Full name Frederick Gregg Smith Name Fred Smith 1959–1963 Burnley Role Footballer | Years Team 1963–1970 Burnley | |
Date of birth (1942-12-25) 25 December 1942 (age 73) Place of birth West Sleekburn, Northumberland, England | ||
Frederick Gregg "Fred" Smith (born 25 December 1942) is an English retired footballer who played at full back for Burnley and Portsmouth, in the 1960s and 1970s.
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.
In February 2009, Smith was included (at No. 60) in the list of "100 Greatest Clarets".
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.
Smith was with Dallas Tornado in the North American Soccer League during 1974, but didn't make any appearances. Returning to England, he briefly played for Halifax Town.