Smith first played hurling at juvenile and underage levels with a Na Fianna combination and won consecutive Mid Tipperary MAHC titles in 1961 and 1962.
At adult level he lined out with Clonakenny and was part of the club's junior team that won the Tipperary JAHC title in 1967.
[1] Smith also lined out as a student with University College Dublin and won three Fitzgibbon Cup titles.
[4][5] He also lined out with the intermediate and senior teams that year and was a non-playing substitute when Tipperary beat Cork in the 1964 Munster SHC final.
His brother, Michael Smith, served as a Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary North at various times between 1969 and 2007.