Former Chelsea centre-forward Bobby Smith has died at the age of 77 following a short illness.
Chelsea Football Club sends our condolences to his family and friends.
A Yorkshireman by birth, Smith was one of the best young players produced in the early years of a Chelsea youth system established after the war.
A trial match down in London at the age of 14 was the chance to escape working down the mines where he had spent the previous year, and Smith scored all the goals in a Chelsea side's 3-1 win over Charlton.
However finding the capital city an overwhelming prospect, the youngster return immediately to Yorkshire. His father persuaded to him to return and stayed with him for a fortnight.
Smith then shared digs with another lad from the north, Frank Blunstone, and settled into Chelsea life.
He made his debut aged 17 against Bolton in 1950, his powerful play at the front of the attack earning him nine goals in 21 appearances in his first season, totals he improved upon in his second year with 16 goals in 39 games. Included in those was a run to the FA Cup semi-final, Smith scoring a hat-trick in overcoming Leeds on the way to eventual defeat by Arsenal.
However Roy Bentley was formidable competition for a place in the side and was favoured by Ted Drake after the new manager's arrival at Chelsea, with other forwards normally preferred to act as Bentley's foil.
Smith played four league games in 1954/55 as Chelsea won our first championship but believed his relationship with the manager didn't recover from an accidental training ground collision that resulted in a broken arm for team-mate Ken Armstrong.
He was sold to Tottenham in December 1955 for £16,000, a surprise for many Chelsea fans as Smith was one of few young players in an ageing squad, and the striker's later success at Spurs where he was an important member of their Double-winning side and became an England regular, indicated that the transfer was unwise.
For Chelsea, Smith played 86 games, scoring 30 goals.
He would later play at Brighton and Hove Albion and in more recent years was part of reunions of the 1954/55 Chelsea squad (he is second from left in the picture below) and was a popular attendee at other past player events, including the annual Chelsea Pitch Owners' Lunch.
