U21s and Ladies to Contest George Smith Memorial Trophy

We are pleased to announce that the annual fixture between Harrogate Town and Harrogate Railway will be renamed George Smith Memorial Trophy.

The trophies will be contested by both our U21 side and our Ladies side this pre-season, who will be looking to lift the brand-new silverware for the first time.

Previously known as The John Smiths Trophy, Town’s U21 side, managed by Josh Falkingham, will be looking to reclaim the prize following Railway’s 2018 triumph.

In a seperate fixture, our Ladies team will be taking on their Harrogate Railway counterparts in preparation for the 2019/20 season.

George passed away exactly one year ago today and was a lifelong supporter of Harrogate Town, playing an active role for over 75 years at Town as a player, committee member, director and latterly as a Life Member and regular supporter at most home fixtures.

He joined Harrogate Hotspurs in 1943 as a spritely 16 year old and his first stint at the club encompassed the Whitworth Cup Final in 1950 where he played in front of a record crowd at Wetherby Road of 4,280.

Following a short spell at Harrogate Railway he returned to the Town in 1951 and made a further 124 appearances for the Club scoring 46 goals – indeed records show that George scored the very first goal for the Harrogate Hotspurs in a 2-1 victory over Leeds UYMI. 

George Edward Smith was born and bred in Harrogate and his family have left an indelible print on HarrogateTown AFC as two of his sons, Alan and Colin, both played for Harrogate Town, and Alan was to go on and manage the 1^st team in the late 70s and early 80s, whilst George took up the position of Director. George made a massive contribution to the developments at Town and was honoured with Honorary Life membership at the Club in 1996/97.

The dates and locations for both fixtures will be announced in due course.