Percy James Smith (1880–1959) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

and football manager, who played for Preston North End and Blackburn Rovers.

Playing career

He started his playing career with Hinckley Town before joining Preston in 1902. He quickly achieved success, helping Preston to the Second Division title in 1904, becoming the division's top scorer in the process with 26 goals, and to the runners-up position in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

. After eight seasons at Preston, he moved to local rivals Blackburn Rovers in 1910, where he again achieved success claiming the League title in

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

and again in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

, as well as reaching the FA Cup Semi-finals in 1911 and 1912. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he finished his playing career with brief spells at

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

and Barrow.

Management career

After retiring from playing, Smith managed Nelson, Bury, Tottenham Hotspur, Notts County and Bristol Rovers. Smith became manager of Spurs in 1930. At Spurs he achieved modest success, guiding the team to the runners-up position in Division Two in

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

, thereby gaining promotion to the First Division. The team finished third place in the First Division in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

. In the following season, injuries to players such as Willie Hall, and Arthur Rowe left the team weakened and at the bottom of the table by April 1935. Smith then resigned, claiming that the club's directors had interfered with his team selection.

Honours

As a player

Preston North End * Second Division champions: 1904 *

runners-up:

Blackburn Rovers *

champions:

and

As a manager

Tottenham Hotspur * Second Division runners-up:

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Percy 1880 births 1959 deaths People from Burbage, Leicestershire Footballers from Leicestershire English men's footballers Hinckley Town F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players English football managers Nelson F.C. managers Bury F.C. managers Tottenham Hotspur F.C. managers Notts County F.C. managers Bristol Rovers F.C. managers English Football League players Men's association football central defenders