It might seem odd to shine a light on a player who appeared for Lincoln City more than 130 years ago, but I have a good reason.
For a while now, there has been a silver hip flask, presented to Frank Smallman, on eBay for a fairly chunky sum of money. After some negotiating, I have bought it because it is a piece of Imps’ history that you’ll see once in a lifetime, and it deserves to be placed with a good collection of items. I’ll put it on here when it arrives, but I wanted to introduce the player to whom it was presented.
A speedy outside-right with an impressive eye for goal, Frank Smallman was one of the prominent figures in Lincoln City’s early years. Recruited from St John’s in Lincoln, he helped us win the Midland League title before becoming our leading scorer in our first Football League campaign.
He made his debut on September 7th, 1889, and scored as we lost 2-1 against Staveley. This was our first season in what felt like a proper competition, having previously been a member of The Combination, but it was wound up and we went into the Midland League. Smallman hit our first hat trick at this new level, bagging three as we beat Leek 10-2. He bagged five in that game, with George ‘Slotch’ Shaw getting three as well. The exact timings aren’t known, so we cannot be sure he did score our first treble.
He did like an opening day goal, netting as we beat Burton Wanderers at the start of the 1890/91 season. He was ruled out for half the season, scoring twice in 10 outings. Back then, players needed a second job, and Smallman ran the Sloop Inn on Waterside North, somewhere close to the junction with Baggholme Road.
The following season, City were in the Football Alliance, and on the opening day, once again, Smallman bagged, this time against Ardwick, now known as Manchester City. Not only did he bag six goals in the league, he also scored in the Lincolnshire Senior Cup final. That was huge back in the day, remember, Lincoln City were formed to play in that competition. It was our second victory in the competition in a row, our third overall, and was widely celebrated.
His most significant contribution came during 1892/93, when City became founder members of the Football League’s Second Division. Smallman appeared in all 22 league fixtures and scored 17 times, adding another two goals in cup competition. On 11 February 1893, he became the first Lincoln player to score a Football League hat-trick, going one better by hitting four in a 5-1 home victory against Burton Swifts. All four came in the second half.
That was also the season he was presented with the silver-plated hip flask for ‘fine play and sporting merit’. His play was so fine, he swapped the John O’Gaunts’ ground for Derby Turn, home of Burton Wanderers.
Smallman left for Burton Wanderers that summer and helped them win the Midland League championship in 1893/94. He returned to Lincoln in October 1894, adding another two seasons to his time with City. He scored six, finishing on the winning side five times. He scored in our game against the newly-named Manchester City on March 23rd. 1895, we lost 11-3, our record defeat.
The following season he remained with the club as we moved to Sincil Bank, but was used sparingly. By then, brothers Matthew and William Gillespie were banging in the goals, and Smallman managed just two: he netted against the 10th Lincoln Regiment in the Lincolnshire Senior Cup, and then against in the final as we drew 2-2 with Grimsby All Saints at the Bank. By then, the first team were focused on the league, and Smallman’s cup outings underlined his fading influence in the first team.
His final first-team appearance came against Wanderers on 4 April 1896, although there was no happy farewell as City lost 4-1. A couple of weeks before that game, he handed the license of the Sloop Inn to fellow Imp John Irving, the first City player to score a penalty, miss a penalty, and be sent off. Quite the pair.
Across his two spells, Smallman scored 53 goals in 120 senior appearances, including his 23 goals in 58 Football League matches. He died in Lincoln in 1941, aged 72. His distinction as our first Football League hat-trick scorer gives him a lasting place in the club’s history.
Comments Welcome!