1957 FA Cup hero Les Smith sadly passes away

Aston Villa Former Players mourn the death of another of their 1957 FA Cup winning heroes Leslie Smith, just two weeks after the death of fellow 1957 Wembley winner Jimmy Dugdale.

Smith, sadly passed away last Saturday, March 8th 2008, following a long battle with throat and bowel cancer. Smith was a rare breed, a winger who could play on either flank, and joined Villa from Wolves in February 1956 for £25,000.

He went on to score 25 goals in 130 games for the club, the highlight of which was the FA Cup final victory over Manchester United 41 years ago. He was sadly forced into early retirement in 1960 after suffering an Achilles injury.

Smith was also a member of the Wolves team that beat Honved under floodlights at Molineux in 1954, he scored 24 goals in 94 games for Wolves.

Halesowen born Smith, who passed away at Mary Stevens Hospice in Stourbridge, leaves a wife Lynne, 75, a son Nigel, 47, and grandchildren Faye and Scott.

GOLF DAY AND DINNER

9th April, 2008

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"LEGENDS" GREYHOUND NIGHT

16th May, 2008

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DICK EDWARDS TRIBUTE NIGHT

15th February, 2008

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HISTORIC "DOUBLE HEADER"

14th October, 2007

Who said it couldn´t be done?

On Sunday 14th October, the Aston Villa Old Stars reputation was greatly enhanced as the team created a piece of history.

It was the first time in the 48 years history of the team (and probably the last) that two X1´s have ever played simultaneously. An Aston Villa Old Stars side kicked off at 2.30pm at Studley FC in Warwickshire and another Aston Villa Old Stars side kicked off at 1.30pm at Chasetown FC in Staffordshire.

The players deserve great credit for their commitment to supporting the ethos of the Aston Villa Old Stars and for this outstanding achievement and it also demonstrates the strength in depth of the current squad. We cannot think of another club that could have done this.

That a number of our squad were unavailable to play, such as European Cup heroes Tony Morley and Colin Gibson who were on holiday, Steve Staunton who was with the Republic of Ireland team, Mark Walters who was with the Villa youngsters at Stoke City, etc, the ability to still field two strong teams is even more remarkable.

Special mention must go to our General Secretary Karl Court and to our Administrator Lynne Atkinson who both did a fantastic job with the respective match organisers and in communicating with the players.

We don´t yet know the final amount of money raised from the two games for the respective Cancer Research and Acorn´s Hospice charities but indications are it will be a healthy sum in both instances.

As for the games, well it was good news that both our teams won. The 2-1 victory at Studley FC could have been by a greater margin. As for the 19-0 win at Chasetown FC, well the team just clicked on the day on a perfect playing surface.

After their 19-0 win at Chasetown FC the players referred to themselves as the ´first-team´ and when checking with the players who played at Studley FC, referred to them as the ´reserves´. The Aston Villa Old Stars team is not a good place for anyone with a big ego!