G. O. Smith
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Gilbert Oswald Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
25 November 1872 Croydon, Surrey, England |
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| Died | 6 December 1943 (aged 71) Lymington, Hampshire, England |
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| Nickname | G.O | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting style | Right-hand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling style | Right-arm fast medium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1893–1896 | Oxford University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1896 | Surrey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source: Cricket archive, 24 October 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gilbert Oswald Smith (25 November 1872 – 6 December 1943), familiarly known as G. O. Smith or simply as G. O. or Jo, was a nineteenth-century amateur footballer often referred to as "the first great centre forward". In addition, Smith played first-class cricket for Oxford University and Surrey.
Smith was educated, from 1886 to 1892, at Charterhouse School, one of the principal nurseries of the Association Football game, and learned many of the skills that subsequently brought him fame while boarding at the school. He went on to study at Keble College, Oxford, and was by profession a school teacher. He was unmarried.
Smith played football for Oxford University, representing the team from his first year, winning three out of four Varsity matches played against Cambridge, and captaining Oxford in his final year. On going down from university, he joined the Corinthians, then the best-known amateur football club in Britain and one not only renowned for its promotion of the ideals of sportsmanship and fair play, but also fully capable of meeting the best professional teams of the day on equal terms. Smith's scoring record for the club – 132 goals in 137 matches – remains one of the best strike rates in the history of the game, equating to one goal for every 93 minutes played. His record for The Casuals F.C. was even more impressive scoring 42 goals in 29 appearances.
In the course of his club career, Smith captained Corinthian in the first Sheriff of London Charity Shield fixture, a competition created to match the best professional and amateur teams in Britain. The match, played in 1898 against Sheffield United, proved controversial and with the score standing at 1–1 after 90 minutes, the professional side declined to play extra time because they had disagreed with several of the referee's decisions. Smith also scored the winning goal in Corinthian's memorable 2–1 Charity Shield win against the professionals of Aston Villa played at Crystal Palace in November 1900.
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