In Thistle's 15 decade history, only a dozen players have scored 100 or more goals in a Thistle jersey. Of those, only Willie Sharp and Willie Paul have scored more than George Smith's 132 goals. Smith arrived at Firhill from Torpichen Juveniles and made his first team debut in one of Partick's more obscure fixtures. In February 1954, Thistle were sent to Kirkcowan near Newton Stewart to play Tarff Rovers in a Scottish Cup-tie. An injury to Johnny MacKenzie provided the 18 year old Smith with the opportunity to make his first team debut for Thistle. In fairly bizarre surroundings the visitors cantered to a 9-0 win. Smith would deputise for MacKenzie on another couple of occasions that season but it would be the following season before he began to feature in the side on a regular basis.

To say that George made something of an impact in his first full season at Firhill would be a massive understatement. Although Thistle failed to qualify from their League Cup section, Smith scored his first goal in the 2-0 win against Stirling Albion in that competition. A few weeks later he managed no fewer than four goals in the 9-1 demolition of the same Stirling team at Firhill. That pretty much set the tone for Smith's season. With 25 goals he would, by some distance, finish as Thistle's leading scorer and although not on target himself in the final win against Celtic he contributed two goals in Partick's 5-4 Glasgow Cup semi-final win over that team. He struggled to come anywhere near matching that total in 1955-56, scoring just twice, but that was very much a, rare, disappointing season for Smith. He again topped the Thistle scoring charts in season 1956-57 scoring 17 times. He scored 20 goals in season 1958-59, a tally bettered only by Andy Kerr who would soon be on the move to Manchester City. During that season he, for the second time, played in a losing Thistle side in the League Cup Final.

Smith remained at Firhill and there was little surprise, in the wake of Kerr's departure down south, that he finished the 1959-60 as Thistle's leading scorer with 21 goals; that tally included two hat-tricks. The first was netted in a Scottish Cup-tie against Dundee United, and the second in a 4-2 win against Celtic at Parkhead; this was Thistle's second win in the League at Celtic in three years. Smith's goalscoring prowess though brought him little in terms of representative honours, winning just a solitary cap for the Scottish League. In September 1958 he was one of seven newcomers in the Scottish League side that ran out easy 5-0 winners against the Irish League at Windsor Park. Smith though didn't get in on the goal-scoring act.

After a successful decade in the 50s, the 1960s showed a gradual decline in Thistle's fortunes and that was mirrored by George Smith's career. In the first full season of the decade Smith started the season by scoring in five successive fixtures but would end the season with just three League goals to his name. His goals-scored tally hit double figures for the last time in season 1961-62 and even as Thistle chased the Championship in the extraordinary 1962-63 season, Smith's contribution, by his - own high standards, was fairly modest. George Smith's last two Thistle goals were scored in the same fixture in late September 1963. Glentoran provided the opposition in a Fairs Cup-tie and after winning the first leg 4-1 in Belfast, Thistle won the return 3-0 with Smith netting two. His final appearance in a Thistle jersey came a couple of months later in a fixture with Falkirk at Brockville. Upon leaving Firhill Smith had a short spell with Dundee United before taking up the role of player-manager with Ballymena United.

1954 - SFL DIVISION A

1954 - GLASGOW CUP

1956 - LEAGUE CUP

1958 - LEAGUE CUP

1959 - GLASGOW CUP

1960 - GLASGOW CHARITY CUP

1960 - GLASGOW CUP

1963 - SFL FIRST DIVISION