Charles Albert Smith (born July 26, 1950) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a wide receiver for eight seasons (1974–1981) with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

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 ...

(NFL). He played

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 rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Grambling State Tigers The Grambling State Tigers and Lady Tigers represent Grambling State University in NCAA intercollegiate athletics. Grambling's sports teams participate in Division I (I-FCS for football) as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). ...

. He also played pro ball in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL).

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

Smith signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with 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 ...

following the 1973 NFL Draft. At the beginning of the 1973 season, the Rams released Smith, and attempted to re-sign him for the 1974 season. Smith did not re-sign with them, because he knew that all the Rams' receivers would be coming back the following season, and

Lance Rentzel Thomas Lance Rentzel (born October 14, 1943) is a former American football flanker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Rams. He played college football at the University of Oklahoma. ...

would be back after being suspended for the season.

Philadelphia Eagles

Smith thought he would have a better chance at making the

' team, and signed with them. Eagles wide receiver

Harold Carmichael Lee Harold Carmichael (born September 22, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles (1971–1983) and one season for ...

, who attended

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a ...

, was Smith's rival in college due to their teams playing in the same conference. Eagles

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 formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Ricky Harris played with Smith at Grambling State. In

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, Smith returned four punts for seven yards and did not catch any passes. In 1975, Smith became the Eagles starting wide receiver alongside Carmichael. Smith caught 37 passes for 515 yards and six touchdowns in his first season as a starter. He also rushed for 85 yards on nine carries. In 1976, Smith caught 27 passes for 412 yards and four touchdowns. He had nine carries for 25 yards and one touchdown. In 1977, Smith made 33 receptions for 464 yards and four touchdowns. He also had two carries for 13 yards. In 1978, he caught 11 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns. He made 24 catches for 399 yards and one touchdown in 1979. In 1980, Smith had the best season of his career, hauling in 47 passes for 825 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed five times for 33 yards. In

Super Bowl XV Super Bowl XV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

against 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 Raide ...

, Smith caught two passes for 59 yards. In his final season in 1981, Smith made 38 receptions for 564 yards and four touchdowns, along with two rushes for five yards. Smith caught 218 passes for 3,349 yards and 24 touchdowns in the eight seasons of his career.

Boston/New Orleans Breakers

Smith played for the Boston/New Orleans Breakers of the

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

in 1983 and 1984, before retiring.

Coaching career

From 1985 to 2005, Smith was a

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

head coach in his hometown of

Monroe, Louisiana Monroe (historically french: Poste-du-Ouachita) is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and parish seat of Ouachita Parish. With a 2020 census-tabulated population of 47,702, it is the principal city of the Monroe metropolita ...

, mostly at

Wossman High School Wossman High School is a senior high school in Monroe, Louisiana, and a part of Monroe City Schools Monroe City Schools is a school district headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, United States. The district serves the City of Monroe. William Derw ...

. Since 1988, Smith has been Wossman High School's track coach.

Personal

Smith is married to his wife, Bernice, and has two sons, Charles, Jr. and Eric, and five grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Charlie 1950 births Living people American football wide receivers Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers players Grambling State Tigers football players Philadelphia Eagles players High school football coaches in Louisiana Players of American football from Monroe, Louisiana