Stanley Adam Smagala (born April 6, 1968) 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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

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 the

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 ...

and

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

Early years

Smagala grew up in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and attended

St. Laurence High School St. Laurence High School is a co-educational, STEM-based high school founded in 1961. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, the school is conducted by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and is named for the Irish Saint Laure ...

, where he practiced football,

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 ...

and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. The summer before his senior year, he attended a football camp held by the

, where he tied the camp record for the fastest

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

. As a senior

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 ...

, he posted 140 carries for 900 rushing yards and received All-city honors. He also rushed for 300 yards and 3

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 Ameri ...

s in a playoff game.

College career

Smagala accepted a football scholarship from the

. Although he had never played the position before, he was converted into a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

because he was considered small for a

. Even though head coach

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former football player, coach, and analyst. He served as the head football coach at The College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the New York ...

tried to convince him to transfer to another school, as a sophomore he was the team's second fastest player (4.35 seconds in the 40-yard dash) behind wide receiver

Tim Brown Timothy, Timmy, or Tim Brown may refer to: Music * Timothy Brown (bassist) (born 1969), bassist for the band The Boo Radleys * Timothy Brown (conductor) (born 1946), English choral conductor * Timothy Brown (hornist), English hornist Sports Gridir ...

and became a three-year starter at right cornerback. As a junior, he was paired at

with

Todd Lyght Todd William Lyght (born February 9, 1969) is a former professional American football player and former defensive backs coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Lyght played in the NFL for 12 seasons from 1991 to 2002, finishing with 37 interce ...

. Because the school played one of the toughest schedules in the nation, he covered some of the best college wide receivers like

Andre Rison Andre Previn Rison (born March 18, 1967) is a former American football wide receiver who played professionally for the National Football League's Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers, ...

Michael Irvin Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is an American sports commentator and former professional football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 2007, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame ...

Brian Blades Brian Keith Blades (born July 24, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). Blades graduated from Piper High School in Sunrise, Florida ...

Brett Perriman Brett Perriman (born October 10, 1965) is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints (1988–1990), the Detroit Lions (1991–1996), the Kansas City Chiefs (1997), and the Miami Dolphins (1997). He played coll ...

Reggie Rembert Reginald Bernard "Reggie" Rembert (born December 25, 1966) is a retired American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He was drafted in the second round (28th overall) of the 1990 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. He played co ...

and

Greg McMurtry Gregory Wendell McMurtry (born October 15, 1967) is a former American football player. He played college football as a wide receiver for the University of Michigan from 1986 to 1989. He caught 111 passes for 2,163 yards and 15 touchdowns for ...

. His most famous play was a 64-yard interception return for a

against the number 2 ranked

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

in 1988. He also helped the team win a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

and achieve a school-record 23-game winning streak.

Professional career

Los Angeles Raiders

Smagala was selected by the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...

in the fifth round (123rd overall) of the

1990 NFL Draft The 1990 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1990, at the Marriott Marq ...

, but was immediately traded to the

in exchange for a sixth round (#158-James Williams), eighth round (#197-

Arthur Jimerson Arthur Jimerson (born May 12, 1968, in Erie, Pennsylvania) is a former linebacker for the former Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League. He attended elementary and middle school in Norfolk, Virginia. He attended Deep Creek High Sc ...

), ninth round (#230-Leon Perry), tenth round (#259-Jim Szymanski) and an eleventh round (#304-Myron Jones) draft choice.

Dallas Cowboys

On September 23,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, he suffered a broken left forearm while helping force a fumble against the

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 ...

and was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. In that game, he also saw action at

strong safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

. He finished the season with 2

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles and one

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

pressure. He was waived on August 26,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

. On October 17, he was re-signed to replace first-year player Donald Smith. He appeared in 8 games, playing mainly on

and making 8 tackles.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On April 2,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, the

signed Smagala as a Plan B free agent. He was placed on the

with a knee injury on September 1st. He was released on August 22,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

Personal life

After football, he worked for a Real Estate Development company.

References

External links

Notre Dame's Smagala Enjoys Fantasy Weekend
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smagala, Stan 1968 births Living people Players of American football from Chicago American football safeties Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Dallas Cowboys players Pittsburgh Steelers players American people of Polish descent