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". Reputation By the time of his retirement, Smith was perhaps the most admired figure in the English game, familiarly known to several generations of schoolboys simply by his initials at a time when only one other sportsman – the cricketer W.G. Grace – was so recognised. Despite the emergence of later, equally capable centre forwards in a more recognisably modern mould – most notably Vivian Woodward, Smith's successor in the England team – his abilities were recalled and praised well into the 1940s. The International Federation of Football History & Statistics, a scholarly group based in Wiesbaden, describes him as "the most brilliant, indeed perfect, footballer in the world around the turn of the century". "G.O." was, according to contemporaries, unusually popular among professional footballers who were generally wary of the leading amateurs. Sir Frederick Wall, the long-serving Secretary of the Football Association wrote that he was "a man without petty pride". Wall recalled that Steve Bloomer "had an intense admiration" for his England striking partner, and Bloomer himself remarked that, unlike the majority of amateurs of the day, Smith was invariably courteous to his professional teammates and social inferiors: "He was the finest type of amateur, one who would always shake hands with us professionals in a manner which said plainly he was pleased to meet them." Cricket career 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." See also List of English cricket and football players References Bibliography William Gibson and Alfred Pickford (1906). Association Football and the Men Who Made It. London: Caxton. John Harding (1998). Football Wizard: The Billy Meredith Story. London: Robson Books. Norman Jacobs (2005). Vivian Woodward: Football's Gentleman. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. External links Cricinfo: