Frederic Charles Smerlas (born April 8, 1957) is a former
American football nose tackle who was a five-time
NFL
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 major ...
Pro Bowl selection during a 14-year career as a
nose tackle with the
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. ...
,
San Francisco 49ers and
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
.
Smerlas, of
Greek-American descent, graduated from
Waltham High School
Waltham High School is a public high school located in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is the only high school operated by Waltham Public Schools.
History
The current Waltham High School was constructed in 1968 and expanded in 1998 ...
in 1975, where he was a star football player and wrestler. He became a defensive lineman for
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
before embarking on an NFL career. Smerlas' 1990 autobiography, ''By a Nose'', recounts his 11 years with the Bills and their climb from cellar-dwellers to
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 game ...
contenders.
Smerlas currently resides in
Massachusetts and is a part-time co-host during football season on sports radio
WEEI-FM, NBC Sports Boston - The New England Tailgate Show, as well as a contributor to western New York radio station
WHAM (AM) in Rochester.
In 2018, the
Professional Football Researchers Association
The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by writer/hist ...
named Smerlas to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018.
Two Time, Two sport All American in Wrestling and Football in High School; Two time New England heavyweight wrestling champ.
During Smerlas' playing career, he was the only player in the NFL who was of Greek descent.
Fred & Steve's Steakhouse
Smerlas, along with friend and colleague
Steve DeOssie
Steve Leonard DeOssie (born November 22, 1962) is a former American football linebacker and long snapper in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, New York Jets and New England Patriots. He played college football a ...
, opened an award-winning steakhouse at the
Twin River Casino
Bally's Twin River Lincoln Casino Resort, previously Twin River Casino Hotel, is a casino, hotel, and former race track in Lincoln, Rhode Island, owned and operated by Bally's Corporation. The facility has of gaming space, with 4,108 slot ...
in
Lincoln, Rhode Island in March 2007 called Fred & Steve's Steakhouse.
Political career
A Boston Herald article announced on April 6, 2007 that Fred considered seeking the Massachusetts 5th US Congressional seat being vacated by
Martin T. Meehan as a
Republican candidate.
In 2010, Smerlas expressed an interest in relocating to
Western New York to challenge
Brian Higgins or
Louise Slaughter, believing that they have not adequately represented Western New York or
the upstate region as a whole. He indicated that his son was considering attending the
University at Buffalo, and if he were to relocate, he may run either in 2010 or 2012, later ruling out a 2010 run. He said that his first priority "would be to
take a big saw and cut New York City off."
See also
*
Most consecutive starts by a nose tackle
Bibliography
* Fred Smerlas and Vic Carucci, ''By A Nose: The Off-Center Life of Football's Funniest Lineman'', Simon And Schuster, 1990.
References
External links
*
Fred Smerlas Buffalo Hall of FameAll Pro tailgate partyHome Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smerlas, Fred
1957 births
Living people
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American football defensive linemen
American people of Greek descent
Boston College Eagles football players
Buffalo Bills players
Massachusetts Republicans
New England Patriots players
Players of American football from Massachusetts
San Francisco 49ers players
Sportspeople from Waltham, Massachusetts
Waltham High School alumni