Smith was born in Southampton and played football for various local sides leading to representative honours for the Hampshire Field Artillery In 1908, he joined Southampton for whom he gained a reputation for "accurately crossing the ball from awkward and seemingly impossible positions".
He made his first-team debut when he took the place of John Bainbridge on the right wing for the Christmas Day 1908 match at West Ham United, which ended in a 1–0 defeat. Smith retained his place for the next two matches before Bainbridge"s return. He spent the next two years in the reserves before he was recalled on New Years Eve 1910, when he had a run of six matches as the forward line was shuffled around in the absence of Harry Brown.
Smith abandoned his football career in 1911 and joined the 18th (Queen Mary"s Own) Hussars, with whom he served during World War I.
