Billy Craig

Name: William C. Craig
Born: 1 November 1943, Belfast
Died: 11 March 2016, Maze (age 72)
Height: 5.08 ft
Weight: 10.05 st
Position: Inside-Right/Centre-Forward

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 1 Under-23 Cap (1965), 2 Amateur Caps (1964), Youth (1962).
Club Honours: (with Linfield) Gold Cup Winner 1963/64; City Cup Winner 1963/64; Ulster Cup Winner 1964/65; Co. Antrim Shield Winner 1962/63; George Wilson Cup Winner 1961/62*; IFA Youth Cup Winner#  (with Brantwood) Irish Intermediate Cup Winner 1972/73; George Wilson Cup Winner 1972/73.
* with Linfield Swifts; # with Linfield Rangers.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Europe	Other
Linfield	61/62-65/66	-60	Youth	*84(0)/24	-	-	2(0)/1	-
Distillery	-	c/s-66	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dundela	-	-69	-	-	-	-	-	-
Brantwood	71/72-72/73	-71	-	-	-	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£0		-	-	-	-	-

* all domestic games.

Biography:
Billy Craig first took to football while attending Finaghy Primary School and continued his development in the game with 84th Boys' Brigade Company before joining Linfield in 1960. Blooded through the Linfield Rangers and Swifts teams, he made his debut on Boxing Day 1961 in a 4-2 defeat at Ballymena - it was a rare off day for the Blues that season, as they claimed seven trophies, though Craig made just one more appearance.

A versatile forward, capable in any attacking role, Craig did finish the 1961/62 campaign with several honours as he aided Rangers to an Irish Youth Cup win, the Swifts to the George Wilson Cup and also won a youth cap against Scotland. In 1962/63 he scored his first senior Linfield goal in a 4-0 Co. Antrim Shield final win over Bangor, but it was the following season that he really established himself in the Linfield first team in 1963/64, scoring a total of 17 goals. Highlights included one in a 2-0 win over Fenerbahce in the Cup Winners' Cup (though the first leg had already been lost 4-1) and a double in a 3-2 Gold Cup final win over Glentoran. That same season he also collected a City Cup winner's medal and was awarded a call-up to the Northern Ireland Amateur team.

Craig led the line in successive 2-2 amateur international draws with Wales and Scotland. The game against the Scots was played at Hampden Park - famous for its 100,000 plus capacity - in front of a paltry crowd of 1,202. In 1965 Craig was selected for an Under-23 match in Wales, a match that also finished in a 2-2 draw. Thereafter Craig began to drift away from the Linfield starting eleven and he played his final game in a 1-1 City Cup draw at Glentoran at the end of the 1965/66 season, marking the occasion with a goal.

In the summer of 1966 Craig joined Distillery, with Bryan Hamilton making the opposite journey. Later he was to have a successful spell as player-manager of Brantwood, leading them to Intermediate Cup and George Wilson Cup successes in the 1972/73 season.

Linfield FC Tribute

Northern Ireland Under-23 Cap Details:
10-02-1965 Wales... A D 2-2 FR

Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 1, Lost 0.

Northern Ireland Amateur Cap Details:
11-01-1964 Wales... H D 2-2
08-02-1964 Scotland A D 2-2

Summary: 2/0. Won 0, Drew 2, Lost 0.

Fred Roberts

Name: Frederick Charles Roberts
Born: 1905, Belfast
Height: 6.01 ft
Weight: 12.10 st
Died: 1988
Position: Centre-Forward

Representative Honours: Ireland: 1 Full Cap (1931), Junior.
Club Honours: (with Queen’s Island) City Cup Winner 1924/25; (with Glentoran) Irish League Champion 1930/31; Irish Cup Winner 1931/32, 1932/33; City Cup Winner 1931/32; Co. Antrim Shield Winner 1931/32; Charity Cup Winner 1928/29; (with Distillery) City Cup Winner 1933/34.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA.Cup		Other
Bandon
Ravenscroft				(Combination)
Newington.Rgrs				(Intermediate League)
Belfast Celtic				-
Queen’s Island				-
Broadway Utd				(Intermediate League)
Glentoran	28/29-32/33	c/s-28		221/332	*
Distillery	33/34	c/s-33		/ 32	*
Dundela				(Intermediate League)
TOTALS

Biography:

When Fred Roberts scored 96 goals in the 1930/31 season he set a British and Irish record unlikely ever to be matched. Still, such goalscoring feats were not unusual for Roberts. In his five seasons at the Oval his goal tallies read: 66, 57, 96, 64 and 49; they included 40 hattricks and goals in the 1932 and 1933 Irish Cup successes.

It was in his record-breaking season that Roberts was awarded his only Full international recognition (he had previously won a Junior cap while with Broadway United), but he failed to impress in a scrappy 0-0 draw in blustery conditions against Scotland. Some feel that Roberts’ form should have earned him a second chance, but at the time Ireland were in a rare position of also having the options of Joe Bambrick and Jimmy Dunne for the number nine shirt.

In May 1933 Roberts was surprisingly released by Glentoran. He signed with Distillery, top-scoring with 32 goals as the Whites claimed a close-fought City Cup competition in 1933/34. Later he played with Dundela before returning to the Oval as coach of Glentoran Olympic.

Glens Internationals (Courtesy of ForzaTV)

Ireland Cap Details:
21/02/1931 Scotland H D 0-0 BC

Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 1, Lost 0.

Sammy Smyth

An FA Cup winner who was part of an All-Star Irish forward line which failed to deliver on their potential...

Name: Samuel Smyth
Born: 25 February 1925, Belfast
Died: 19 October 2016, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Height: 5.11 ft
Weight: 11.06 st
Position: Inside/Centre-Forward

Representative Honours: Ireland: 9 Full Caps/5 Goals (1947-1951); 1 Amateur Cap (1947).
Club Honours: (with Wolves) FA Cup Winner 1948/49; FA Charity Shield 1949 (shared).

Club Career:

Clubs	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
Distillery	-	May-42	Youth	0/0	(Northern Regional League)
Linfield	44/45-46/47	-44	Amateur	-	(Northern Regional League)
Dundela	-	Jun-47	-	0/0	(Intermediate League)
Wolverhampton W.	47/48-51/52	Jul-47	£1,250	102/34	13/ 9	1/0
Stoke City	51/52-52/53	Sep-51	£25,000	40/20	4/ 2	-
Liverpool	52/53-54/55	Dec-52	£12,000	44/20	-	-
Bangor	-	Dec-55	£2,000	-	-	-
TOTALS		£40,250		186/74	17/11	1/0

Biography:
Sammy Smyth made his name as a goalscorer with Linfield during the Second World War. On 23 December 1944 he bagged four of Linfield's goals in a 9-2 win over Glentoran! The Blues other scorers were Davy Cochrane (3), Sammy McCrory and Norman Lockhart, all of whom would play for Ireland. He was much sought after by clubs across the water, though as an amateur any move would have yielded no fee for the Blues. Smyth signed as a professional with Intermediate side Dundela in June 1947 and was quickly snapped up by Wolves, netting the Duns a healthy £1,250 fee.

Wolves were building a team that would become one of the dominant sides of the 1950s. An early success arrived in the shape of the 1949 FA Cup. Smyth scored six on their way to the final, including a semi-final winner against Manchester United. At Wembley he scored a fine goal, dribbling from the half-way line before smashing home to give Wolves a 3-1 victory over Leicester City.

It was only a few months, and eight League games, after arriving at Molineux that Smyth added senior international honours to the amateur caps he had won while at Linfield (he had also been a trialist for Ireland Schoolboys before the War). His debut, as stand-in for the injured Peter Doherty, saw him net both in each half of a 2-0 win over Scotland in front of 52,000 people at Windsor Park. After such a bright start to his Ireland career much was expected of Smyth at international level, but ultimately he was part of the team at a difficult time that yielded mostly disappointing results.

In 1951 Smyth made a big-money move to Stoke City and on the occasion of his ninth, and final cap, was the first Potters player to be capped by the Irish FA. Although Smyth managed a goal every other game while with Stoke, the club struggled towards the foot of the First Division table. He stayed just a season and a half at the Victoria Ground before joining another struggling First Division club, Liverpool. He actually made his Liverpool debut in a 3-1 defeat by Stoke in January 1952 and it was only a late-season run of form that saw the Reds climb out of the relegation places, with Stoke dropping into Division Two.

Liverpool weren't so fortunate the following season as Smyth's return of 13 goals in 26 games could not save them from the drop after nearly fifty years in the English top-flight. Smyth never took to the field in the Second Division, preferring to escape the football's minimum wage and look to his future. He married and settled back home where he worked as a bookmaker. He did however continue to take to the field as player-manager at Bangor.

Later, Smyth ran his own sports shop and worked as an agent for a sportswear company. He was also an active golfer and was captain and president of the Clandeboye Golf Club. In his eighties he left Northern Ireland behind to live with his daughter in the Cayman Islands where he passed away at the age of 91 after a battle with Alzheimer's.

LFCHistory.net Profile
Cayman Compass
Stoke Sentinel Obituary

Ireland Cap Details:
04-10-1947 Scotland H W 2-0 BC 2 Goals
05-11-1947 England. A D 2-2 BC
10-03-1948 Wales... A L 0-2 BC
17-11-1948 Scotland A L 2-3 BC
09-03-1949 Wales... H L 0-2 BC
01-10-1949 Scotland H L 2-8 WCQ/BC 2 Goals
06-11-1949 England. A L 2-9 WCQ/BC 1 Goal
08-03-1950 Wales... A D 0-0 WCQ/BC
20-11-1951 England. A L 0-2 BC

Summary: 9/5. Won 1, Drew 2, Lost 6.

Ireland Amateur Cap Details:
08-02-1947 England. A L 1-3

Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 1.

"Tucker" Croft

You have to feel for a player who scored in a win over England and earned just three caps. The reason for Tucker Croft’s all-too-brief international career seems to have been his pioneering move to American Soccer…

Name: Thomas Croft
Born: 8 April 1897, Belfast
Died: 16 December 1952, Belfast
Position: Inside-Right

Representative Honours: Ireland: 3 Full Caps / 1 Goal (1922-1924); Irish League: 4 Caps (1922-1924).
Club Honours: (with Queen’s Island) Irish League Champion 1923/24, Runner-Up 1922/23, 1924/25; Irish Cup Winner 1923/24; Co. Antrim Shield Winner 1923/24; City Cup Winner 1922/23, 1923/24, Runner-Up 1929/30; IFA Intermediate Cup Winner 1920/21; (with Glentoran) Charity Cup Runner-Up 1918/19; (with Fall River) American Soccer League Champion 1924/25, 1925/26; Lewis Cup Runner-Up 1925.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Others
Dundela	13/14	-	Amateur	-	-	-
Belfast United	14/15-18/19	-	Amateur	/  1	(also Army)
Glentoran	18/19-20/21	May-19	-	* 39/ 10	-	-
Queen's Island	20/21-24/25	Nov-20	-	* / 64	-	-
Fall River Marksmen	24/25-26/27	-	-	83/ 41	(American Soccer League)
J&P Coats	26/27	-	-	13/  4	(American Soccer League)
Fall River Marksmen	27/28	-	-	3/  3	(American Soccer League)
Newark	27/28	-	-	5/  1	(American Soccer League)
New York Nationals	27/28	-	-	13/  4	(American Soccer League)
Newark	28/29	-	-	1/  0	(American Soccer League)
Queen's Island	28/29	Dec-28	-	* /  4	-	-
Glentoran	29/30	c/s-29	-	* 27/  5	-	-
Glenavon	30/31	Oct-30	Trial	-	-	-
Dundela	30/31	-	-	-	-	-
Drumcondra	31/32-32/33	-	-	/  5	/1	-
TOTALS	-	£-		/142	/1	-

* all domestic games.

Biography:
Tommy "Tucker" Croft was an integral part of the Queen’s Island team who joined, then took the Irish League by storm in the early 1920s. Although an unrelated team of the same name had won the second ever Irish Cup competition, the Queen's Island that joined the Irish League in 1921, replacing the southern Irish clubs that had resigned, was a much younger side.

From East Belfast, Croft played with a number of teams in that area, including Dundela. At the time he was still in the army and during leave he also took the opportunity to play with Belfast United. In 1918/19 he made five appearances for Glentoran and scored his first Glens goal against Cliftonville in a 3-0 Charity Cup semi-final win and played in the 1-0 Final defeat by Linfield. Having signed professional terms on 31st May 1919, Croft established himself in the firstteam for much of the 1919/20 season he bagged a hat-trick in a 7-0 City Cup win over Bohemians. After ten goals in 39 games for Glentoran, Croft signed for Queen's Island on the 6th November 1920.

Queen’s Island, bolstered by a selection of players enticed by jobs in the shipyard, including Croft, finished as runners-up in only their second season in senior football, and in their third won the Irish League and Cup double, plus the Co. Antrim Shield and City Cup. A regular among the goals, Croft managed four in a Charity Cup game against Brantwood in May 1923. The 1924/25 season saw Queen's Island finish as League runners-up, but they did retain the City Cup, by which time Croft had left these shores behind.

Described as "gritty and tenacious [he] gets through a wonderful amount of work ... knows when to hold on, to part, to break through and to shoot..." Croft won three caps for Ireland, all while with Queen's Island. He marked his only appearance in the International Championship with the winning goal against England. It was a game which adds much to his mystique, he arrived in the dressing room just twenty minutes prior to kick-off, whispering to a teammate, "I'm just after having four pints of porter." He then sustained "a rather serious injury" leaving doubts about whether he would be fit to restart after half-time. Still, he scored the winner, remarked on by teammate Jack Brown as "the best I ever saw".

In the late 1924 Croft, unknown to his club or the Irish League, made a sensational move to the "big money" American Soccer League. The deal, concluded during a visit to Scotland for an inter-league game, earned him a suspension from British football, although he was in fact contracted to Queen's Island until 20th May 1926. Between 1924 and 1926 he was with Fall River Marksmen and told the Weekly News: "I found I wasn't alone ... as far as United Kingdom footballers were concerned ... in fact, the entire team was composed English and Scottish players, one or two of whom had "jumped their contracts" with their clubs at home." He also revealed the other perks of soccer State-side, which included opportunities of a "good job" outside of playing.

Having helped Fall River to successive ASL titles in 1925 and 1926 as well as scoring in their 1925 Lewis (League) Cup Final defeat by Boston, Croft left for J&P Coats of Pawtucket. It was noted that as "one of the best forwards that ever migrated to these shores" he was badly missed by Fall River. After spells with New York Nationals and Newark his appearances were on the wane and he decided to return to Ireland. On his return from America, Croft, once regarded as one of the biggest draws in the ASL, had to appeal to the Irish FA to be allowed to resume his Irish League career. He signed professional forms with Queen's Island on the 7th December 1928 - apparently all had been forgiven!

Croft rejoined Queen's Island in what would be their final season in senior football. They were a shadow of the side he had left behind and finished bottom of the Irish League and were not re-elected. Glentoran were quick to step in to sign the cream of the Island's talent, picking up five of their former players – the pick of these was surely Croft. He had just one season at the Oval, earning praise for his performances on the left-wing, but failed to add to his medals collection, even missing that season’s Co. Antrim Shield final defeat by Linfield.

On leaving the Glens after just one season, Croft found himself without a club until he joined Glenavon on a month long trial on 18th October 1930 before he playing out the remainder of the season with Dundela. He then finished his career in Dublin with Drumcondra where he played most matches during the 1931/32 and 32/33 seasons, scoring a total of six goals, including one in a 3-1 Free State Cup win over Cork Bohemians on 27th December 1931.

Ireland Cap Details:
25-05-1922 Norway...... A L 1-2 FR
20-10-1923 England..... H W 2-1 BC 1 goal
24-09-1924 South Africa H L 1-2 FR

Summary: 3/1. Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 2.

Additions and corrections by George Glass with further thanks to Jim Murphy. Photo courtesy of Tom Croft, Tucker's grandson. Tucker is also featured in the book "Belfast: Tears & Laughter: 1957-1977" by his grandson, Alan Croft.