Player Profile

Belfast-born inside-forward Smyth played for his hometown club Linfield before moving to Wolves in July 1947. His highlight there was scoring a goal in a 3-1 victory in the 1949 FA Cup final against Leicester City. After four years, 115 appearances and 43 goals at Molineux, he was transferred to Stoke City where he scored 19 goals in 44 games for the struggling first division club. Smyth joined Liverpool when he was 27 years old and went straight into the team. He made his debut on 3 January 1953 when Liverpool visited the club he had just signed from. But it was no happy return. Stoke won 3-1 and Liverpool lost their next two matches as well to give them an unenviable record of just three points from the last 22 and in very real danger of relegation to the Second Division. After just one league victory in 15 games, Smyth scored in the next three matches, all of which were won. The seven goals he managed to score from 18 games were a big factor in Liverpool just climbing to safety by the end of the season.

But a year later, an even better strike-rate, 13 from 26 games, couldn't prevent relegation despite a late rally which saw four victories in six games. The club's proud record of being a first division club for nearly 50 years was at an end. Smyth wanted to focus on his bookmaking business in County Down in his native Northern Ireland so Liverpool had to cope without their top-scorer in the Second Division. Smyth later moved to the Cayman Islands where he sold sports equipment.

Smyth passed away on 19 October 2016, then Liverpool FC's oldest surviving player. “Daddy was always very humble, and he remembered his days at Wolves with much sentiment,” said daughter Sheena Smyth Conolly. “But he was always very modest about his success. He was just fun-loving. A great character, who always had a twinkle in his eye. He had a great sense of humour, but he had no time for big egos or pomposity – a dignified gentleman."