He was manager of Blackpool for 23 years and guided them to victory in the 1953 FA Cup final, the only time they have won the competition since their 1887 inception.

He instead made his name at Bolton Wanderers, where with 277 league and cup goals between 1908 and 1927, he is the club's second highest goalscorer, only eight behind Nat Lofthouse.

Smith then became the club's top-scorer in 1911–12 with 24 goals, as Bolton posted a fourth-place finish, six points behind champions Blackburn Rovers.

David Jack then took the mantle as the club's main source of goals in 1923–24 and 1924–25, as Bolton posted two top-four finishes in succession.

He also captained the club to another FA Cup final victory, as a goal from namesake Jack Smith was enough to beat Manchester City 1–0.

Upon leaving County, Smith joined Manchester Central on 22 June 1929, reuniting with his old Bolton teammate, Frank Roberts.

In 84 matches at Elm Park, he won 66 and lost only 3, scoring an average of three goals per game and steering the club on a 55-game unbeaten home run that lasted from April 1933 until after he left in 1935.

[12] In August 1935, Smith was approached to become the new manager of Blackpool, in place of the departed Sandy MacFarlane, an offer he immediately accepted; a love of the seaside being one of the main deciding factors.

On 10 March 1939, Smith and club director Albert Hindley made the football headlines when they completed the £10,000 record signing of Jock Dodds from Sheffield United.

After the war, Smith built a formidable "M" forward line of Stan Mortensen, Stanley Matthews and Jackie Mudie.

Mortensen and Mudie began their professional careers at the club, whilst Smith signed Matthews from Stoke City for an £11,500 fee in May 1947.

Many significant players also began their professional careers under Smith, including Barrie Martin, Ron Suart, Ewan Fenton, Tommy Garrett, Bill Perry, Dave Durie, Roy Gratrix, Brian Peterson, Hughie Kelly, and Jimmy Armfield.

Though he was at Bloomfield Road before Smith, after the war, defender Harry Johnston went on to win caps for England whilst at Blackpool.

Smith led the club to another FA Cup final in 1951, where they were beaten 2–0 by Newcastle United after a brace from Jackie Milburn.

Known as the "Matthews final", Stan Mortensen scored a hat-trick against Bolton Wanderers to secure Blackpool a 4–3 victory and their first-ever FA Cup title.