James Smith (Scottish international footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Smith | ||
| Date of birth | 6 October 1848 | ||
| Place of birth | Fordyce, Banffshire, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | Pre-1890 | ||
| Place of death | London, England | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1867–18?? | Queen's Park | ||
| South Norwood | |||
| National team | |||
| 1872 | Scotland | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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James Smith (born in Fordyce, Banffshire on 6 October 1848; date of death unknown) was a Scottish footballer who played for Scotland against England in the first official international match in 1872. He was a member of the Queen's Park and South Norwood clubs, and was prominent in the early history of Queens Park.
Smith was one of the founder members of the Queen's Park club, based in Glasgow.
In his "Scottish Football Reminiscences and Sketches" written in 1890, David Bone describes Smith thus:
The least known, perhaps, of the original international men, but one whose name will ever be honoured by many of the older school of players, and locally Queen's Park members, is Mr. James Smith, who died some years ago in London. Mr. Smith was, in conjunction with his brother Robert, early associated with the game in Scotland, and was an original member of the Queen's Park. Mr. Archibald Rae, the first secretary of the Scottish Football Association, and at one time an active member of the Queen's Park (and a beautiful dribbler in his day), tells an amusing anecdote of Smith, while playing against the Hamilton Club, leaping on the top of a hedge to win a touch-down, which in those days counted a point in the game. This entirely coincided with poor Smith's play, as he was sometimes very impetuous.
By November 1870, Smith had moved to London and, although he retained his membership of Queen's Park, was also a member of South Norwood, for whom he played in the FA Cup. Smith, along with his elder brother Robert, was named amongst 16 selected players in the publicity for the unofficial international match played on 24 February 1872, but neither actually played.
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