Rudolph M. Smeja (December 1, 1920 – October 1982) was an
American football player. Smeja played at the
end position for the
University of Michigan from 1941 to 1943. In November 1943, Smeja intercepted a pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter in a 23–6 win over the
Indiana Hoosiers. At the end of the 1943 season, Smeja was selected as the starting left end for the Eastern All-Star team to play in the
East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco on New Year's Day 1944. He was drafted by the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
in the first round (2nd overall pick) of the
1944 NFL Draft
The 1944 National Football League Draft was held on April 19, 1944, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Boston Yanks selected quarterback Angelo Bertelli.
Player selections
Round ...
and played 18 games for the Bears in the 1944 and 1945 NFL seasons.
In the last game of the 1944 season, Smeja leaped high to spear a touchdown pass from
Sid Luckman to help the Bears beat the previously unbeaten
Philadelphia Eagles. In 1946, Smeja played for the Philadelphia Eagles.
[ Smeja died in 1982 at age 61.
]
Personal life
Smeja was of Polish descent.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smeja, Rudy
Michigan Wolverines football players
Chicago Bears players
Philadelphia Eagles players
1920 births
1982 deaths
American football ends
American people of Polish descent