Scales tipped in Henry Smith's favour

Ray Hepburn

31 Jul 1993

SIXTEEN years as a goalkeeper would be enough for any man you would think, but Henry Smith of Hearts is heading for the new season as eager as a teenager.

Just finishing a 10-day preparation trip to Germany, the 37-year-old stepped on the scales for pre-season training exactly the same weight as he was as a 19-year-old.

And with Nicky Walker providing the competition to keep an edge on his ambition, Smith looks set to start the season as Sandy Clark's No.1.

The durable giant has endured all the heartaches and highs that have accompanied a career under Alex MacDonald, Joe Jordan, and now former team-mate Clark.

There was the thrill of being on a winning side in the vast Prater Stadium, Vienna, in a 1988 UEFA Cup tie against Austria Vienna.

And later in that competition, at the quarter-final stage, even in defeat, there was the unforgettable experience of meeting Bayern Munich in the German city's Olympic Stadium.

A Scotland debut in the less glamorous National Stadium in Saudi Arabia, led him to a place in the squads that competed in the 1990 World Cup and the European Championships two years later.

Balanced against that was the gut-wrenching defeat at Dens Park on May 3, 1986, that saw the premier division championship slip away and a Scottish Cup final defeat a week later by Aberdeen.

A far cry from his first days at Tynecastle when the reserve side was scrapped to save cash, and wages were often raised from a whip round by the board after a match.

Smith joined Hearts 12 years ago next week.

Ironically, he was the club's first signing in chairman Wallace Mercer's period in charge.

And it is a matter of deep regret to both men that Mercer's tax status will prevent him from joining in a tribute to the son of a Lanarkshire miner, when Everton are Hearts' opponents for his testimonial match on Monday night.

The keeper was to discover very early on in his career that the competition he still thrives on can be both a blessing and a curse.

The Smith family moved to the Yorkshire pits when Henry was a youngster where the accomplished sportsman chose football for local amateur side Winterton ahead of his other great love, cricket.

His progress was swift and Jimmy Adamson's first act after being appointed manager at Leeds was to prise Smith away from the mines to Elland Road and a daunting task.

Ranged against him for the goalkeeping work were Scotland internationalists Dave Stewart and David Harvey, plus two other youngsters, future England stars John Lukic and Dave Seaman.

Not surprisingly, a first- team match eluded him and after having been freed his application to return to the mining industry had been posted, when Hearts stepped in.

A quiet, deep thinking man, Smith's attention to detail and meticulous physical preparation quickly made him No.1 at Tynecastle and a firm favourite with the club's supporters.

In a way Smith and absentee landlord Mercer strike interesting parallels.

But there will be no warm handshake from the chairman, on Monday night when the 6ft 2ins keeper will surely reflect on an exemplary career.

However, there will be no shortage of eager substitutes.

Taken from the Herald