Harry Smith (footballer, born 1893) explained

Harry Smith
Fullname:James Henderson Smith
Birth Date:1 April 1893
Birth Place:Bendigo, Victoria
Death Place:Queenscliff, Victoria
Originalteam:Prahran
Height:180 cm
Weight:82 kg
Statsend:1922
Years1:1915–16
Games Goals1:6 (0)
Years2:1922
Games Goals2:3 (2)
Games Goalstotal:9 (2)

James Henderson 'Harry' Smith (1 April 1893 – 3 July 1960) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy and Geelong in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[1]

Family

Smith was born James Maddock Horatio Smith in Bendigo in 1893, the youngest son of Horatio Fellows Smith (1852–1907) and Frances Louisa Smith, nee Snook (1852–1911). During his adult life, he used the name James Henderson Smith. He married Sarah Todd in 1916.

Football

Smith commenced his senior football career with Prahran in 1912 in the Victorian Football Association, before transferring to Fitzroy early in the 1915 season.[2] He made his Fitzroy debut in his first week at the club, the Round 6 Football Record stating “Stone was an absentee from the Fitzroy team last Saturday. Smith, late of Prahran, filled the vacancy, and for his first game in League football shaped well. He found the slippery ball hard to handle at times.”[3] He played a total of six games over the two seasons he was with Fitzroy, but failed to secure a regular place in the side.

Smith moved to Queenscliff and after becoming a leading player in the Bellarine competition, was invited to train with Geelong in 1922. He played regularly with the Geelong second eighteen but again failed to establish himself in the senior team, making a total of three appearances for Geelong in the VFL.[4]

Post football

Smith and his wife ran a boarding house at 31 Hesse St, Queenscliff for over 30 years. He died in Queenscliff in 1960.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Holmesby, Russell. The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 . Main. Jim . 2014 . 10th . 978-1-921496-32-5 . BAS Publishing . Seaford, Victoria . 828.
  2. News: CLUB TREASURERS HAVE THEIR WORRIES . Winner . 44 . Victoria, Australia . 26 May 1915 . 6.
  3. News: Men of the Time . The Football Record . 29 May 1915 . 21 . Victorian Football League.
  4. News: Bill Hudd, Colin Watson, & Barney Carr Figure Well in League Company . Sporting Globe . 202 . Victoria, Australia . 5 July 1924 . 8.