Tony Smith - Gordon Smith: Prince of Wingers

In memory of my wonderful mum and dad

My sincere thanks to everyone who gave up their time, with an extra-special mention to the following:

Lawrie Reilly for writing such a magnificent Foreword and for being there for my dad especially in his later years; Campbell Brown, for his belief in the project, and all at Black & White Publishing for their understanding, tolerance and support; Bridget Hill for her informative tales from the 1950s; Rod Petrie and all at Hibernian FC for their great assistance and genial hospitality and Tom Wright for his photographic expertise. My Aunt Rachel and Uncle Oliver, for the many hours of informal chat, regaling precious, sentimental and complex stories detailing the early days in particular and my Uncle Brian and Aunt Maureen for tales from the jungle.

Brian Cunnison from Qatar, for your help in obtaining problematic team listings, scores for the appendix and for the use of personal photos; Mike G, for always listening well and clarifying challenging arguments so selflessly and deftly and my Cousin Francis, for providing beneficial particulars. John Gibson and David Hardie, from the Edinburgh Evening News for difficult to find facts; Craig Nelson, library manager at Scotsman Publications for such sterling labours and Willie McEwan, treasurer of the Hibernian former players association for acting as a liaison on behalf of certain former players. I am also extremely indebted to James Mathews from Sky TV News for providing hitherto inaccessible numbers; and I would like to convey my gratitude to all the people who took time to reflect on the long and illustrious career of my late father in the accolades section and in the main story itself.

Regarding permission to reprint articles and quotes in the book, I am thankful to The Sunday Post , the Scottish Daily Mail , the Sunday Mirror group, the Toronto Telegram, Northern and Shell Media Publications, The Press and Journal , the Detroit Free Press , the Daily Record/Sunday Mail and the Edinburgh Evening News .

For being sympathetic to my often impulsive and protracted absences from the social scene during the writing of this book, I would like to show appreciation to all my friends, especially the vegetarian-cuisine loving chef extraordinaire Richie Duncan, Sincy, Martin A, Rod M, Andy S and Andy C, as well as the fabulously nicknamed Sleaze, Dub, Spanish Derek, Wilf and Robbie M & S Jamieson.

I am exceedingly grateful to my children Danaan, Cale, Marly and Jaiden for putting up with my obsessive behavioural patterns and frequently long drawn out disappearances in the last couple of years in order to research and complete this biography. I hope the book will remove any lingering need for solace and be a great source of knowledge and information about your grandad for you to peruse in forthcoming years.

Finally for being so accommodating, a special mention has to go to Louise, my confidante, my sweetheart and during the writing of this book; my researcher, editor, assiduous proof-reader and toughest critic when required. For this and everything you do for me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Tony Smith

Gordon Smith was my boyhood hero. As a youngster, I passed him on the street in Gorgie once after a HibsHearts game. I invited Gordon home for his tea but he politely declined. He was to be a regular visitor to my home in the years which followed.

When I made my first team debut for Hibs against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, I played inside right. My right wing partner was Gordon Smith and I thought that I had died and gone to heaven. I spent the whole game plying Gordon with the ball and, as always, he made excellent use of the possession which came his way, as we won 43.

Gordon and I were both members of Hibs legendary Famous Five of course and, its no secret that I scored more than my fair share of goals as we won three league titles in five years. Let me make it clear, though, that I wouldnt have scored half as many goals as I did, if it hadnt been for the immaculate service provided for me by Gordon Smith. Our championship winning side was full of good players. I dare say that some of us may even have been worthy of being termed great. There was no doubt among us, however, as to who was the best player at Easter Road. In a team of stars, Gordon Smith reigned supreme.

Gordon and I were also colleagues at international level. Gordon should have won many more caps than he did. You would have to ask the Scottish selectors why he didnt because when they chose to omit Gordon, it made no sense to anyone but them. The intermittent nature of Gordons Scotland career gave some people in the media the excuse to question his pedigree. That was nonsense and, to the joy of everyone at Easter Road, Gordon proved it to be so on our 1955 summer tour to Austria, Yugoslavia and Hungary. Gordon captained the Scottish team in two of these games and played brilliantly in all three of them. In the process, he laid to rest the myth that he couldnt reproduce his club form in the dark blue of his country. In the game in Vienna, an Austrian fan who couldnt cope with seeing his team outplayed, ran on to the pitch and tried to attack Gordon. I got myself between Gordon and the intruder and protected my old pal until the police arrested the culprit and led him from the ground. After the number of times that Gordon had used his skills to look after me on the field, it was the least I could do.

I was proud to have Gordon Smith as a team mate and a friend. He was quite simply the best player I ever played with or against the ultimate footballing artist. It seems incredible that it has taken seventy years since Gordons first game in a green and white jersey for his life story to be told in print. However, it has been well worth the wait. No-one is better placed to chronicle Gordons glittering career than his son Tony. He has undoubtedly done a superb job. Tony, your dad would have been proud of you.

I commend Gordon Smith Prince of Wingers to all Hibs fans and to all other football followers. Whenever he stepped onto a football field, be it at Easter Road, Tynecastle, Dens Park or the national stadium at Hampden, Gordon Smith displayed elegance and excellence in equal measure. Some players are top class. Gordon was world class and Tonys book succeeds magnificently in reminding us of that fact.

Lawrie Reilly

THERE WERE players who did wonderful things on a pitch and then there was Gordon Smith. Smith, Easter Road idol without a shadow of a doubt, stands out as the most revered and illustrious player in the chronicles of Hibernian Football Club. Gordon Smith the quintessence of football artistry. Some fans say he was the most poised, balanced and cultured player that Scotland has ever produced. Certain people say that he was as good as English winger Stanley Matthews everyone else says that he was even better.

To some, including the legendary Jim Baxter, he was the greatest player in Scottish football history, the epitome of the old-fashioned winger, hewn from Scottish oak. His skill and ball control brought him many an admirer with the non-modern-day epithet, the Gay Gordon, his nickname during his heyday. The most famous of the renowned Famous Five, Gordon was one of the greatest right wingers the game has ever seen, with a talent that will remain vivid for as long as most observers retain anything that might be described as a memory.

A consummate professional, he turned down an extremely lucrative offer from Matt Busby and the mighty Manchester United in 1946. A blank cheque was put on the table on many occasions by Newcastle United with Hibernian chairman Harry Swan always scoffing at the mere idea of a transfer. Many other teams tried their best to sign him, including Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Italian club Fiorentina. They all tried to capture him for their own but to no avail. For eighteen years, boy and man, Gordon gave his heart to Hibs.