Geoff Smith (footballer, born 1928)
| 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.
Early life
Smith was born in Cottingley on the outskirts of Bradford, England on 14 March 1928. He had a brother Jack.[1] During his childhood, their family moved to Keighley, where Smith first played football for St Anne's Church. Aged 18, Smith was called up to the army in 1946. He served in an infantry united in Malaya for two years until he returned to Keighley.[2]
Career
Amateur career
Smith resumed his football career back at home with Keighley Central Club. A goalkeeper, he was still playing for Keighley Central in 1948, when he was offered a trial with his local side Bradford City, who were at the time a Third Division North side. His trial was unsuccesful and he was released.[3] Instead, Smith joined Lancashire Combination League side Nelson.[1][3] He was still living in Keighley, and travelled to Nelson by bus with his brother Jack, who had previously played for Leeds United but had been released when Major Frank Buckley took over as manager. Smith played for Nelson for three years but initially gave up the game when the club could no longer afford to pay him. He was not long out of the game before he signed Rossendale United, a member of the Lancashire Combination's Second Division. Smith said the journey by bus was a difficult one so he bought a motorbike. However, like Nelson, Rossendale could not afford to pay him, and after another two years, Smith gave up the game once again.[1]
Bradford City
In 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. 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 g Markham, David (2007). The legends of Bradford City. Breedon Books Sport. pp. 174–175. ISBN 978-1-85983-572-2. 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 h Frost, Terry (1988). Bradford City A Complete Record 1903–1988. Breedon Books Sport. p. 139. ISBN 0907969380.
- ^ "Ivor Powell – Manager 1952–1955". Bradford City official website. Retrieved 2008-01-05.