Willie Smith (offensive tackle, born 1937)

{{Short description|American football player (born 1937)}}

{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Willie Smith

| image = Willie Smith (1958).png

| alt =

| caption = Smith in 1958

| number = 71, 63

| position = Tackle, Guard

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1937|11|1}}

| birth_place = Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| high_school = Dunbar (AR)

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 3

| weight_lbs = 255

| college = Michigan

| draftyear = 1959

| draftround = 8

| draftpick = 94
(by the Chicago Bears){{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=CHI&lg=nfl&yr=1959 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070409132431/http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=CHI&lg=nfl&yr=1959 |title=1959 Chicago Bears |website=databaseFootball.com |archive-date=April 9, 2007 |url-status=usurped |access-date=July 15, 2020}}

| pastteams = * Denver Broncos (1960)

• Oakland Raiders (1961)

| highlights =

| statlabel1 = Games played

| statvalue1 = 28

| pfr = SmitWi21

}}

Willie Smith (born November 1, 1937) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the American Football League (AFL). A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Smith attended Dunbar High School, a segregated high school for African-American students. He was teammates during high school with Jim Pace, and the two of them opted to attend the University of Michigan where they were teammates for the school's football team.{{cite news|title=Parade and Dinner to Salute Jim Pace On Michigan Star's Visit to Little Rock|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 21, 1957|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/12/21/90872310.pdf}} Smith played college football as a tackle for the Michigan Wolverines team from 1956 to 1958.{{cite web|title=University of Michigan All-time Rosters Search Page|publisher=University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library|url=http://141.211.39.65/allroster/fbsearch.htm|access-date=July 23, 2011|archive-date=September 28, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928200732/http://141.211.39.65/allroster/fbsearch.htm|url-status=dead}}(Enter Smith as the last name and Willie as the first name on the search page, and press enter) He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the eighth round (94th overall pick) of the 1959 NFL draft, but he opted instead to play in the American Football League. Smith appeared in all 14 games for the 1960 Denver Broncos, mostly at the right guard position. In August 1961, the Broncos traded Smith to the Oakland Raiders for Gene Prebola.{{cite news|title=Vikings Get Halfback Released by Giants|newspaper=The Milwaukee Journal|date=August 11, 1961|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Kt8jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4iYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1987,161020&dq=willie-smith+raiders&hl=en}} He was the starting left guard for the 1961 Oakland Raiders, appearing in all 14 games.{{cite web|title=Willie Smith|publisher=pro-football-reference.com|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SmitWi21.htm}}{{cite news|title=Raiders Cut Five Gridders|newspaper=St. Joseph Gazette|date=August 22, 1961|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=N8hiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lHgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=4719,2906713&dq=willie-smith+raiders&hl=en}} He was placed on waivers by the Raiders in late August 1962.