LAST week’s story about former Tottenham and England start striker Bobby Smith almost joining Felixstowe Town brought back memories for Terry Adams, the respected long term Hadleigh United press officer who at the time covered the Seasiders for the Evening Star.

LAST week’s story about former Tottenham and England start striker Bobby Smith almost joining Felixstowe Town brought back memories for Terry Adams, the respected long term Hadleigh United press officer who at the time covered the Seasiders for the Evening Star.

Smith died earlier this month, and Terry recalls; “I remember it well.

“It was the 1966/67 pre-season and Felixstowe had just left the Ipswich and District League to join the Essex and Suffolk Border League, which was a vastly superior competition at that time.

“The reported arrival of Bobby Smith caused huge excitement in local football circles and the editor of the Felixstowe Times, Peter Welham, offered me the Saturday job of covering Felixstowe’s matches.

“I needed no second asking and so began a career of reporting local football which lasted 44 years, although my time at Dellwood Avenue only lasted for one season before leaving to ‘do the rounds’.

“England had just won the World Cup when Smith travelled to Dellwood for talks, presumably with local hotelier Mr Humphries, who I believe was financing the team at that time.

“Smith was pictured sitting in the old wooden groundstand at the football ground, which at that time was where the cricket ground is nowadays.

“The player-manager was Jackie Stannard and other players with Felixstowe at the time included Terry Clarke, Lennie Brown, Neil Myles, Paddy Stones, Jack Denny, Jimmy Fitzgerald, Mick Mayes and a young Ray Stanbridge. The secretary was Alex Ramsey.”

And Terry asks: “I often wondered what happened to Bobby Smith? He turned down Felixstowe’s offer and I never heard of him again until his death was reported.”

Smith was a member of the Tottenham double-winning 1960/61 side that was managed by Bill Nicholson and featuring players such as Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay and Cliff Jones earning a reputation for producing attractive, attacking football.

Smith scored 208 goals in 317 senior games for Tottenham, 33 of them in the club’s double-winning season. He and strike partner Jimmy Greaves are the only players to score 200 goals for the club.

Smith had played the 1964/65 season with Fourth Division Brighton, and suffering from recurring injuries his career gradually tapered off and after short spells with a number of non-league clubs he retired in 1968.

He then featured on the after-dinner speaking circuit and worked as a painter and decorator in north London.

Terry scribing has taken a back seat this campaign owing to health problems, although his present position as president of Hadleigh keeps him involved at a good level of football.

“And Hadleigh are a good club,” adds Terry, who for many years covered home Ipswich Town reserve games for this paper.