Billy Ray Smith Sr. (January 27, 1935 – March 21, 2001) was a

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

(1957–1970). He was born in Augusta, Arkansas.

College career

After graduating from Augusta High School, Arkansas head coach Bowden Wyatt offered Smith a football scholarship, and in 1953, he enrolled at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

. In 1954, Smith and the Razorbacks won the Southwest Conference Championship with only twenty-five players. They became known as the "25 Little Pigs", making their accomplishment all the more amazing. Wyatt would leave Arkansas after the 1954 season to coach his alma mater Tennessee, and was replaced by Jack Mitchell. In 1956, Smith was named 1st Team All-Southwest Conference. An additional highlight of Smith's time at Arkansas, was the fact that the Razorbacks defeated the Texas Longhorns three years in a row, from 1954 to 1956. Smith was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1976, and enshrined into the University of Arkansas' Hall of Honor in 1994. He was named to the All-Decade Team of the 1950s, and the Arkansas All-Century Team in 1994. In 1999, Sports Illustrated named him as one of the "Fifty Greatest Sports Figures from Arkansas".

NFL career

Smith began his NFL career in 1957, as the third round draft pick for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. He was traded to the Steelers in 1958 and played for Pittsburgh until 1960. In 1961, he was traded to the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

. It was in Baltimore that he would make his mark on professional football. Nicknamed "The Rabbit" by his teammates, Smith became a mainstay and captain of a defensive line, which took the Colts to Super Bowl III and Super Bowl V during his career. His game motto was simple: "We always play for a shutout. Nothing fancy, nothing sensational. Just a shutout." Smith retired from professional football in 1971 after the Colts defeated the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

in Super Bowl V, ending his 13-year career.Goldstein, Richar
''"Billy Ray Smith, 66, Lineman Who Played in 2 Super Bowls"''
– ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' – Friday, 23-Mar-2001 – Retrieved, March 23, 2001

Professional career

After retiring from the NFL, Smith became an investment banker. He was the father of 4 children. His son, Billy Ray Smith, Jr. was an NFL linebacker, playing ten years with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

. He was also a two-time All-American with the

. Smith died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on March 23, 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Billy Ray Sr. 1935 births 2001 deaths American football defensive linemen Arkansas Razorbacks football players Baltimore Colts players Pittsburgh Steelers players Los Angeles Rams players Players of American football from Arkansas People from Augusta, Arkansas