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MIKE SMITH
Born: 15 October 1923
Came from: Preston Athletic Went to: Chelsea
First game: 30 March 1948 Last game: 30 March 1948
Appearances: 1 (1/0) Goals: 0
Born in Haddington, East Lothian, Smith was an inside-forward who joined Argyle from Scottish junior side Preston Athletic in February 1948 for a fee of £150 after a recommendation from one of Argyle's scouts in Scotland. He made just one first team appearance that season, but his performances for the reserves attracted Chelsea's attention. In June 1948, just four months later, manager Jimmy Rae accepted a £3,000 offer from the London club, leaving Argyle with a 19-fold profit on the deal - a welcome boost that helped to offset the reported fee of £8,000 for Alec Machin, who joined from Chelsea a week earlier.
Chelsea's hopes for Smith were never realised; he failed to make a first team appearance at Stamford Bridge although he was pictured in their team photo for the 1948-49 season, along with former Pilgrim Bob Warren. However, he did play for what was effectively Chelsea's third team in the Eastern Counties League in 1948-49, scoring an impressive 11 goals in 18 matches in the league and its associated cup competitions, with Chelsea finishing fourth.
Perhaps frustrated at his lack of chances to step-up, Smith then left London and moved into non-league football with Bath City in the summer of 1949, making 25 appearances and scoring three goals for the Somerset club.
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APPEARANCE DETAILS [reselect competitions]
The details below reflect appearances in all first-team competitions.
I'm very grateful to many who have helped write GoS-DB's player pen-pictures, and to Dave Rowntree, the PAFC Media Team and Colin Parsons for their help with photos. Thanks also to staff at the National Football Museum, the Scottish Football Museum and ScotlandsPeople for their valuable assistance.
The following publications have been particularly valuable in the research of pen-pictures: Plymouth Argyle, A Complete Record 1903-1989 (Brian Knight, ISBN 0-907969-40-2); Plymouth Argyle, 101 Golden Greats (Andy Riddle, ISBN 1-874287-47-3); Football League Players' Records 1888-1939 (Michael Joyce, ISBN 1-899468-67-6); Football League Players' Records 1946-1988 (Barry Hugman, ISBN 1-85443-020-3) and Plymouth Argyle Football Club Handbooks.
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