James Ray Smith (born February 27, 1932) 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 ...

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

who played nine seasons 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 ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

and

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 divisi ...

. 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 ...

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

Early years

Smith attended West Columbia High School where he practiced four sports. He accepted a scholarship from

, where he was a two-way tackle and a three-year starter. In 1968, he was inducted into the

Athletics Hall of Fame. In 1987, 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 vote ...

. In 2008, he was inducted into the

Texas Sports Hall of Fame The Texas Sports Hall of Fame recognizes athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made "lasting fame and honor to Texas sports". It was established in 1951 by the Texas Sports Writers Association. Once it made its first induction (baseball ...

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Smith was selected by the

in the sixth round (64th overall) of the

1954 NFL Draft The 1954 National Football League Draft was held on January 28, 1954, at The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. This was the eighth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery. With the previous seven winners i ...

with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over. Because of military service in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

(23 months), his rookie season began in November 1956, when he was tried at

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 ...

. Although he was one of the fastest players on the team, the next year he was moved to the offense and became one of

Paul Brown Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Brown was both the co-founder and first coach of the Clevela ...

's messenger

s, splitting time with Herschel Forester. In 1958, he became a full-time starter and one of the best guards in the NFL, while blocking for future

hall of fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (born February 17, 1936) is a former American football player, sports analyst and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be one ...

and Bobby Mitchell. Although he retired after the 1961 season to devote himself full-time to his real estate business, the team was able to convince him to return. He retired again after the 1962 season, but the

convinced him to play in his home state and traded

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

Monte Clark Monte Dale Clark (January 24, 1937 – September 16, 2009) was an American football player who served as head coach for the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions. He played college football at USC. Early years Clark attended Kingsburg High S ...

in exchange for his rights. In 2005, he was inducted into the Cleveland Browns Legends. Jimraysmithautograph

Dallas Cowboys

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

, he started seven games at

left guard In gridiron football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is a player who lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team on the line of scrimmage used primarily for blocking. Right g ...

until suffering a knee injury during a kickoff return. The next year, he only played in four games (one start) after suffering a second knee injury. Although at times he played at the level of his previous years, his two seasons with the Cowboys were marred by two serious knee injuries, two broken hands and two concussions. He retired after the 1964 season.

Personal life

Smith was a member of the Board of Directors for the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association.

References

External links

Cleveland Browns' 100 best all-time players: No. 22Where Are They Now—Jim Ray Smith ('56-'62)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jim Ray 1932 births Living people American football offensive linemen Baylor Bears football players Cleveland Browns players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Dallas Cowboys players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players People from West Columbia, Texas Players of American football from Texas Sportspeople from the Houston metropolitan area