Born in Glasgow on January 20, 1947 Jimmy Smith was a classy inside forward with an almost uncanny ability to control a football. Smith joined the Dons from Benburb in 1965 as manager Eddie Turnbull embarked on his task of re-building the club. Inside a year Jimmy had established himself as a first team regular. Thanks to his incredible knack of carving his way through the tightest of defences with a characteristic jink or swerve, he quickly became known to the fans as "Jinky".
Of slight build, Smith was often the target of opposing "hard men" and he was frequently in trouble for reacting to some of the rougher treatment. In many ways the enigmatic Jinky may have benefited from playing the game some 20 years earlier, but his stylish performances quickly earned him honours at under 23 level. In early 1968 he was the subject of a determined bid by Jock Stein to make him a Celtic player, but the Dons resisted and Smith was still at Pittodrie when his call to the full international side came in May, 1968.
He made his debut in Amsterdam as a substitute for fellow debutant Bobby Hope, but couldn't inspire the Scots in a 0-0 draw. In July, 1969, only weeks after another future international, Tommy Craig had left for Sheffield Wednesday, Smith was transferred to Newcastle United for an £80,000 fee.
Jinky became a big favourite of the fans at St James's Park but unfortunately injury blighted much of the remainder of his career. Just prior to his retirement from the first class scene in the mid-1970s, Jinky returned for a brief swansong, winning three more caps during the 1973-74 season. In 1976 he played as trialist for Celtic before finally calling it a day.
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