William Lawrence Smith (born September 2, 1947) is an American former college and professional football player who was a

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

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) for six seasons during the 1960s and 1970s. Smith played college football for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and earned All-American honors. He was a first-round pick in the

1969 NFL Draft The 1969 National Football League draft was part of the common draft, the third and final year in which the NFL and American Football League (AFL) held a joint draft of college players. The draft took place January 28–29, 1969. The draft be ...

, and played professionally for the Los Angeles Rams and

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 ...

of the NFL.

Early life

Smith was born in 1947 in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

,Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Larry Smith
Retrieved July 9, 2010. and attended

Thomas Richard Robinson High School Thomas R. Robinson High School (known as Robinson High School) is a public magnet high school in Tampa, Florida. It is one of the four high schools in the county that offers the International Baccalaureate diploma program. The school was establish ...

in Tampa. As a junior in 1963, Smith was the star running back on the Robinson Knights high school football team, and led his team to Florida's first-ever state championship football game before losing to the Coral Gables Cavaliers 16–14.Katherine Smith,
Tampa Bay's All-Century Team: No. 29 Larry Smith
", ''The Tampa Tribune'' (November 28, 1999). Retrieved May 20, 2010. He finished his high school career with forty-seven

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s, and received all-county, all-state, and '' Parade'' magazine high school All-American accolades. FHSAA unveils '100 Greatest Players of First 100 Years' as part of centennial football celebration
, Florida High School Athletic Association (December 4, 2007). Retrieved May 26, 2011. In 2007, forty-two years after he graduated from high school, the

Florida High School Athletic Association The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) is an organization whose purpose is to organize sports competition for high schools in Florida. It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Florida uses ...

(FHSAA) recognized Smith as one of the "100 Greatest Players of the First 100 Years" of Florida high school football.

College career

Smith accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he was a tailback for coach

Ray Graves Samuel Ray Graves (December 31, 1918 – April 10, 2015) was an American college and professional football player and college football coach. He was a native of Tennessee and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, where he was the starting ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division o ...

team from 1966 to

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 87, 91, 96, 103, 138–140, 147–148, 159, 162, 173, 185 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011. Memorably, Smith had a 94-yard touchdown run in the Gators' 27–12 victory over the

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wrec ...

in the 1967

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...

—while struggling to keep his pants up. His 187 yards rushing in the Orange Bowl resulted in him being named the game's "Outstanding Player." He finished his college football career with 528 carries for 2,186 yards and twenty-four rushing touchdowns, and 607 yards receiving. He was a first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) selection in 1966,

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

and 1968, and was a first-team All-American in 1968. Smith was also the recipient of the Gators'

Fergie Ferguson Award The Forest K. Ferguson Award, commonly known as the "Fergie Ferguson Award," is presented annually to a senior member of the Florida Gators football team in memory of one of the University of Florida's greatest athletes. Namesake The award tak ...

, recognizing the "senior football player who displays outstanding leadership, character and courage." Smith graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1970, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1983. In a 2006 article series written for ''The Gainesville Sun'', he was recognized as No. 29 among the top 100 Gator players from the first 100 years of Florida football.

Professional career

Smith was selected in the first round (eighth pick overall) of the 1969 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams, and played for the Rams from to and the Washington Redskins in .National Football League, Historical Players
Larry Smith
Retrieved May 20, 2010. His rookie year with the Rams was his most productive season: 599 yards rushing and 300 yards receiving. After five seasons with the Rams, he was traded to the Redskins in as part of coach

George Allen George Allen may refer to: Politics and law * George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team * George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney and ...

's effort to rebuild the Redskins with experienced players.Neil Amdur,
Larry Smith Is An Example Of Redskin 'Now' Idea
, ''The New York Times'', p. S4 (October 20, 1974). Retrieved June 29, 2010. He received few carries with the Redskins, however, accumulating only 149 yards in seven games, with no touchdowns.databaseFootball.com, Players

. Retrieved June 6, 2010. In his six NFL seasons, Smith gained 2,057 yards rushing on 528 carries for eleven touchdowns; he also had 149

reception Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to: Astrology * Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another ...

s for 1,176 yards receiving and five touchdowns.

Life after football

Smith returned to the University of Florida to earn a master's degree in business administration in 1975.Hill, Ward & Henderson, Attorneys
W. Lawrence Smith
Retrieved May 20, 2010. In 1982, he graduated from the

Stetson University College of Law Stetson University College of Law (Stetson Law), founded in 1900 and part of Stetson University, is Florida's first law school. Originally located near the university's main campus in DeLand, Florida, the law school moved in 1954 to Gulfport, Fl ...

with a J.D. degree, and is now a commercial real estate attorney with the Tampa law firm of Hill, Ward & Henderson. Smith is married, and he and his wife have two daughters and a son.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * McEwen, Tom, ''The Gators: A Story of Florida Football'', The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Larry 1947 births Living people All-American college football players American football running backs Florida Gators football players Florida lawyers Los Angeles Rams players Players of American football from Tampa, Florida Washington Redskins players