Steven Anthony Smith (August 30, 1964 – November 20, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a fullback for 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 ...

(NFL) with 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 ...

and Seattle Seahawks. He was a

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

on the

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interc ...

's national championship team in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

. Smith was a third-round draft choice of the Raiders in the 1987 NFL Draft. Converted to fullback, Smith blocked for Raiders star running backs

Bo Jackson Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Jackson's el ...

and

Marcus Allen Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal line and short- ...

. He then spent two seasons with Seattle until a back injury ended his career. Although primarily a blocker, he finished his career with 1627 rushing yards and 13 receiving touchdowns. In 1995, Smith won the inaugural

Madden Bowl ''Madden NFL'' (known as ''John Madden Football'' until 1993) is an American football video game series developed by EA Tiburon for EA Sports. It is named after Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and commentator John Madden and sold more than 130 m ...

, a tournament during Super Bowl weekend in which current and former NFL players compete at the

Madden NFL ''Madden NFL'' (known as ''John Madden Football'' until 1993) is an American football video game series developed by EA Tiburon for EA Sports. It is named after Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and commentator John Madden and sold more than 130 m ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

After football

Smith married former Raiderette, Chie Aguilar-Hiroto from Cypress, CA in December 1989. The couple had two children, Dante (July 1990) and Jazmin (Sept 1991) and lived in

Richardson, Texas Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas. It is home to the University ...

. Smith had been afflicted with

Lou Gehrig's disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...

from July 2002 until his death. He could not speak because of a

ventilator A ventilator is a piece of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. Ventilators ...

and received his food through a

feeding tube Eating (also known as consuming) is the ingestion of food, typically to provide a heterotrophic organism with energy and to allow for growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive — carnivores eat other animals, herbi ...

. He communicated via a state of the art computer system paid for by The Steve Gleason Foundation. Smith was the focus of an August 17, 2010, episode of HBO's ''

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel ''Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel'' is a monthly sports news magazine on HBO. Since its debut on April 2, 1995, the program has been presented by television journalist and sportscaster Bryant Gumbel. Overview Format Each episode consists of fo ...

'' exploring how toxic proteins that form after brain trauma may cause Lou Gehrig's disease. He died on November 20, 2021.Steve Smith, Penn State and NFL 'Superman,' dies after long ALS battle
/ref>

References

External links

Paul Turse, raiderdrive.com
Former Raider With ALS Wants To Help Others
''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the '' Galvest ...

'', July 19, 2003
Former Raider fullback Smith battles illness
Genaro C. Armas, The Associated Press, December 29, 2006

Frank Bodani, ''

York Daily Record The ''York Daily Record'' is a newspaper and news publisher serving York, Pennsylvania, United States, and the surrounding region. Its news publications are the ''York Daily Record'' and ''York Sunday News''. The newspaper's circulation is 37,32 ...

'', July 11, 2004.
"Former PSU fullback Steve Smith still has strength to fight"
Frank Bodani, ''

'', July 15, 2010.
“Former Oakland Raider, Steve Smith, and his fight against ALS”
ESPN Video.
“Steve Smith, former Penn State and Raider Football Player, has ALS”
''

'', HBO, August 17, 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Steve 1964 births 2021 deaths American football running backs DeMatha Catholic High School alumni Los Angeles Raiders players Penn State Nittany Lions football players Players of American football from Washington, D.C. Deaths from motor neuron disease Players of American football from Maryland Seattle Seahawks players