Stanley Smith (rugby league, born c. 1910)

Stanley "Stan" Smith (22 February 1910 – 3 June 1978) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s, and coached in the 1940s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England, English League XIII and Yorkshire, and at club level for Wakefield Trinity (Heritage No. 333) and Leeds as a wing, i.e. number 2 or 5,[1] and coached at club level for Featherstone Rovers.[1]

Stanley Smith

Godfrey Phillips cigarette card featuring Stanley Smith
Personal information
Full name	Stanley Smith
Born	22 February 1910
Died	3 June 1978
Playing information
Position	Wing
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1927–30 Wakefield Trinity 81 32 0 0 96 1930–39 Leeds 261 187 Total 342 219 0 0 96 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1934–35 Yorkshire 1934–35 English League XIII 2 0 0 0 0 1931–35 England 6 5 0 0 15 1929–33 Great Britain 11 9 0 0 27
Coaching information
Club Years Team Gms W D L W% 1947–48 Featherstone Rovers 40 6 34 0 15
Source: [1][2][3][4]

Background

Stanley Smith worked as a foreman at a stone quarry in Tadcaster.

Playing career

Club career

Smith started his career at Wakefield Trinity before he was transferred to Leeds during January 1930 for a record fee of £1,075,[5] (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £307,200 in 2014).[6] Smith played left wing, i.e. number 5, in Leeds' 2–8 defeat by Hunslet in the Championship Final during the 1937–38 season at Elland Road, Leeds on Saturday 30 April 1938.[7]

Smith retired from first class rugby in January 1940 having played for Leeds for 10 years.[8] He had a long-standing plan to retire from rugby so that he and his wife Hilda could focus on running their pub the Butchers Arms on Williams Street in Wakefield but the outbreak of WWII saw him joining the Army at the age of 30. Stan served in the REME seeing service throughout the North African and Italian campaigns and returning home in late 1945.

International honours

Stan Smith won caps for England while at Leeds in 1931 against Wales, in 1932 against Wales (2 matches), in 1934 against Australia, and France, in 1935 against France,[2] and won caps for Great Britain while at Wakefield Trinity in 1929 against Australia, while at Leeds in 1930 against Australia (2 matches), in 1932 against Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand (3 matches), and in 1933 against Australia (2 matches).[3]

Stan Smith played twice for an English rugby league representative XIII against France. Playing at left-wing on both occasions, the first was at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington on 17 March 1934 when the English team won 32–16, this game was also the first international match played by the France national rugby league team.[9] The second was at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds just over a year later, on 6 May 1935 when the English side won 25–18.[10]

County honours

Stan Smith won cap(s) for Yorkshire while at Wakefield Trinity.

County Cup Final appearances

Stanley Smith played left wing, i.e. number 5, in Leeds' 14-8 victory over Huddersfield in the 1937–38 Yorkshire County Cup Final during the 1937–38 season at Belle Vue, Wakefield on Saturday 30 October 1937. The record for the most tries in a Yorkshire County Cup Final is 4-tries, and is jointly held by; Stan Moorhouse, Alan Smith, and Stanley Smith.

Genealogical information

Stan had family links to several well known rugby players, notably in the Batten and Metcalfe families. Stan's mother Selena and Billy Batten's wife Annie were sisters so Billy was Stan's uncle by marriage and Billy's rugby playing sons, Billy (Jr), Eric and Bob, and his grandson Ray were Stan's cousins. Whilst a player at Trinity Stan became good friends with his teammate Jimmy Metcalfe the son of James Davis Metcalfe who played at full back for Trinity in the period 1897-1911. Jimmy (Jr) introduced Stan to his sister Hilda and the two were married in 1932. Jimmy's (Jr) son Donald Metcalfe, played for Trinity in the 1950s and was Stan's nephew by marriage.

Note

During the late 1950/60s there was a rugby league footballer who played for Wakefield Trinity, and Bramley, who was also called Stanley "Stan" Smith. These Stanley "Stan" Smith's are clearly not the same person and they are not related.

References

1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
2. "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
3. "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 31 March 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
4. "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
5. Caplan, Phil; Smith, Peter (2001). 100 greats: Leeds Rugby League Club. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 978-0-7524-2225-1.
6. "Measuring Worth – Relative Value of UK Pounds". Measuring Worth. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
7. "History of Leeds Rugby League Club". britishrugbyleague.blogspot.co.uk. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
8. "Stanley Smith to retire". Hull Daily Mail (16, 905). 5 January 1940. p. 5.
9. "Frenchmen thrilled by our crowd and scoring". Leeds Mercury (29, 428). 19 March 1934. p. 9.
10. "Rugby League: England beats France in the international". Sheffield Daily Independent (25, 129). 7 May 1935. p. 8.

External links

• Billy Batten Biography