Edward Martin Smith (born June 5, 1969) is a former

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 with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

who played for 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)'s

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

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 ...

, and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

from 1997 to 1999. Prior to that, Smith played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

in the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

systems of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

. His nephew is

Irv Smith Jr. Irvin Martin Smith Jr. (born August 9, 1998) is an American football tight end for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama and was drafted in second round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the V ...

, tight end for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and his brother is Irv Smith, also a former NFL tight end.

High school and baseball career

Smith grew up in the Browns Mills section of

Pemberton Township, New Jersey Pemberton Township is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the township's population was 26,903, a drop of 1,009 from the 2010 census count of 27,912, which reflected a decline of 779 (� ...

and played football and baseball at

Pemberton Township High School Pemberton Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Pemberton Township, in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school ...

before being drafted by the White Sox in the 7th round of the

1987 MLB Draft The Major League Baseball Draft is the process by which Major League Baseball (MLB) teams select athletes to play for their organization. High school seniors, college juniors and seniors, and anyone who had never played under a professional cont ...

. He declined

football 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 Stat ...

s to

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

to begin his professional baseball career out of high school, and played in the White Sox minor league system from 1987 to 1991. He then played for the Brewers system from 1991 to 1993, the Cubs system in 1994, and the Indians system in 1995. His baseball career peaked at the Triple-A level in 1995 and ended following that season at age 26. Primarily a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, Smith also played at

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball and ...

later in his career.

Football career

Smith then began a career in professional football, playing at tight end with the

Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy: * Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007 * Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...

of the

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

. He was signed to the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

as a

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 ...

in August 1996 where he remained for the rest of the season. In 1997, he was signed to the

practice squad and was promoted to the team's active roster during the season. His first game in uniform was against a

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 ...

team that included his brother, Irv. The brothers would again be on opposing teams in 1998, with Irv playing for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. Smith won an

NFC NFC may refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychology * Need for closure, social psychological term Sports * NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game * NCAA Football Championship (Philippines) * Nati ...

championship with the Falcons in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

. He split the

1999 NFL season The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season, while the Tennessee Oilers changed their name to "Tennessee Titans," with t ...

between the

and

, and his NFL career ended following that season. Smith then played for the

Birmingham Thunderbolts The Birmingham Thunderbolts were a short-lived springtime American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama. This team was part of the failed XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

during the league's only season in 2001.

Later life

The EZ Sports Talk Show debuted on the Phoenix, AZ airwaves on June 4, 2011. Smith launched the show live on KXXT 1010AM in Phoenix. The show was also streamed live on 3 websites and available on podcast as well. The EZ Sports Talk Show aired for 2+ years on KXXT. During a brief hiatus, Smith maintained his presence as a radio personality in the Phoenix area and was also featured in some national spots. On March 4, 2017, EZ Sports Talk was relaunched on NBC Sports Radio KDUS, 1060AM. The show is broadcast live every Saturday from 10:00am – noon, hosted by Smith and his partner Jim Marshall. The EZ Sports Talk Show format features a weekly in-depth look at the local sports landscape, in addition to national storylines and hot topics. Smith's background, with 9 years of minor league baseball and 6 years of professional football, has provided him with a unique knowledge and expertise of the sports world. Paired with Marshall's superior baseball knowledge and overall passion for Arizona sports, the duo provide great content. Smith is also a motivational/inspirational speaker. He shares his inspirational message with audiences across the country and around the globe. With speeches tailored to leaders, youth sports, and business executives, Smith shares insights and lessons from his life journey and pro sports career to help others focus their energy on achieving their goals and increasing performance.

References

External links

* Minor league baseball career statistics a
Baseball-Reference
* Football career statistics a

an
The Football Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ed 1969 births Living people People from Pemberton Township, New Jersey Atlanta Falcons players Philadelphia Eagles players Frankfurt Galaxy players Detroit Lions players American football tight ends South Bend White Sox players Sarasota White Sox players Birmingham Barons players Stockton Ports players Beloit Brewers players El Paso Diablos players Orlando Cubs players Canton-Akron Indians players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Players of American football from Trenton, New Jersey Baseball players from Trenton, New Jersey Birmingham Thunderbolts players