With close to 250 appearances to his name, few players have had more of an affinity with Harriers than defender Adie Smith.
Smith spent seven seasons at Aggborough after joining from Bromsgrove Rovers in 1997 and was admired by the Kidderminster faithful.
After suffering relegation with his former club before linking up with then-boss Graham Allner, ‘Smudger’ made a £19,000 switch to the team he’d stay with until 2004.
“It was a very big move for me, going to Kidderminster who were and are a big club,” Smith recalled to us.
“Bromsgrove had just been relegated and obviously Graham Allner and Jimmy Conway had seen something in me and brought me to the club.
“It was a big step-up because there was a lot expected of the players, so it was hard at first, but I managed to settle.”
Adie undoubtedly experienced some of the most memorable moments in the club’s modern history.
He was part of the side that was promoted from the Football Conference in 2000, and also took part in the legendary FA Cup ties against Wolverhampton Wanderers in early 2004.
It was that period of time, mixed with personal tragedy that ultimately spelled Smith’s exit from Aggborough however.
After playing in the 1-1 draw against the men from Molineux in front of 6,000 at Aggborough, he was rocked by the death of his mother.
Football then understandably took a back-seat for Smith, who only went on to feature in the replay at the then Premiership side after discussions with team mates and then-manager Jan Molby.
“It was a very tough time for me but football, and the staff and players at Kidderminster helped me through it,” he said.
“My mum died between the first game and the replay and I had the choice to play in the replay and looking back I’m glad I did.
“Unfortunately we lost the replay but we weren’t disgraced, and for that matter we shouldn’t have even played the replay because we only drew the first game after they scored in the last couple of minutes.”
From there, Smith decided to go part-time and linked up with Tamworth, where he spent four seasons before winding down his career with Chasetown and Rushall Olympic.
It was clear, though, that Smith’s fondest affection was for the Harriers fans with whom he bonded over his lengthy tenure in Worcestershire.
“I made some great friends there,” he said.
“It was a big decision for me to leave there, and I always look out for their scores, there’s a very big place for Kidderminster in my heart and the fans were great to me.”