Harry Smith (American football)

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Harry Smith

| number = 33

| position = Guard
Tackle

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1918|8|26|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Russellville, Missouri, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|7|30|1918|8|26}}

| death_place = Columbia, Missouri, U.S.

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 11

| weight_lb = 215

| high_school = Chaffey {{nowrap|(Ontario, California)}}

| college = USC

| draftyear = 1940

| draftround = 5

| draftpick = 36

| pastteams =

Detroit Lions ({{NFL Year|1940}})

| highlights =

Pro Bowl (1940)
Unanimous All-American (1939)
First-team All-American (1938)
2× First-team All-PCC (1938, 1939)

| statlabel1 = Games played

| statvalue1 = 10

| statlabel2 = Games started

| statvalue2 = 8

| pfr = SmitHa22

| CollegeHOF = 1576

}}

Harry Elliott "Blackjack" Smith (August 26, 1918 – July 30, 2013) was an American football player who anchored the line from the guard position on the University of Southern California's Rose Bowl teams in 1938 and 1939 seasons, and earned All-American honors each year.{{cite news|title=All-America Board Team |newspaper=Springfield (MA) Daily Republican |date=December 11, 1938 |page=2B |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-springfield-daily-republican-1938-al/147997526/ |via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}{{cite web |title=Football Award Winners |publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) |year=2016 |access-date=May 24, 2024 |page=7 |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2016/awards.pdf}}

Early life

Smith was born in Russellville, Missouri and played scholastically at Chaffey High School in Ontario, California.{{cite web| url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SmitHa22.htm |title=Harry Smith Stats |website=Pro Football Reference |access-date=May 24, 2024}}

College career

The 1938 team finished 9-2-0 and defeated Duke University. The next season, the Trojans finished 8-0-2 as national champions, including a 14-0 Rose Bowl conquest of the University of Tennessee. USC also defeated Notre Dame University in each of those seasons. Smith was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.{{cite web |url=https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.aspx?hof=1576 |title=Harry Smith (1955) |website=College Football Hall of Fame |access-date=May 24, 2024}}

Harry Smith also played for USC Rugby during his collegiate career.

Professional career

Following graduation, Smith was selected by the Detroit Lions in the 1940 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=1940 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1940/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He played one year for the Lions,{{Cite web |url=https://www.profootballarchives.com/players/smit17800.html |title=Harry Smith Stats |website=Pro Football Archives |access-date=May 24, 2024 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127212649/https://www.profootballarchives.com/players/smit17800.html |archive-date=January 27, 2023}} earning Pro Bowl honors.{{cite news |title=Players Nominated for Pro Bowl Game at L.A. |newspaper=Ventura County Star (CA) |date=December 10, 1940 |page=six |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-1940-pro-bowl-roster/147999643/ |via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}

Coaching career

He then served as an assistant coach at University of Missouri and USC before becoming head coach of the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Death

In his last few years Smith had suffered a stroke that saw his health decline.{{cite web |url= http://www.columbiatribune.com/sports/mu_football/mu-aide-smith-dies/article_564fc786-f947-11e2-8b19-10604b9f6eda.html |title=MU aide Smith dies |first=Joe |last=Walljasper |work=Columbia Daily Tribune |date=July 30, 2013 |access-date=July 11, 2014}} He died in the morning on July 30, 2013, at Columbia, Missouri. He was 94.{{cite web |url= http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/campus-corner/article324227/Ex-MU-football-assistant-Harry-Smith-dies-at-age-94.html |title=Ex-MU football assistant Harry Smith dies at age 94 |first=Terez A. |last=Paylor |work=The Kansas City Star |date=July 31, 2013 |access-date=11 July 2014}}

References

External links

[http://www.nfl.com/players/harrysmith/profile?id=SMI320160 NFL.com player page]

Category:1918 births

Category:2013 deaths

Category:All-American college football players

Category:American football guards

Category:Detroit Lions players

Category:Missouri Tigers football coaches

Category:Saskatchewan Roughriders coaches

Category:Sportspeople from Ontario, California

Category:Players of American football from San Bernardino County, California

Category:USC Trojans football coaches

Category:USC Trojans football players

Category:People from Cole County, Missouri

Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees

Category:20th-century American sportsmen