English

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 as an

inside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. Smith was born in

North Shields North Shields ( ) is a town in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. The population of North Shields at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom cens ...

in 1904. He played local football for Cullercoats before signing for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

for the 1925–26 season. He remained there for two seasons without playing first-team football, featuring only for the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

. When Jimmy Loughlin was sold to

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

club

in May 1927, Smith and another teammate, George Robson, also made the move. He played only once for the first team, standing in for

Vivian Gibbins William Vivian Talbot Gibbins (10 August 1901 – 21 November 1979) was an English amateur association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. West Ham and Clapton Born in Forest Gate, Gibbins joined ...

for the home match against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

on 29 October; West Ham lost 2–1. He then returned to the north-east in August 1928 to join

Blyth Spartans Blyth Spartans Association Football Club is an association football club based in Blyth, Northumberland. They are currently members of and play at Croft Park. They were founded in September 1899 by Fred Stoker, who was the club's first secre ...

and later played for West Stanley.

References

1904 births Year of death missing Footballers from North Shields English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Newcastle United F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players West Stanley F.C. players English Football League players {{England-footy-forward-1900s-stub