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Gilbert Smith

Oxford University AFC & Old Carthusians AFC
 & Corinthians FC

20 appearances, 10 goals
one goal on his debut


P 20 W 13 D 4 L 3 F 71: A 23
actual pitch goals: F 70: A 23
75% successful
1893-1901

captain: 13-15 (then record 6-8 goals)
minutes played:
1760

Timeline

  Gilbert Oswald Smith MA
Birth Monday, 25 November 1872 in Croydon, Surrey
  registered in Croydon October-December 1872
 

According to the 1881 census, Gilbert is the youngest of eight children to Scotsman Robert and Margaret (née Bannerman). Living at Chesham House in Croydon along with four four servants. His father is a retired Indian Merchant.

 

According to the 1891 census, Gilbert is a scholar at Charterhouse School, and is still living with five older siblings and now his widowed mother. With five servants also living at Kilcott, Holloway Vale in Godalming.

 

According to the 1901 census, Gilbert Oswald is an assistant schoolmaster, alongside William J. Oakley, both living at Trent Cottage at the Ludgrove Preparatory School.
According to West Sussex Electoral Registers, Gilbert, and his bother, David Marshall, are also living at Blackdown Cottage in Lurgashall between 1907 and 1925.

 

According to the 1911 census, Gilbert is the headmaster at the Ludgrove Preparatory School, William Oakley is one of his assistants.

 

According to the 1921 census, Gilbert is still the head schoolmaster at the Ludgrove Preparatory School. He also lives at the school, William Oakley is still one of his assistants.
1927 Kelly's Directory of Hampshire places Smith at Yaldhurst with his brother David.

  According to the 1939 register, Gilbert O. is a single retired schoolmaster, living with two of his sisters, Evelyn and Katherine, and three servants, at Galdhurst in Lymington.
Death Monday, 6 December 1943 at his home, Pennington in Lymington, Hampshire.
aged 71 years 11 days registered in New Forest October-December 1943

Obituary

"A GREAT FORWARD—DEATH OF G. O. SMITH.
"Gilbert Oswald Smith, considered the greatest centre forward of all time, died yesterday at his home at Lymington, Hampshire, at the age of seventy-one. His passing recalls the era when amateurs held their own in Association football. From 1893 to 1901 he appeared for England and gained twenty appearances. He was an Oxford double Blue and played cricket occasionally for Surrey. 'G.O.' kept the ball under such wonderful control that swerve and balance enabled him to dribble past the best defenders. His passes produced perfect combination, and inside-forwards, notably Stephen Bloomer, were indebted to him for many goals. He invariably shot low with surprising power, and with such an effort he won the Sheriff of London Shield for Corinthians against Aston Villa at Crystal Palace in 1899. In 1898-99 he captained England in all three internationals, which were won—Ireland being beaten by 13-2. He helped Oxford to beat Cambridge in three out of four meetings and finished as captain in 1896, which proved his great year in cricket. In that season, at Lord's, where he was a last-minute choice, his superb 132 contributed mainly towards Oxford winning by four wickets. Smith was captain of both cricket and football at Charterhouse School." - The Liverpool Daily Post, Tuesday, 7 December 1943.

Probate "SMITH Gilbert Oswald of Yaldhurst Lymington Hampshire died 6 December 1943 Probate Winchester 15 February to Herbert Warren Nash solicitor and Miles Fletcher de Montgomency artist.
Effects £60314 3s. 9d." [2019 equivalent: £2,694,735]
Oxford University Alumni Smith, Gilbert Oswald, born at Croydon, Surrey, Nov., 1872; 3S. Robert, gent,
       KEBLE, matric. 15 Oct., 92, aged 19 from the Charterhouse.

Source

Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] &

Biographies Smith, Gilbert Oswald (1872-1943) - Edward Grayson (Oxford University Press, 2004); - Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Playing Career


Club(s)
Attended and played football at Charterhouse School, making the football team in 1889, and captaining the team from 1890-92. Went on to attend Keble College at Oxford University, earning his blue between 1893 and 1896, being the captain in the final year. He became an Old Carthusian.
Corinthians Smith scored 113 goals in 141 matches between 1892-1903.
Club honours FA Amateur Cup runners-up 1894-95, winner 1896-97;
Individual honours None
Distinctions Also played cricket for Oxford University (1895-96), Surrey CC (three matches, 1896) and Hertfordshire CC.
Height/Weight 5' 9", 10st. 9lbs [1901].

Source

Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990].

England Career

Player number One of seven who became the 199th players (204) to appear for England.
Position(s) Inside-right, Centre-forward
First match No. 47, 25 February 1893, England 6 Ireland 1, a British Championship match at Wellington Road Football Ground, Perry Barr, Handsworth, aged 20 years 92 days.
Last match No. 73, 30 March 1901, England 2 Scotland 2, a British Championship match at Sports Arena, Crystal Palace, Sydenham, London, aged 28 years 125 days. captain
Major tournaments British Championship 1892-93, 1893-94, 1894-95, 1895-96, 1896-97, 1897-98, 1898-99, 1899-1900, 1900-01;
Team honours British Championship winners 1892-93, 1894-95, 1897-98, 1898-99, 1900-01;

Individual honours
The Amateurs (four appearances, 2ᵍ 2ᶜ March 1893-March 1897)
The Stripes
(one appearance, 1ᵍ March 1894)
The South (two appearances, 1ᵍ 2ᶜ February 1899-March 1900, withdrew twice 1901-1902)
Goalscoring honours England's Top Goalscorer (five 1899).
Records Record England appearances from 1901 until 1905, briefly shared with Steve Bloomer in 1905, who would overtake him within four days.

Distinctions
Cousin of Charles Smith.
The
most appearanced Englishman from the Corinthians team, as well at Old Carthusians and at Oxford University.

Gilbert was the first England player to make ten, then eleven through to fifteen, consecutive appearances.

Beyond England

A schoolmaster by profession. He was joint head of the Ludgrove preparatory school alongside Bill Oakley. The pair also shared the Corinthians' secretaryship (1898-1902) and the writing of a book Association Football. He is the main figure in Edward Grayson's admirable Corinthians and Cricketers (Naldrett Press, 1955). - An English Football Internationalists' Who's Who. Douglas Lamming (1990). Hatton Press, p.226.


The Numbers
parties Appearances comp. apps minutes goals ave.min comp. goals captain
20 20 20 1760 10 176 min 10 13 poss.15
5-7
six matches
The minutes here given can only ever be a guideline and cannot therefore be accurate, only an approximation.
P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
20 13 4 3 71 23 +46 0 6 3.55 1.15 75 +10
All of his matches were played in the British Championship

Venue Record

Venue P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
Home 9 6 2 1 39 9 +30 0 3 4.333 1.00 77.8 +5
Away 11 7 2 2 32 14 +16 0 3 2.091 1.273 72.7 +5

Captain Record

Venue P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
Home 7 5 1 1 32 7 +25 0 3 4.571 1.00 78.6 +4
Away 6 3 1 2 11 9 +2 0 2 1.833 1.50 58.3 +1
13 8 2 3 43 16 +27 0 5 3.308 1.231 69.2 +5

Tournament Record

British Championship Competition
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
BC 1892-93 1 1 0 0 6 1 +5 0 0 6.00 1.00 100.0 +1
BC 1893-94 2 1 1 0 7 3 +4 0 0 3.50 1.50 75.0 +1
BC 1894-95 1 0 1 0 1 1 =0 0 0 1.00 1.00 50.0 =0
BC 1895-96 3 2 0 1 12 3 +9 0 1 4.00 1.00 66.7 +1
BC 1896-97 3 2 0 1 11 2 +9 0 2 2.667 0.667 66.7 +1
BC 1897-98 3 3 0 0 9 3 +6 0 1 3.00 1.00 100.0 +3
BC 1898-99 3 3 0 0 19 3 +16 0 1 6.333 1.00 100.0 +3
BC 1899-1900 3 1 1 1 4 5 -1 0 1 1.333 1.667 50.0 =0
BC 1900-01 1 0 1 0 2 2 =0 0 0 2.00 2.00 50.0 =0
BC All 20 13 4 3 71 23 +46 0 6 3.55 1.15 75.0 +10

All Competition
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
BC 20 13 4 3 71 23 +46 0 6 3.55 1.15 75.0 +10
20 13 4 3 71 23 +46 0 6 3.55 1.15 75 +10

Match History

 Clubs: Oxford University A.F.C., Old Carthusians A.F.C. & Corinthians F.C. - seven full appearance (630 min) 4ᵍ 1-3ᶜ
  F.A. International Select Committee - twenty full appearances (1760 min) 10ᵍ 13-15ᶜx

apps match match details comp res. rundown pos

Age 20
1 47 25 February 1893 - England 6 Ireland 1
Wellington Road Ground, Handsworth
BC HW 43 ir
   

one of seven who became the 199th players (204) to appear for England
the eighteenth Oxford University AFC player to represent England
one of two who became the eighth Old Carthusians AFC player to represent England
one of four players to become the 43rd players from Corinthians FC to represent England
the 33rd player to score on his England debut - the seventeenth competitive

trial
one appearance - The Professionals vs. The Amateurs, 22 March 1893;

Age 21
2 51 12 March 1894 - Wales 1 England 5
The Racecourse, Wrexham
BC AW   cf

trial  
one appearance - The Whites vs. The Stripes, 15 March 1894;

3 52 7 April 1894 - Scotland 2 England 2
Celtic Park, Glasgow
BC AD   cf
   

Age 22
4 54 18 March 1895 - England 1 Wales 1
Recreation Ground, West Kensington
BC HD   cf
   

trial  
one appearance - The Professionals vs. The Amateurs, 28 March 1895;

Age 23
5 56 7 March 1896 - Ireland 0 England 2
Cliftonville Gardens, Belfast
BC AW 40 ᶜcf
The captaincy was probably given to George Raikes, at least according to Irish Saturday Night and The Irish Times. However, the London Times gives a first captaincy to Gilbert Smith, yet, Vaughan Lodge is also a possibility.
6 57 16 March 1896 - Wales 1 England 9
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
BC AW 15
43
ᶜcf
The captaincy is not known in this match, but it is probably Gilbert Smith.

the scorer of the 38th brace for England

trial  
one appearance - The Amateursᶜ vs. The Professionals, 25 March 1896;

7 58 4 April 1896 - Scotland 2 England 1
Celtic Park, Glasgow
BC AL   ᶜcf

the 25th player to captain England

 Clubs: Old Carthusians A.F.C. & Corinthians F.C. - thirteen full appearances (1130 min) 6ᵍ 12ᶜ

Age 24
8 59 20 February 1897 - England 6 Ireland 0
Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, Nottingham
BC HW   ᶜcf

trial  
one appearance - The Professionals vs. The Amateursᶜ, 15 March 1897;

9 60 29 March 1897 - England 4 Wales 0
Bramall Lane, Sheffield
BC HW inj (3-0) 55 ᶜcf
10 61 3 April 1897 - England 1 Scotland 2
Sports Arena, Crystal Palace
BC HL   ᶜcf

Age 25
11 62 5 March 1898 - Ireland 2 England 3
Cliftonville Gardens, Belfast
BC AW   ᶜcf
The goal often credited to Smith in this match, was in fact, a Charlie Richards debut goal
12 63 28 March 1898 - Wales 0 England 3
The Racecourse, Wrexham
BC AW 88 ᶜcf
13 64 2 April 1898 - Scotland 1 England 3
Celtic Park, Glasgow
BC AW   cf

the first player to make ten consecutive England appearances

Age 26 trial  
one appearance - The Southᶜ vs. The North, 1 February 1899;

14 65 18 February 1899 - England 13 Ireland 2
Roker Park, Sunderland
BC HW 32
59
60
63
ᶜcf

the first player to make ten consecutive England appearances
 
 
 

15 66 20 March 1899 - England 4 Wales 0
Ashton Gate, Bristol
BC HW   ᶜcf

the first player to make eleven consecutive England appearances

16 67 6 April 1899 - England 2 Scotland 1
Aston Lower Grounds, Birmingham
BC HW 25 ᶜcf

the first player to make twelve consecutive England appearances
his five goals in 1899 makes his the year/season's top goalscorer

Age 27 trial  
one appearance - The Southᶜ vs. The North, 7 March 1900;

17 68 17 March 1900 - Ireland 0 England 2
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
BC AW   ᶜcf

the first player to make thirteen consecutive England appearances

18 69 26 March 1900 - Wales 1 England 1
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
BC AD   ᶜcf

the first player to make fourteen consecutive England appearances

19 70 7 April 1900 - Scotland 4 England 1
Celtic Park, Glasgow
BC AL   ᶜcf
   

the first player to make fifteen consecutive England appearances

Age 28 trial  
withdrew - The Southᶜ vs. The North, 25 February 1901;

MOST APPS
20 73 30 March 1901 - England 2 Scotland 2
Sports Arena, Crystal Palace
BC HD   ᶜcf
   

the first player to make twenty England appearances - a new record number of appearances

Age 29 trial  
withdrew - The Southᶜ vs. The North, 24 February 1902;

     

 
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