Foxes A to Z; Bobby Smith

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Basically an attacking midfielder, Bobby had proven his versatility at Easter Road by leading Hibs seasonal scoring list and then converting to left-back in the course of a year, and Jock Wallace chased his signature for some six months before an £85.000 deal was struck in time for Bobby to share a League bow with both Gary Lineker and David Buchanan.

He settled well at Filbert Street as an aggressive prompter, opportunist and penalty expert, and was second top scorer in the 1980 promotion campaign.

Yet a lean spell followed, when City seemed willing to off-load Bobby at the end of either of his loan-outs, and it was at full-back that he surprisingly re established himself, contributing to the 1983 promotion effort, and holding his place in Gordon Milne’s line-ups for much of the next three seasons.

Eventually, another Easter Road loan did lead to Bobby rejoining his first club on a free transfer, though Hibs pocketed a decent fee when he shifted Premier Division bases. Dunfirmline made a presentation of Bobby midway thorugh their 1988/89 promotion season to mark his 500th senior game.

By the time he made a flying return to Leicester in 1993 to play in Neville Hamilton’s benefit game, Bobby was installed as a pub landlord back in Dalkeith. He also had spells at Partick Thistle and at Berwick Rangers before hanging up his boots 1991. Bobby died from cancer in 2010, he was only 56 years of age.

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