Charles Aaron Smith (February 28, 1945 – August 3, 2011), commonly known as Bubba Smith, was an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...
and actor. He first came into prominence at
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...
, where he twice earned
All-American honors on the
Spartans football team. Smith had a major role in a
10–10 tie with
Notre Dame in
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...
that was billed as "
The Game of the Century." He is one of only six players to have his
jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the ...
number
A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual number ...
retired by the program. He was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...
in 1988.
The first selection of the
1967 NFL/AFL draft, Smith played nine years in the
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 majo ...
(NFL) with 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 ...
(1967–1971),
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...
(1973–1974), and
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...
(1975–1976). He was the Colts' starting left defensive end for five seasons, playing in
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
s
III
III or iii may refer to:
Companies
* Information International, Inc., a computer technology company
* Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company
* 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company
Other uses
* ...
and
V. He was named to two
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
s and was a First-team
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...
in 1971.
He had tremendous quickness despite being and ,
a combination which usually earned him a
double-team
In basketball, a double team (also double-team, double teaming, or double-teaming) is a defensive alignment in which two defensive players are assigned to guard a single offensive player.
Among basketball strategies in which defenders are assign ...
.
During his acting career, Smith specialized in comedic roles in film, television, and television advertising. For about a decade following his retirement from football, he appeared in various commercials for
Miller Lite
Miller Lite is a 4.2% ABV light American lager beer sold by Molson Coors (previously MillerCoors) of Chicago, Illinois. The company also produces Miller Genuine Draft and Miller High Life. Miller Lite competes mainly with Anheuser-Busch' ...
. His best-known role was as
Moses Hightower
Moses Hightower is an Icelandic soul band based out of Reykjavík, formed in 2007 by guitarist Daníel Friðrik Böðvarsson, drummer Magnús Trygvason Eliassen, bassist & lead singer Andri Ólafsson, and keyboard player & lead singer Steingrí ...
in the first six ''
Police Academy'' movies.
Smith was
posthumously diagnosed with
CTE, a neurological condition generally related to
concussion
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration ...
and
sub-concussive head trauma.
Early life
Smith was born on February 28, 1945, in
Orange, Texas
Orange is a city and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,324. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Hous ...
, to Willie Ray Smith Sr. and Georgia Oreatha Curl Smith, and raised in nearby
Beaumont. His father, Willie Ray Smith Sr., was a football coach who earned 235 victories at three
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
s in the Beaumont area. Bubba had the opportunity to play for his father at
Charlton-Pollard High School in Beaumont.
He developed into one of the state's best-ever high school football players.
Smith's younger brother
Tody Smith
Lawrence Edward Smith (December 24, 1948 – July 18, 1999) was an American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills. He played college football at the University o ...
played collegiately for the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
, and professionally for 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 divis ...
,
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...
, and
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...
.
Football career
College
Smith originally had hopes of playing
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
at the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
. Even though
Longhorns head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...
Darrell Royal
Darrell K Royal (July 6, 1924 – November 7, 2012) was an All-American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Mississippi State University (1954–1955), the University of Washington (1956), and the University of Texas (1957� ...
regarded him as worthy of an
athletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United ...
, Royal was unwilling to offer one in the face of
racial segregation
Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Intern ...
which prevailed throughout the
southern
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
United States at the time. Texas was then a member of the
Southwest Conference
The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...
(SWC), which began to
integrate in 1967. The university's football program lagged behind, before acquiescing in
1970.
The situation at UT motivated Smith to become a much better player
at
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...
, where he was an
All-American in both
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...
and
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...
. He was a popular athlete at Michigan State, earning the arresting fan chant of "Kill, Bubba, Kill."
His final game at Michigan State was a
10–10 tie with
Notre Dame at
Spartan Stadium on November 19,
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...
. With both teams undefeated, untied and ranked atop the national polls going in (The Fighting Irish were ranked #1 at 8–0–0, the Spartans #2 at 9–0–0), the match-up was hyped as the college "
Game of the Century".
["The Game of the Century"; #1 Notre Dame 10, #2 Michigan State 10; November 19, 1966.](_blank)
Early in the first quarter, Smith tackled Notre Dame starting
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
Terry Hanratty, who sustained a
separated left shoulder. Hanratty was replaced for the remainder of the game by
Coley O'Brien. Smith, who admitted that Hanratty's injury actually backfired on the Spartans, stated, "That didn't help us any. It just let them put in that O'Brien who's slippery and faster and gave us more trouble. The other guy just sits there and waits, and that's what we wanted." Michigan State finished second behind Notre Dame in the final voting for the national championship.
In 1988, Smith was enshrined in the
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...
. Michigan State retired his number 95 jersey on September 23, 2006, prior to the Spartans' home game against Notre Dame, amid repeated cheers of his old slogan from the student section. This game also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the "Game of the Century."
Professional
Smith was the No. 1 overall pick in the
1967 NFL draft
The 1967 National Football League draft was conducted March 14–15, 1967, at the Gotham Hotel in New York City. It was the first common draft with the AFL, part of the AFL–NFL merger agreement of June 1966.
This draft was delayed as new gu ...
, taken by 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 ...
with a selection originally held by the expansion
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
, which had been traded for
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
Gary Cuozzo
Gary Samuel Cuozzo (born April 26, 1941) is a former professional American football player.
High school career
Cuozzo played high school football at Glen Ridge High School in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.
Football career
An undrafted quarterback from ...
. Smith's Michigan State teammate, running back
Clint Jones, followed him as the second pick. , Smith is the only Michigan State player to be taken first overall.
Smith spent nine seasons in the
NFL as a
defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...
and played in the Super Bowl twice in his first five seasons. The heavily-favored Colts lost
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was an American football game played on January 12, 1969 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the first to officially bear the trademark name "Su ...
to the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...
and won
Super Bowl V
Super Bowl V was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
two years later following the 1970 season. It was Smith's only
Super Bowl ring
The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itsel ...
. However, in interviews, Smith stated that he would never wear the ring, out of a sense of disappointment that he and his teammates were unable to win Super Bowl III. He was injured in the 1972 preseason when he ran into a solid steel pole the NFL was using at the time to
mark yardage and missed the season.
He was traded from the Colts to the
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...
for
Raymond Chester on July 16, 1973. He finished his career with the
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...
. He was selected All-Pro one year, All-Conference two years, and went to two
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
s. His legacy is the inspiration behind the documentary, ''Through the Banks of the Red Cedar'', written and directed by MSU teammate
Gene Washington's daughter,
Maya Washington
Maya Washington is an American filmmaker, actress, playwright, poet, writer, visualist, and arts educator. With a bachelor of arts in theatre from the University of Southern California and an master of fine arts in creative writing from Hamline ...
.
Acting career
After retiring from professional football, Smith began acting in small
movie
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
and television roles in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is perhaps best known for his role as
Moses Hightower
Moses Hightower is an Icelandic soul band based out of Reykjavík, formed in 2007 by guitarist Daníel Friðrik Böðvarsson, drummer Magnús Trygvason Eliassen, bassist & lead singer Andri Ólafsson, and keyboard player & lead singer Steingrí ...
in the ''
Police Academy'' movie series, a role he reprised in all but one of the ''Police Academy'' sequels. He also played as the chauffeur for Ned Beatty character, Clyde Torkle, in the movie ''
Stroker Ace'' starring Burt Reynolds.
Smith starred in the short-lived television series ''
Blue Thunder
''Blue Thunder'' is a 1983 American action thriller film from Columbia Pictures, produced by Gordon Carroll, Phil Feldman, and Andrew Fogelson and directed by John Badham.
The Blue Thunder helicopter itself did exist as two copies of modifie ...
'', partnering with
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
defensive star
Dick Butkus
Richard Marvin Butkus (born December 9, 1942) is an American former professional football player, sports commentator, and actor. He played football as a middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1965 to ...
, with whom he frequently costarred in advertisements for
Miller Lite
Miller Lite is a 4.2% ABV light American lager beer sold by Molson Coors (previously MillerCoors) of Chicago, Illinois. The company also produces Miller Genuine Draft and Miller High Life. Miller Lite competes mainly with Anheuser-Busch' ...
beer. Among other television series Smith appeared in were ''
Good Times
''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first Afric ...
'', ''
Half Nelson'', ''
The Odd Couple'', ''
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as bein ...
'', ''
Taxi
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...
'', ''
Hart to Hart
''Hart to Hart'' is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset life ...
'', ''
MacGyver
Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot.
In both p ...
'', ''
Married... with Children'' and ''
Family Matters
''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC on September 22, 1989, and ended on May 9, 1997. However it moved to CBS, where it was shown from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of '' Perfect Strangers, ...
''.
Smith was the longtime spokesman of
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
-area
law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to ...
Cohen, Snyder, Eisenberg & Katzenberg.
Personal life
In 1983, Smith published the autobiography entitled ''Kill, Bubba, Kill'', in which he stated he felt it was possible
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was an American football game played on January 12, 1969 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the first to officially bear the trademark name "Su ...
had been rigged to enable the Jets to win in order to ensure the
AFL–NFL merger
The AFL–NFL merger was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It paved the way for the combined league, w ...
proceeded smoothly.
Smith was found dead in his Los Angeles home by his caretaker on August 3, 2011. He died from acute drug intoxication and heart disease.
Phentermine, a weight-loss drug, was found in his system. His heart weighed more than twice that of an average similar male. He was 66 years old.
CTE diagnosis
On May 24, 2016, it was announced that Smith had the brain disease
chronic traumatic encephalopathy
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse ...
(CTE), a neurodegenerative illness affecting unknown numbers of former athletes in contact sports. The findings were confirmed by researchers affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Boston University and the Concussion Legacy Foundation, and released with the permission of the executor of Smith's estate.
Smith is the 90th former NFL player found to have had CTE by the researchers at the Boston University brain bank; they have examined 94 former pro players. According to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, on a scale of 1 to 4 used by the neuropathologist who examined Smith's brain, Smith had Stage 3 CTE, with symptoms including cognitive impairment and problems with judgment and planning.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bubba
1945 births
2011 deaths
20th-century American male actors
African-American male actors
African-American players of American football
All-American college football players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American football defensive ends
American football defensive tackles
American football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
American male film actors
American male television actors
Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) draft picks
Baltimore Colts players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
Houston Oilers players
Michigan State Spartans football players
National Football League first-overall draft picks
Oakland Raiders players
People from Orange, Texas
Players of American football from Texas
Sportspeople from Beaumont, Texas