Bernie Smith
{{Short description|Australian rules footballer}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2011}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Bernie Smith
| image = Bernie Smith.jpg
| fullname = Bernard Keith Smith
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1927|12|19|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{death date and age|1985|4|21|1927|12|19|df=y}}
| death_place =
| originalteam = {{SANFL WestA}} (SANFL)
| height = 175 cm
| weight = 75 kg
| position = back pocket
| guernsey = 11
| statsend = 1958
| years1 = 1945–1947
| club1 = {{SANFL WestA}} (SANFL)
| games_goals1 = 55 (12)
| years2 = 1948–1958
| club2 = {{AFL Gee}} (VFL)
| games_goals2 = 183 (3)
| games_goalstotal = 238 (15)
| sooteam1 = Victoria
| soogames_goals1 = 4
| sooteam2 = South Australia
| soogames_goals2 = 3
| careerhighlights = *West Adelaide premiership player 1947
- Geelong premiership player 1951, 1952
- Brownlow Medal 1951
- Trabilsie Medal 1947
- Carji Greeves Medal 1951, 1956
- All-Australian team 1953
- Geelong captain 1954
- Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee 1996
- AFL Team of the Century (back pocket)
- Geelong Team of the Century (back pocket)
- South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee 2002
}}
Bernard Keith Smith (19 December 1927 – 21 April 1985) was an Australian rules footballer who represented {{SANFL WestA}} in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) and {{AFL Gee}} in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1940s and 1950s.
Smith made his name as a back pocket player in a successful period for Geelong.
SANFL career
Smith commenced his career with West Adelaide in the SANFL as a 16-year-old on 28 April 1945, playing primarily as a centre.
He won the Trabilsie Medal, West Adelaide's best and fairest award, in 1947, the same year that he played in their Grand Final triumph over Norwood, in which he was widely acknowledged as the best player afield.http://www.westies.com.au/docs/team/legends.html West Adelaide Football Club, "Legends"
Also in 1947 Smith represented South Australia at the interstate carnival, attracting the attention of the Victorian club, {{AFL Gee}}.
VFL career
Smith was recruited to Geelong for the 1948 season and played centreman during his first few years in the (then) Victorian Football League. In 1950, coach Reg Hickey trialled Smith in the back pocket, and he adjusted quickly to the new position.Hutchinson, 1984, p. 176
1951 was a year to remember for Smith; he won the Brownlow Medal and club best and fairest, and was among the best on ground in Geelong's 1951 premiership victory.
In combination with the dashing Fullback Bruce Morrison he created a sturdy defensive wall, and started the forward moves going again with his precision kicking. Under their leadership the Geelong defence was so strong that rival coaches had to turn their minds to finding ways through to goal.
"Bernie Smith had a big smile, fair curly hair and looked like a country boy playing a country game of football. It seemed, however, that everywhere that Bernie went the ball was sure to go.
"He was immensely popular around the club and his adopted city of Geelong."Ross, 1999, p. 121
In 1996 Smith was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.Herald Sun, "Bernie Smith", 18 August 2007, p. 90. In 2002 he was one of the 113 inaugural inductees into the South Australian Football Hall of Fame.
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book |last=Ross |first=John |title=The Australian Football Hall of Fame |year=1999 |publisher=HarperCollinsPublishers |location=Australia |isbn=0-7322-6426-X}}
- {{cite book |last=Hutchinson|first=Col|title=Cats' Tales|year=1984|publisher=The Geelong Advertiser|location=Geelong|isbn=0-9592863-1-4}}
External links
- {{AFL Tables|B/Bernie_Smith}}
- {{AustralianFootball|bernie+smith/7704}}
- {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20110524000000/http://www.afl.com.au/aflhq/awards/halloffame/players/tabid/856/default.aspx|Hall of Fame players at the AFL official website}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120322022349/http://www.westadelaidefc.com.au/HISTORY/HALLOFFAME/BernieSmith.aspx Profile at West Adelaide Hall of Fame]
- [http://www.sanfl.com.au/hall_of_fame/bernie_k_smith/ Profile at South Australian Football Hall of Fame]
{{1951 Geelong premiership players}}
{{1952 Geelong premiership players}}
{{Geelong Football Club captains}}
{{AFL Brownlow Medallists}}
{{AFL Team of the Century}}
{{West Adelaide Team of the Centuries}}
{{Geelong Team of the Century}}
{{Carji Greeves Medal}}
{{VFL/AFL club best and fairest winners in premiership years}}
{{1947 South Australia State Football Team}}
{{1953 'Sporting Life' Team of the Year}}
{{1953 All-Australian team}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bernie}}
Category:Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees
Category:All-Australians (1953–1988)
Category:West Adelaide Football Club players
Category:Geelong Football Club players
Category:Geelong Football Club premiership players
Category:Geelong Football Club captains
Category:Carji Greeves Medal winners
Category:Brownlow Medal winners
Category:Australian rules footballers from South Australia