Гилберт Освальд Смит: Футболист и Крикетист

English footballer and cricketer

Gilbert Oswald Smith (25 November 1872 – 6 December 1943), familiarly known as G. O. Smith or simply as G. O. or Jo, was an English amateur footballer often referred to as "the first great centre forward". In addition, Smith played first class cricket for Oxford University and Surrey. Smith was educated, from 1886 to 1892, at Charterhouse School, one of the principal nurseries of the Association Football game, and learned many of the skills that subsequently brought him fame while boarding at the school. He went on to study at Keble College, Oxford, He was unmarried.

Born in Croydon but the son of a Scottish merchant who settled in India, Smith played football for Oxford University, representing the team from his first year, winning three out of four Varsity matches played against Cambridge, His record for the Casuals was even more impressive, with 42 goals in 29 appearances. In the course of his club career, Smith captained Corinthians in the first Sheriff of London Charity Shield fixture, a competition created to match the best professional and amateur teams in Britain. The match, played in 1898 against Sheffield United, proved controversial and with the score standing at 1–1 after 90 minutes, the professional side declined to play extra time because they had disagreed with several of the referee's decisions. Smith also scored the winning goal in Corinthians' memorable 2–1 Charity Shield win against the professionals of Aston Villa played at Crystal Palace in November 1900.

G. O. Smith was renowned throughout his playing career for his exceptional balance and timing, and was further noted for his close control of the ball. Unlike the majority of centre forwards of the day, Smith also excelled at passing. "He was," his obituary in The Times contended, "a maker rather than a scorer of goals and football writer Jonathan Wilson described him as "what we would now term a false nine". Steve Bloomer, Smith's professional colleague in several international matches, remarked that it was for this reason that he would rather play alongside Smith than any other centre forward. The Dictionary of National Biography contends that he "transformed the role of the centre forward from that of an individual striker into a unifier of the forward line, indeed the whole team." Physically, Smith seemed unprepossessing. Though standing nearly 5 feet 11 inches, a good height for the day, he was of slight build, suffered from asthma and lacked the obvious brawn that had characterised predecessors in the England team such as W. N. "Nuts" Cobbold in a period in which body checking and other rough tactics were considered fair play. He was also noted for his reluctance to head the ball, stating that he would be happy to see the practice banned. "G. O." atoned for these deficiencies by positioning himself intelligently and by shooting accurately, and – so his obituary observed – "invariably low".

In his youth, G. O. Smith was also a noted cricketer, representing Oxford University and scoring a match winning 132 runs in the fourth innings of the 1896 Varsity Match to win the game against Cambridge. He batted right handed. showing excellent timing with his drives and cutting beautifully, bowled reasonably well, and fielded at cover point. In the field he moved – his obituary in Wisden noted – "gracefully with quickness in all he did."