| Alan Smith | |
| Fullname: | Alan Smith |
| Birth Date: | 15 October 1921 |
| Birth Place: | Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| Death Place: | East Sussex, England |
| Position: | Outside left |
| Years1: | 1946 |
| Clubs1: | Arsenal |
| Caps1: | 3 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 1946–1949 |
| Clubs2: | Brentford |
| Caps2: | 13 |
| Goals2: | 4 |
| Years3: | 1949–1950 |
| Clubs3: | Leyton Orient |
| Caps3: | 6 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 1950–1953 |
| Clubs4: | Tonbridge |
| Years5: | 1953–1954 |
| Clubs5: | Ashford Town |
| Caps5: | 26 |
| Goals5: | 6 |
| Years6: | 1954–1955 |
| Clubs6: | Whitstable |
| Years7: | 1955–1956 |
| Clubs7: | Ramsgate Athletic |
| Years8: | 1956 |
| Clubs8: | Dover |
| Years9: | 1956–1957 |
| Clubs9: | Whitstable |
| Years10: | 1957 |
| Clubs10: | Tunbridge Wells United (trial) |
| Years11: | 1957–1958 |
| Clubs11: | Chatham Town |
Alan Smith (15 October 1921 – 27 May 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as an outside left in the Football League for Arsenal, Brentford, and Leyton Orient making a total of 22 appearances, scoring 5 goals.[1]
Smith joined First Division club Arsenal in May 1946 after being demobbed from the Army.[2] He made his league debut, aged 24, on 7 September 1946 against Sunderland. He made only a further two appearances for "The Gunners" before, in December 1946, being transferred to another First Division club Brentford.[3] Smith scored his first league goal on 26 December 1946 for Brentford in a 2–1 victory against Sheffield United and scored a total of three goals in ten league appearances for "The Bees" over the 1946–47 season – at the end of which the club were relegated. He did not play any further league matches for Brentford until the tail-end of the 1948–49 season, when he appeared in three Second Division matches, scoring one goal.
In July 1949 Smith was part of a player exchange deal (with Reg Newton moving in the opposite direction) that took him to Leyton Orient[4] of the Football League Third Division South. He played in six matches, scoring one goal for "The Os" in the 1949–50 season. During the summer of 1950 Smith moved to non-league football when he signed with Tonbridge[5] of the Southern Football League, reuniting with his former Brentford manager Harry Curtis. He spent three seasons with Tonbridge, and had the misfortune to suffer a broken leg break during the 1951–52 season albeit he was fit for the start his final season, 1952–53, with "The Angels".[6]
Smith next signed with Ashford Town,[7] who were managed by his former Brentford teammate David Nelson and played with the club for a single season, 1953–54, in the Kent League (his subsequent clubs were all members of this league). In September 1954 Smith joined Whitstable[8] where he remained until early December 1955 when he then signed for Ramsgate Athletic.[9] However, after a few games for "The Rams" reserves team, in February 1956 he to moved on to Dover.[10] At the start of the following, 1956–57, season Smith rejoined Whitstable,[11] however on 3 April 1957 he played his final match for "The Oystermen" – a midweek Thames and Medway Combination match against Tunbridge Wells United – as he was leaving the UK for Canada.[12] However, Smith returned after several months and again played in the Kent League: in August 1957 he had a one month trial with Tunbridge Wells United,[13] and then in October 1957 he joined Chatham Town[14] for whom he played during the remainder of the 1957–58 season.
Whilst in Canada, Smith worked for a time at a uranium mine, then on his return to the UK he worked as a painter and decorator and also for the London Electricity Board. Together with his wife he was a medal winning ballroom dancer.[15]
Smith died in East Sussex, England on 27 May 2019, aged 87.
| Season | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Arsenal | 1946–47[16] | First Division | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Brentford | 1946–47[17] | First Division | 10 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | 14 | 3 | ||
| 1948–49 | Second Division | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 1 | |||
| Total | 13 | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | 17 | 4 | ||||
| Leyton Orient | 1949–50 | Third Division South | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 1 | ||
| Ashford Town | 1953–54 | Kent League | 26 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4[18] | 0 | 32 | 6 | |
| Career total | 48 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 58 | 11 | |||