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Players Index Page Last Updated
8 December 2022
 
 

Herbert Smith

Reading FC

 4 appearances, 0 goals

P 4 W 4 D 0 L 0 F 10: A 1
100% successful
1905-06

captain: none
minutes played: 360

Timeline
  Herbert Smith
Birth 22 November 1877 in Witney, Oxfordshire [registered in Witney, December 1877].
notes His birth registration, the only Herbert Smith in the Witney area, his census returns, and his death registration, confirm that Smith was born in 1877, not 1879.
 

According to the 1881 census, Herbert is the three year old son of William and Jane (née Looker), the second of three children. They live with his two cousins and two servants. They live in Bridge Street in Witney. His father is a woollen manufacturer employing 31 men and 40 women/children.
 

According to the 1891 census, thirteen year old Herbert is a pupil at Collegiate School in Wangford, Beccles, Suffolk.
 

According to the 1901 census, Herbert is back at home living with his parents at 10 Bridge Street in Witney, he is one of five children, along with two servants. Both Herbert and his father are in the blanket manufacturer business.
Marriage to Jessie Lawton [registered in Bakewell, December 1906]. The only Jessie to marry a Herbert Smith in the 1906/07 period.
 

According to the 1911 census, Herbert, still a blanket manufacturer, is married to Jessie, and they live at Dawson House, at 3 Bridge Street in Witney. They have one servant.
 

According to the 1921 census, Herbert, still a blanket manufacturer, is still married and they have three children, Barbara, John and Neville and along with two servants, and two members of his wife's family. They are at St. Athermen in St. Helen's, Isle of Wight (on holiday?).
  According to the 1939 register, Herbert is still a blanket manufacturer and still married, now living at 14 West End in Witney.
Death 6 January 1951 at 14 West End, Witney, aged 73 years 45 days [registered in Witney, March 1951]. Left £594 3s. 3d.

Source

Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] &

Playing Career
Club(s) Played for Oxford Schools and Witney FC, before joining Reading FC in 1901. He had spells with Oxford City FC during his Reading stay, and after he left them in 1908. He had been the club captain and the only unpaid member of the side. Smith also assisted Derby County FC, making one league appearance during the 1906-07 season, and Stoke FC, again, one league appearance during the 1907-08. Also represented Richmond Association and Oxfordshire FA.
Club honours FA Amateur Cup runners-up 1902-03
Individual honours None
Distinctions None
Height/Weight 6' 0", 12st. 10lbs [1905].

Source

Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990].

England Career
Player number One of three who became the 308th players (309) to appear for England
Position(s) Left-back
First match No. 84, 27 March 1905, England 3 Wales 1, a British Championship match at Anfield Road, Anfield, Liverpool, aged 27 years 125 days.
Last match No. 87, 19 March 1906, Wales 0 England 1, a British Championship match at Cardiff Arms Park, Temperance Town, Cardiff, aged 28 years 117 days.
Major tournaments British Championship 1904-05, 1905-06;
Team honours British Championship winners 1904-05, shared 1905-06;
Individual honours England Amateur (seventeen appearances). Olympic Gold Medal London 1908
Distinctions most appearanced Englishman at Reading FC.

Beyond England
A blanket manufacturer by trade. President of the Oxfordshire FA from 1919 until his death. - An English Football Internationalists' Who's Who. Douglas Lamming (1990). Hatton Press, p.226/7.

 

Herbert Smith - Career Statistics
Squads Apps comp. apps Mins. goals ave.min comp. goals Capt. Disc.
4 4 0 360 0 0 min 0 none none
minutes are an approximation, due to the fact that many matches rarely stick to exactly ninety minutes long, allowing time for injuries and errors.

 

Herbert Smith - Match Record - All Matches - By Type of Match
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
Home 2 2 0 0 4 1 +3 0 1 2.00 0.50 100.0 +2
Away 2 2 0 0 6 0 +6 0 2 3.00 0.00 100.0 +2
All - British Championship 4 4 0 0 10 1 +9 0 3 2.50 0.25 100.0 +4

 

Herbert Smith - Match Record - Tournament Matches
British Championship Competition
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
BC 1904-05 2 2 0 0 4 1 +3 0 1 2.00 0.50 100.0 +2
BC 1904-05 2 2 0 0 6 0 +6 0 2 3.00 0.00 100.0 +2
BC All 4 4 0 0 10 1 +9 0 3 2.50 0.25 100.0 +4
All Competition
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
BC 4 4 0 0 10 1 +9 0 3 2.50 0.25 100.0 +4
All 4 4 0 0 10 1 +9 0 3 2.50 0.25 100.0 +4

 

Herbert Smith - Match History
 Club: Reading F.C. - 4 full appearances

F.A. International Select Committee - 4 full capsx

Age 27
1 84 27 March 1905 - England 3 Wales 1, Anfield Road, Liverpool BC HW Start lb
2 85 1 April 1905 - England 1 Scotland 0, Sports Arena, Crystal Palace HW Start lb
Age 28
3 86 17 February 1906 - Ireland 0 England 5, Solitude Ground, Belfast BC AW Start lb
4 87 19 March 1906 - Wales 0 England 1, Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff AW Start lb

Notes

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