Charles Eastlake Smith

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Charles Eastlake Smith

| image =

| caption =

| fullname = Charles Eastlake Smith

| birth_date = 4 October 1850

| birth_place = Colombo, Ceylon

| height =

| death_date = {{death date|1917|01|10|df=y}} (aged 66)

| death_place = Bromley, England

| position = Forward

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 =

| years1 = 1869–1876

| clubs1 = Crystal Palace

| caps1 =

| goals1 =

| years2 =

| clubs2 = Wanderers

| caps2 =

| goals2 =

| totalcaps =

| totalgoals =

| nationalyears1 = 1876

| nationalteam1 = England

| nationalcaps1 = 1

| nationalgoals1 = 0

| medaltemplates =

| club-update =

| nationalteam-update =

}}

Charles Eastlake Smith (1850 – 10 January 1917) was an English amateur footballer who played for the first Crystal Palace and England.{{Englandstats|ref=y|access-date=27 April 2011}} By profession, he was an insurance clerk.

Early life and education

Smith was born in Colombo, Ceylon in 1850, son of James Smith and Matilda, daughter of the physician Edward Rigby. The Smiths lived at 18, Falkner Square, Liverpool, later moving to 21, Longton Grove, Lewisham, Kent (now counted as part of southeast London).The Letters of Elizabeth Rigby, Lady Eastlake, ed. Julie Sheldon, Liverpool University Press, 2009, pp. 23, 73, 403, 492{{England Football Online|ref=y}} His father James had been born in Scotland and was an East Indian Merchant. He was educated at Rossall School in Lancashire and played in the school football XI in 1869The Football Annual 1869, edited by Charles W Alcock, p28 and 1870The Football Annual 1870, edited by Charles W Alcock, p19 being captain in his final year. Smith suffered from some degree of deafness; his aunt- his mother's eldest sister- the author and literary critic Elizabeth, Lady Eastlake, refers to him in some letters to others as "my dear deaf Charlie" and "my dear deaf Chas Eastlake Smith".The Letters of Elizabeth Rigby, Lady Eastlake, ed. Julie Sheldon, Liverpool University Press, 2009, pp. 487, 491

Football

Smith played for the original Crystal Palace{{cite book | title=Palace Pioneers: How the first Crystal Palace FC helped create the modern game|last= Law|first= Gordon| publisher= Independently published |year=2021| isbn=979-8772662892|page=147 }} and later Wanderers{{cite book | title=The Wanderers F.C. – "Five times F.A. Cup winners"|last= Cavallini|first= Rob | publisher= Dog N Duck Publications |year=2005| isbn=0-9550496-0-1|page=112 }} as a forward; in 1876 he won an international cap when he played for England against Scotland.

Smith served on the Football Association committee between 1875 and 1876.

Family

In 1880 Smith married Lizzie E., daughter of George P. Cooper, of Lethen Grange, Sydenham, Kent. Smith's aunt, Lady Eastlake, wrote of her in 1880 "yesterday my dear deaf Chas Eastlake Smith (Matilda's 2nd son) married a good girl with sufficient fortune."The Letters of Elizabeth Rigby, Lady Eastlake, ed. Julie Sheldon, Liverpool University Press, 2009, p. 491 They had a son, Claude Eastlake Smith, and a daughter, Gladys Shirley Eastlake Smith, who became a tennis player and was an Olympic gold medalist in 1908.

Smith was the cousin of fellow England international, Gilbert Smith.{{cite book | title=England: Player by player | publisher=Green Umbrella Publishing|last= Betts|first= Graham | year=2006|isbn=1-905009-63-1|page=221 }}

Smith compiled and edited after his aunt Elizabeth, Lady Eastlake's death the Journals and Correspondence of Lady Eastlake from her notebooks and letters. After her death, Smith came into possession of a bust of his aunt by the sculptor William Theed, but as of 2009 "its present whereabouts are unknown".The Letters of Elizabeth Rigby, Lady Eastlake, ed. Julie Sheldon, Liverpool University Press, 2009, pp. 3, 23, 73, 403, 492

Smith died in Bromley, London on 10 January 1917.