Deriot Eugene Smith (c. 1910 – April 6, 1987) 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 with ...

and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at Central State College—now the

University of Central Oklahoma The University of Central Oklahoma (UCO or Central State) is a public university in Edmond, Oklahoma. It is the third largest university in Oklahoma, with more than 17,000 students and approximately 434 full-time and 400 adjunct faculty. Founde ...

—from 1950 and 1951, compiling a career

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 ...

record of 9–10, and one conference championship. He ranks 9th all-time for Broncho coaches in winning percentage, number of games coached and victories.

Early life

Smith was born in

Hillsboro, Texas Hillsboro is a city in and the county seat of Hill County, Texas, Hill County, Texas, United States. The population was 8,221 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Hillsboro was named for Hill County. At one point during Bon ...

, and attended Central State Teachers College in

Edmond, Oklahoma Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in the central part of the state. The population was 94,428 according to the 2020 United States Census, making it the fifth largest cit ...

, and graduated in 1934, with math and science degrees.

Central State

Smith coached the Central State wrestling team from 1936 until 1939, and again in 1946–47 before the program's 25-year hiatus. He was an assistant coach for the CSC football team and filled in as head coach while

Dale E. Hamilton Dale or dales may refer to: Locations * Dale (landform), an open valley * Dale (place name element) Geography ;Australia *The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean ;Canada *Dale, Ontario ;Ethiopia *Dale (woreda), district ;Norway *Dal ...

served during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

Later life and death

Smith moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1958. He died at the age of 76, on April 6, 1987, in

Camarillo, California Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan an ...

Head coaching record

Football

References

Year of birth missing 1910s births 1987 deaths Central Oklahoma Bronchos football coaches Central Oklahoma Bronchos football players Central Oklahoma Bronchos wrestlers Central Oklahoma Bronchos wrestling coaches People from Hillsboro, Texas {{1950s-collegefootball-coach-stub