Smith gave clubs the Midas touch

EXPECTATIONS at Easter Road were at an all-time high after back-to-back championship triumphs, although the following years weren't to prove anywhere near as prosperous for the club.

While there were still plenty of highs with many memorable European nights and some breathtaking displays, the trophy cabinet was to remain empty. That certainly wasn't for the lack of trying, however, and Gordon Smith, in particular, continued to wow the crowds.

On September 15, 1952, the fans' favourite was awarded a testimonial match against Manchester United in a game that pitted the reigning champions of Scotland against those of England. Hibs stormed to a 7-3 victory. The same season they were denied a hat-trick of titles on goal average by Rangers in what was one of the biggest disappointments of Smith's career.

"That was hard to take," he admitted. "We played some wonderful stuff that year and I really believe we deserved to be the champions again. Sadly, it wasn't to be."

But if that was a low point there was a high just around the corner for Smith as he was part of the first British team to enter European competition.

In 1955 the inaugural European Cup was an invitation affair organised by French sports magazine L'Equipe with not all teams involved being national champions - the emphasis was on a pro-European attitude and crowd appeal.

British clubs were slow to register an interest and in fact Hibs were the only team to put their name forward. English champions Chelsea, in stark contrast, had turned down the request under pressure from the FA.

The Easter Road side were paired with German club Rot-Weiss Essen which was expected to be a particularly tough draw with Germany having won the World Cup just a year earlier. In the end, however, Hibs eased to a 4-0 victory.

Hibs went on to reach the semi-finals only to lose out to Stade de Reims of France who were in turn beaten by Real Madrid in the final.

"If there had been a Champions Cup at the start of the 1950s I'm pretty sure we would have won it, it came just too late for us," Smith later lamented.

From then on, however, injuries began to curtail the number of appearances that Smith was able to make for Hibs.

The most serious of his injuries came in 1958 when he broke his ankle in a match against Airdrie and, now 34 years old, Hibs refused to fund the operation to repair the damage due to his advancing years.

Smith was understandably distraught after the service he had given the club over the years and was forced to turn to a surgeon friend who agreed to operate.

He was forced to go under the knife twice to solve the problem yet, just as he was preparing to make himself available for selection again, he was stunned to be told he was being freed. "I was absolutely devastated when I was told Hibs didn't want me. I really couldn't believe it," he confessed.

"By spending so long at the club I had become a supporter too and it really hurt when they broke the news to me."

While Hibs couldn't see the value in retaining the service of Smith there were other clubs that did and the day after the news was made public Kilmarnock and Dundee both registered an interest.

However, it was to be boyhood heroes Hearts that would finally lure Smith across the Capital's footballing divide and Hibs' loss would most certainly turn out to be the Jambos' gain.

In August 1959 Smith donned a Hearts jersey for the first time in a reserve match against Dundee at Tynecastle.

Having spent so many years contributing to Hibs' glory days he was apprehensive about how the Hearts support would take to him but he needn't have been. More than 12,000 turned out to watch him and he would go on to miss only five games in the entire season.

"Everyone at Hearts was great with me," he said.

"I was a wee bit worried what sort of reception I would get but they took to me quickly."

The fact he helped them to a League Cup final victory over Third Lanark and to win the championship by finishing four points ahead of Kilmarnock would definitely have helped as the balance of power in Edinburgh swung towards Gorgie.

The following season, just as he had with Hibs, Gordon got a shot at the European Cup although it proved to be a shortlived experience as Hearts were paired with Benfica.

The team that lined up against the Jambos was effectively the Portuguese national side in club colours and Hearts were beaten 2-1 at Tynecastle before being thrashed 3-0 in the away leg.

He played the full season again and although there were no further trophy victories during his time with the Gorgie outfit his flair football ensured the supporters took him to their hearts. He played a total of 70 matches for the club, scoring 17 goals.

But while most players would be considering retirement following a glorious career, the thought hadn't even crossed Smith's mind and in May 1961 Dundee finally landed their man.

The veteran winger was excused a lot of the training sessions in order to prolong his playing days, travelling to Dens Park just once a week, other than on matchdays, to work with his new team-mates.

And the arrangement brought instant success with Smith's trickery setting up a number of goals for Dundee's Alan Gilzean and Alan Gousin.

Incredibly, Dundee's form saw them top the table, three points ahead of nearest challengers Rangers with Smith, in many people's eyes, the driving force in the side.

The following season the European Cup beckoned and it was perhaps fitting that his final season in top flight football would be graced with a marvellous adventure in the competition.

The Tayside team marched all the way to the semi-finals of the tournament beating Cologne, Sporting Lisbon and Anderlecht, who had disposed of Real Madrid, along the way.

The highlight of the run was an incredible 8-1 thrashing of Cologne and although Italian giants AC Milan finally knocked them out in the semi-finals, the European Cup had provided a fitting finale for Smith.

A brief spell with Morton followed before a short stint at Drumcondra of Dublin. In 1964 - just months short of his 40th birthday - Smith finally hung up his boots for the final time.

Upon his retirement from the game Smith went into the licensed trade but kept a keen interest in the fortunes of his former clubs, in particular Hibs who he held in the highest affection. Following a long illness Smith died, aged 80, in August 2004. As former team-mate, and another member of the Famous Five, Lawrie Reilly said on learning of his passing: "Football won't see his like again."

Taken from the Scotsman