Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Robert Nisbet Smith | ||
Date of birth | (1953-12-21)21 December 1953 | ||
Place of birth | Dalkeith, Scotland | ||
Date of death | 22 February 2010(2010-02-22) (aged 56) | ||
Place of death | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
Position(s) | Left back, Midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
Musselburgh Windsor | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1972–1978 | Hibernian | 152 | (19) |
1978–1986 | Leicester City | 181 | (21) |
1982 | → Peterborough United (loan) | 5 | (0) |
1982 | → Hibernian (loan) | 5 | (0) |
1986–1987 | Hibernian | 10 | (0) |
1987–1989 | Dunfermline Athletic | 66 | (1) |
1989–1990 | Partick Thistle | 30 | (1) |
1990–1991 | Berwick Rangers | 26 | (0) |
Total | 475 | (42) | |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Robert Nisbet Smith (21 December 1953 – 22 February 2010) was a Scottish footballer who played most prominently for Hibernian and Leicester City. Smith was primarily a midfielder, but could also play at full back. Smith made 200 appearances in all competitions for both Hibs and Leicester.
Smith started his professional career with Hibs, where he played a part in the successful teams of the early and mid-1970s. Smith attracted the attention of Rangers manager Jock Wallace by scoring a spectacular goal for Hibs against Rangers in a 1976 match. Wallace became Leicester City manager in 1978, and signed Smith for an £85,000 transfer fee later that year. Smith helped Leicester win promotion to the top division twice during his spell with the club. He regularly captained Leicester during his eight years there.
He was loaned to Peterborough and Hibs during the 1982–83 season, and then returned to Hibs on a "permanent" basis in 1986. After leaving Hibs for the final time in 1987, Smith played a prominent defensive role for a Dunfermline side that gained promotion to the Premier Division, but was released at the end of that season.
After ending his career with spells at Partick Thistle and Berwick Rangers, Smith became a taxi driver, and later ran a pub in Dalkeith called Smith's Bar. He died in February 2010 after suffering from cancer, less than a week after former teammate Alan Gordon died from the same illness.
References
- ^ McElroy, Robert (4 March 2010). "Bobby Smith; Footballer". The Herald. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
- ^ "Bobby Smith". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
- ^ "Bobby Smith". Hibernian F.C. 23 February 2010. Archived from the original on 26 February 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- "Nigel's WebSpace - English Football Cards, Player death notices".
- ^ White, Neil (22 January 2006). "Caught in Time: Dunfermline win the First Division, 1989". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 18 September 2011.
- Hine, Brian (23 February 2010). "Hibees great Bobby Smith passes away (1953–2010)". Hibernian Mad. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- Jeffrey, Jim (2005). The Men Who Made Hibernian F.C. since 1946. Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-3091-2.
External links
- Bobby Smith at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
- Sporting Heroes.net profile
- 1953 births
- 2010 deaths
- Deaths from cancer in Scotland
- Sportspeople from Dalkeith
- Men's association football midfielders
- Scottish men's footballers
- Berwick Rangers F.C. players
- Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players
- Hibernian F.C. players
- Leicester City F.C. players
- Partick Thistle F.C. players
- Peterborough United F.C. players
- Scottish Football League players
- English Football League players
- Men's association football fullbacks
- Footballers from Midlothian
- 20th-century Scottish sportsmen