Bobby Smith scored Ireland's first goal in Olympic football history when he netted in the second half of Ireland's 3-1 defeat to the Netherlands at Fratton Park, Portsmouth on 26 July 1948 - a significant milestone in the history of Irish sport. A Bohemians player, Smith lined out as one of Ireland's forwards in a match that was played at preliminary round status, eliminating Ireland before the Opening Ceremony.
Bobby Smith was from Dublin, one of seven children (5 sons, 2 daughters) of Edward Smith, a book binder and longtime employee of M. H. Gill and Son, and his wife Bridget (Keogh) Smith. He first débuted in the Football League of Ireland with Bohemians in the 1940s. He was selected for the Irish football team that competed in the men's tournament at the 1948 Olympics in Ireland, which lost 3-1 in its only match to the Netherlands.
In 1951, Smith moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada where he played briefly for the Toronto East End Canadians of the National Soccer League. He soon relocated his family to Uranium City, Saskatchewan where he worked in the mining industry as a cook, and then later settled in Edmonton until retiring to British Columbia.
Football
