Fred Smith (footballer, born 1942)

Frederick Gregg Smith (25 December 1942 – 26 March 2020) was an English retired footballer who played at full back for Burnley and Portsmouth, in the 1960s and 1970s.

For other people named Fred Smith, see Fred Smith (disambiguation).

Fred Smith
Personal information
Full name Frederick Gregg Smith[1]
Date of birth (1942-12-25)25 December 1942
Place of birth West Sleekburn, England
Date of death 26 March 2020(2020-03-26) (aged 77)
Position(s) Full back
Youth career
1959–1963 Burnley
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1963–1970 Burnley 84 (1)
1970–1973 Portsmouth 81 (1)
1973–1974 Dallas Tornado 0 (0)
1974–1975 Halifax Town 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Football career

In October 1968, Burnley were suffering from a loss of form, causing manager Harry Potts to call up several younger players to replace the under-performing first-choice eleven. Smith was called into the team to play West Ham United, winning 3–1. With only one change, the same eleven players went on to record eight successive victories in League and Cup matches, with John Murray scoring eight goals.[2]

In February 2009, Smith was included (at No. 60) in the list of "100 Greatest Clarets".[3]

At Portsmouth, Smith soon became a first team regular and was ever-present in 1971–72. Smith scored his only first-team goal for Portsmouth in a 6–3 victory over Fulham in October 1971.[4]

Smith was with Dallas Tornado in the North American Soccer League during 1974, but didn't make any appearances.[5] Returning to England, he briefly played for Halifax Town.

He died in March 2020.[6]

References
  1. "Fred Smith". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  2. "Clarets 100 Great Moments: 49. What a start for the youngsters". www.clarets-mad.co.uk. 27 July 2002. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  3. "100 Greatest Clarets". www.clarets-mad.co.uk. 16 February 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  4. "We've had high scoring games with Fulham too!". vitalfootball. 5 October 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  5. "Freddie Smith". www.nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  6. Former Claret Freddie Smith passes away
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