Hector Lingwood-Smith had already played two years with South Adelaide and a season with Sturt when he arrived at Victoria Park in 1922.

He played three games in that first season, and managed a further 10 the following year. He moved to Tasmania in 1924, where he coached Lefroy and later Newtown. He returned to South Adelaide for three more seasons from 1926-28.

When his playing career ended, he became a member of the South Australian umpires advisory board and later umpires coach in the South Australian Football League.

It led to stint as the VFA’s umpires coach. He would serve stints as secretary of both the South Melbourne and Richmond Football Clubs in the late 1940s and 1950s.