Franklin & Marshall College

Robert Smith is a Lancaster native that accomplished greatthings in the athletic and business worlds. While at LancasterBoy's School he participated on the soccer and tennis teams. Hissenior year, he won the 1923 Pennsylvania state tennis championshipand finished as the runner-up in doubles. A successful collegiatecareer followed at Springfield College where he continued hisathletic exploits in both tennis and soccer. His collegiate honorsincluded being named All-American in soccer following the 1929season. He graduated from Springfield College in 1930. He returnedto Lancaster and became a successful businessman specializing inreal estate and insurance.

In 1947, Dr. W. Austin Bishop, F&M athletic director,persuaded Bob to become the adjunct coach of both tennis andsoccer. With his acceptance of the challenge, history would beforever changed in the sport of soccer. Business demands requiredthat he step back from tennis after five years, but his love ofsoccer kept him in that position for 16 seasons until hisretirement in 1963. His tenure as soccer coach was extremelysuccessful. His teams were known for their sportsmanship,motivation, and discipline. Smith's teams won 99, lost 57, and tied12 on their way to three Middle Atlantic Conference South titlesand the MAC Championship in 1952.

The pinnacle of Smith?s career came in 1952 when the undefeatedDiplomat soccer team was named national collegiate champions by theNCAA and the National Soccer Coaches Association. During hiscoaching career at Franklin & Marshall, Smith developed threeAll-Americans: goalkeeper Walter Lenz '53 and forwards Carl Yoder'53 and Gerald Husted ?58. He now joins all three as a member ofthe F&M Sports Hall of Fame. Smith's success with the F&Mteam led to heightened visibility for soccer at the local highschools. He was known as a crusader for soccer. Smith is married toMadge and has two children. They continue to reside in Lancasterduring their retirement.