GORDON SMITH never played for either half of the Old Firm. Received wisdom has it, he seldom, if ever, when wearing a Scotland shirt, came close to replicating his best club form, but, when it comes to the argument about who was Scotland's greatest ever footballer – his name has to be in the conversation.
His escutcheon features international appearances and goals, League Championships won with three different clubs – none of which were Glasgow-based. He is widely held to be Hibernian's greatest-ever player, while his footballing immortality is assisted by his being the first name on the list: Smith, Johnstone, Reilly, Turnbull and Ormond – the roll-call of the Easter Road club's 'Famous Five' – the quintet against whom every Hibbee before or since – or indeed any club forward line - is measured. Their elan and goal-scoring lit-up the first half of the 1950s, a time in which, with Bill Struth's era at Rangers running out of steam and Celtic in comparative decline, arguably, Hibernian was the top team in Scotland.
Gordon was born 100 years ago today, in Montrose, Angus. He represented the Scotland Schoolboys team and, on leaving school, he began to play for Dundee North End, aged 16. These were war-time days but such was Smith's ability, he was selected for a Junior Scotland Select, to take-on a Hearts/Hibs Select in a midweek game to officially open Lochee Harp's Beechwood Park.
Gordon was a Hearts fan, and the chance to impress his heroes was one he intended to take – grabbing a hat-trick in the match. One Edinburgh newspaper claimed the next day that Hearts had signed the teenager, however, they had only offered him a trial game.
Hibernian boss Willie McCartney, however, arranged to meet Smith in Arbroath and persuaded him to sign for the Easter Road club, He collected his £10 signing-on fee, travelled down to the capital and scored a hat-trick, the first of his eventual 364 Hibs' goals, in a 5-3 Hibs' victory. This match was at Tynecastle and those Hearts' fans who saw either or both of these hat-tricks would have to wait nearly 20 years to see that particular Jambos' fan in maroon.
He failed his medical for military service, but played regularly for Hibs in war-time football, benefitting from having the likes of Matt Busby playing behind him, as the then nominally Liverpool player was posted to Edinburgh by war-time demands.
Gordon's first Scotland call-up came in a 'Victory' International against Wales, at Hampden, on 10 November, 1945, when he formed the right wing pairing with Rangers' Willie Waddell, the man with whom he would largely joust for the number seven Scotland shirt for the next decade.
The Scotland teams of that time were chosen by a Selection Committee; which meant a degree of 'horse trading' - “You nominate our goalkeeper and I'll put forward your centre-half”. There was also the alleged pro-Old Firm bias to contend with.
Between that first appearance together, in 1946 and Waddell's final cap in November, 1954, Scotland played 54 Victory or Full internationals; Waddell played in 21 of these, Smith in 9. The selectors chose a further 11 outside rights during this period, but of these players – who included Gordon's Famous Five team mates Bobby Johnstone and Lawrie Reilly, only one, Partick Thistle's John-Archie MacKenzie (9 caps) came close to matching Waddell's or Smith's number of caps in that position.
Gordon won the first of his eventual 19 full Scotland caps against Belgium, in a 2-2 Hampden draw in January, 1946; although, it was into the 21st century before this game was re-designated as a full international.
Back then, Scotland players had to play against one of the other three Home Nations to be awarded an actual cap and Gordon got his first after a 0-0 draw with Northern Ireland, at Hampden, in November, 1946. This was actually the first time Scotland had faced Northern Ireland, previously, since the first meeting in 1884, the men in green had simply been Ireland. Then in April, 1947, came Gordo's only appearance at Wembley, in a 1-1 draw.
Gordon's 19 caps were accumulated over 72 internationals, spanning 12 seasons. He won the majority in his club position of outside-right, but had one game for Scotland at cengtre forward, against France, in Paris, in 1948 and one outing, at outside-left, against England, at Hampden, in 1956. He only scored four goals for Scotland. Three of these came in successive games, against Yugoslavia, Austria and Hungary, during a close-season European tour in 1955; with his final Scotland goal coming, in his final cap, against Spain in the Bernabeau, in 1957.
He captained Scotland in the games against Austria – where he was subjected to some heavy fouling by the home team – and in the following game, against the mighty Hungarians, in Budapest, in 1955. Gordon took over the captaincy after George Young of Rangers was injured against the Yugoslavs, in Belgrade. With a goal in each of his games as skipper, he certainly led from the front.
With Hibs, he was in their three Scottish League-winning teams, in seasons 1947-48, 1950-51 and 1951-52 – when he was Club Captain. He also played in the Hibs' team that won the Southern League Cup in 1943-44 and was a losing finalist in the 1946-47 Scottish Cup, when Hibs lost to Aberdeen. Injury kept him out of the Hibs team which lost to Clyde in the 1958 Scottish Cup Final.
When Sports Writer Rex Kingsley of the Sunday Mail inaugurated the Scottish Footballer of the Year award in 1951, Gordon was the first winner. This award was the predecessor to the official Scottish Football Writers Association Footballer of the Year award.
His later years with Hibs were beset with injury problems. He was, however, in the Hibs squad which contesed the inaugural European Cup tournament in 1955-56, when they reached the semi-finals, and lost to French side Rheims.
He was then troubled by a niggling ankle injury, in fact, he paid for the operation which cured the problem, however, Hibs decided, after 17 years, 636 games and those 364 goals, to release him.
But, Smith felt he still had something to offer and finally, after all these years, he joined Hearts, where he helped them to a League and League Cup double in 1960. I remember seeing him play for Hearts that season, against Kilmarnock, in a Scottish Cup tie which went to a replay, before Kilmarnock won.
In that second game, on a dreich, rain-drenched night at Rugby Park, Smith's class and balance stood out. I was delighted that Kilmarnock won, but, Smith and John Cummings for the losers, did not deserve to be beaten that night,
By now, Smith was closer to 40 than 30, it was time to return to his roots, and back he went to Tayside, to join Dundee.
It is said that that Dundee team he played in was just about the best pure footballing team in Scottish history. With them he won another League title, his fifth – uniquely all won without playing for either half of the Old Firm.
The team, assembled by a great manager - “The Other Shankly” - Bob rather than Wullie, oozed class, Alex Hamilton, Ian Ure, Andy Penman, Alan Gilzean and Hugh Robertson, plus of course Smith, were all full Scottish internationalists. Goalkeeper Bert Slater, who joined at the end of the title-winning season, wing half Bobby Wishart and centre forward Alan Cousin played for the Scottish League XI – which was almost as good as a full cap back then, while the non-recognition of skipper Bobby Cox continues to be one of the great oversights in Scottish football's sorry history of great players for one of the so-called “diddy teams” missing-out on caps to often lesser players from one or other of the two Glasgow giants.
With Dundee, there was another run to the European Cup semi-final, before he ran down his career with Drumcondra in the League of Ireland.
Gordon Smith had star quality. At a time when most footballers travelled to training by bus or train, he drove a Porsche. Handsome and urbane, he holidayed on the French Riviera, where he was friends with the rich and famous. He wore top quality clothing and was always immaculately dressed.
Sadly, like so many of his contemporaries, Gordon Smith's final years were blighted by dementia. Lawrie Reilly once admitted, visiting Gordon in his North Berwick nursing home, he had to confirm to his old team mate that, yes, he had played football for Hibernian – Gordon had no memory of his glory days.
He was, since they were announced alphabetically, the 17th person inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame – one of the inaugural 20 inductees in 2004. The previous year, he had been inducted into the Scottish Sporting Hall of Fame. Naturally enough, he was an inaugural inductee into the Hibernian Hall of Fame and he is also in the Dundee HoF.
Gordon Smith died in his 81st year, but, his legend lives on – the Gay Gordon truly was one of the all-time greats of Scottish football and sport. Today, on the occasion of his centenary, we should remember him.
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