David Smith was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland.
His best season was in 1980, when he scored 1,582 runs at an average of 36.79 with two hundreds and 12 fifties.
He played in one Youth Test in 1974 versus the West Indies scoring 41.
Upon retiring, he led a successful business career and served on the Warwickshire Committee for nine years.
His father Kenneth played regularly for Leicestershire in 1950–1951, his former father-in-law Alan Oakman represented Sussex (1947–1968) and England in 1956, while his younger brother Paul also played for Warwickshire (1982–1996)