Bobby Smith

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Smith was an integral part of Bill Nicholson's famous double winning Tottenham team of 1960–61. He was Tottenham's top scorer in the double-winning season, with 33 goals scored in 43 games, including the first of the two goals in the 1961 FA Cup Final. The team also went on to retain the FA Cup in 1962 (scoring in the Final again) and win the 1963 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. He is one of Spurs' all-time top goal scorers, third behind Harry Kane and Jimmy Greaves, with 208 goals scored in 317 senior matches, including 12 hat-tricks.

In Their Own Story

The late afternoon sun stretched long shadows across the White Hart Lane terraces as the crowd's roar reached a deafening, vibrating crescendo. In the penalty area, Bobby Smith stood like a statue in his stark white shirt against the green pitch. The cross hung in the air for an eternity, defying gravity before Smith launched himself upward. Time seemed to suspend itself. With a thunderous leap, he met the ball with a header that sounded more like a cannon shot than a football strike, crashing it into the net. The stadium erupted in pure bedlam, but Smith didn't celebrate wildly; he simply turned, raising a single fist to the sea of fans who had just witnessed history being sealed.

Reader's Guide

Smith played for Brighton & Hove Albion from 1964 to 1965, scoring 19 goals in 31 appearances. He won 15 full international caps for the England national team which included two goals in the 9–3 defeat of Scotland at Wembley in 1961. He played for England from 1960 to 1963, scoring 13 goals. He published a book in 2002 to celebrate his achievements, Memories of Spurs, with a foreword by Jimmy Greaves. He died on 18 September 2010 following a short illness at a hospital in Enfield, London.

Did You Know?

• Smith started his career as a full back before becoming a centre-forward.
• He scored 208 goals in 317 senior matches for Tottenham Hotspur.
• Smith scored in both the 1961 and 1962 FA Cup Finals.
• He scored two goals in England's 9–3 victory over Scotland in 1961.