"Tommy Smith wasn't born, he was quarried." Bill Shankly had a way with words, as he had a way for picking, ahem, uncompromising players to lead up his squad's defensive line. Nicknamed the Anfield Iron by fans, Smith was around for the majority of Shankly and Paisleys tenure as club managers, eventually bowing out after over 500 first team appearances during an eighteen-year stretch with the club. During that time he more than earned that nom de plume, becoming infamous for his readiness to tackle not only with his legs but his sharp tongue, too, frequently not only standing up to referee's decisions but often berating or even commanding them. He had quite the reputation with his fellow players, too, with no less than Jack Charlton conceeding that "Tommy Smith was easily the hardest player I faced. I ran into him once and he knocked every ounce of breath out of me. I tried to get up and look like he hadn't hurt me, but he had." And Charlton was no shrinking violent in his heyday, either, which goes some way to tell you quite why Tommy Smith deserves a place as the second hardest player ever to play beneath the Kop banner. Which means that number one has to be something special...
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
