Geoff Smith (footballer, born 1928): Difference between revisions
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| playername = Geoff Smith |
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| fullname = Geoffrey Smith |
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| dateofbirth = {{birth date|1928|3|14|df=y}} |
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| cityofbirth = [[Cottingley, Bradford|Cottingley]] |
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| countryofbirth = [[England]] |
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| height = |
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| position = [[Goalkeeper (association football)|Goalkeeper]] |
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| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = St Anne's Church |
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| youthyears = |
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| youthyears2 = | youthclubs2 = Keighley Central Club |
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| years1 = | clubs1 = [[Nelson F.C.|Nelson]] | caps1 = | goals1 = |
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| years = <br><br>1952–1959 |
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| years2 = | clubs2 = [[Rossendale United F.C.|Rossendale United]] | caps2 = | goals2 = |
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| years3 = 1952–1959 | clubs3 = [[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City]] | caps3 = 253 | goals3 = 0 |
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| caps(goals) = <br><br>253 (0) |
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| nationalyears = |
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| nationalcaps(goals) = |
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'''Geoffrey "Geoff" Smith''' (born 14 March 1928) is a former [[England|English]] professional [[association football|footballer]] who played 253 league games for [[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City]] as a [[Goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeeper]], including 200 consecutive appearances. |
'''Geoffrey "Geoff" Smith''' (born 14 March 1928) is a former [[England|English]] professional [[association football|footballer]] who played 253 league games for [[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City]] as a [[Goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeeper]], including 200 consecutive appearances. |
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Revision as of 10:44, 28 August 2010
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Geoffrey Smith | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| St Anne's Church | |||
| Keighley Central Club | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Nelson | |||
| Rossendale United | |||
| 1952–1959 | Bradford City | 253 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Geoffrey "Geoff" Smith (born 14 March 1928) is a former English professional footballer who played 253 league games for Bradford City as a goalkeeper, including 200 consecutive appearances.
Career
Smith was born in the Cottingley area of Bradford, England on 14 March 1928.[1] He began playing football for St Anne's Church, in Keighley,[2] and was playing football for Keighley Central Club in 1948 when he was offered a trial with Bradford City but he was released and instead played non-league football in goal for Nelson and Rossendale United in the Lancashire Combination League.[3] He lived in Keighley during his time playing in Lancashire,[1] and by December 1952, he was offered another trial by Bradford City manager Ivor Powell.[3]
He was signed on amateur forms and played seven games for the reserves before he was handed his debut against Scunthorpe United on 17 January 1953 replacing Brendan McManus.[1][3] He remained in the side for the remainder of the season, playing 19 games, before he signed professional terms in July 1953,[3] having previously worked part-time as a lorry driver. He had been earning £4 10s (£4.50) per week as a lorry driver, but the club did not want him driving around the country and offered him £10 per week plus a £4 win bonus.[1] The following season he made 24 league games, and his fellow keeper Jimmy Gooch 22 games before he claimed the number one jersey for himself, playing 200 consecutive appearances, which included four seasons as ever-present, between 1954 and 1958.[3] His number of consecutive appearances is third on the club's list, and coincided with a run of 246 league games by full back George Mulholland.[1] During the 1957–58 season, he kept 18 clean sheets, which was a club record he shares with Steve Smith and Eric McManus.[3] The following season, his run of consecutive games came to an end before he retired at the end of the season, when he played 26 games.[3] He played a total of 253 games for the club, keeping 70 clean sheets,[1] which had been a club record until it was broken by Paul Tomlinson.[4]
Personal life
Smith met his wife Margaret at a ceilidh at St Anne's Social Club, in Keighley, in 1944, when they were both teenagers. They married on 26 August 1950 at Holy Trinity Church, in Keighley. Together, they had two daughters.[2]
Before his football career, Smith was a motor mechanic and was then called up to the army in 1946, serving in Malaya for two years. When he retired from playing, he and his wife ran an off-licence in Cross Roads for 25 years and a newsagents in Keighley for another five years.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Markham, David (2007). The legends of Bradford City. Breedon Books Sport. pp. pp. 174–175. ISBN 978-1-85983-572-2.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) Cite error: The named reference "markham" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b c Rahman, Miran (2010-08-26). "Keeper's catch has lasted for 60 years". Keighley News. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g Frost, Terry (1988). Bradford City A Complete Record 1903–1988. Breedon Books Sport. pp. p. 139. ISBN 0907969380.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ "Ivor Powell – Manager 1952–1955". Bradford City official website. Retrieved 2008-01-05.