John Smith (cricketer, born 1882)

John Willoughby Dixie Smith (11 March 1882 – 2 October 1959) was an English cricketer and rugby union player. Smith was a utility back in rugby and right-handed batsman in cricket, although his bowling style is unknown. He was born at Blaby, Leicestershire. He was also known as John Willoughby Dixie-Smith.

School and rugby
Smith attended Oundle School in Northamptonshire in 1897 and 1898. On 20 January 1902 he made his debut for Leicester Tigers against Plymouth, scoring a try in a 5–3 defeat. Smith played against Exeter the next day, but did not feature again that season. He featured regularly in the 1903–04 & 1904–05 seasons before leaving the club for two seasons. He re-joined in 1907 and played most weeks, in 1908–09 he played in 36 games, the most of any of his seasons and captained the club on 3 occasions. He played his final match on 2 March 1912 against Headingly.

World War 1 and cricket
He later served in World War I with the Leicestershire Regiment, where he held the rank of Lieutenant. Following the war, Smith made two first-class appearances for Leicestershire in the 1921 County Championship against Gloucestershire and Glamorgan. He scored 30 runs in his two matches with a high score of 25 and a batting average of 7.50.

He died at Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex on 2 October 1959.