James Smith (24 September 1911 – 4 December 2003) was a Scottish professional footballer, who played for East Stirlingshire 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 during his five-month spell at Firs Park, and made his professional debut against Hamilton Academical 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
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 ...
. In season 1930–31, he scored 21 goals in 21 games, including five in an 8–0 defeat of Clyde, 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 Wick ...
s.
In season 1933–34, Smith and striking partner Bob McPhail, 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. He also collected his second Scottish Cup medal, scoring twice in the 2–1 against Hamilton Academical 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
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 for
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 ...
, both against
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. He won his first cap on 20 October 1934 in a 2–1 defeat in
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...