Vernon "Catfish" Smith (January 14, 1908 – September 29, 1988) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and military officer. A three-sport athlete at the University of Georgia, Smith was named to the

1931 College Football All-America Team The 1931 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1931. The seven selectors recognized by the ...

as an end. After his playing days, he served as the co-head basketball coach at his alma mater during the 1937–38 season. Smith was also the head baseball coach at Georgia from 1934 to 1937 and at the University of South Carolina from 1938 to 1939 and again from 1946 to 1947. 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 ...

as a player in 1979.

Early life and playing career

Smith was born

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

. His nickname of "Catfish" is attributed to a story in which he bit the head off of one as a 25-cent bet while a student at Lanier High School in Macon. He and a friend were fishing in Walnut Creek. Smith played football at the University of Georgia from 1929 to 1931 and was named an All-American in 1931. In 1929, he scored all 15 points for Georgia in an upset of Yale—scoring one touchdown by falling on a blocked punt in the end zone and another by receiving a pass, kicking an extra point and tackling a Yale player for a safety. The game was the first-ever played at

Sanford Stadium Sanford Stadium is the on-campus playing venue for football at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States (also known as UGA). The 92,746-seat stadium is the tenth-largest stadium in the NCAA. Architecturally, the stadium is kn ...

. Smith wore number 9, and stood 6'2" and 190 pounds. He made an all-time Georgia Bulldogs football team picked in 1935. He was nominated though not selected for an ''Associated Press'' All-Time Southeast 1920-1969 era team. Smith was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Cleveland 1935

Coaching and military career

After completing his Georgia career as a football player in 1931 (he graduated with a B.S. in 1933), Catfish Smith went into coaching from 1932 to 1941 and coached football at Georgia, the University of South Carolina and the University of Mississippi. He was also the head baseball coach at the University of Georgia and the University of South Carolina. He then joined the United States Army Air Forces, retiring in 1963 with the rank of colonel.

Honors

Smith's sports honors include induction into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1966 and in the

in 1979. His military honors included the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

, Air Force Commendation Medal, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal,

Air Force Reserve Medal The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Gravity of Earth, Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating Atmo ...

and

Air Force Longevity Medal The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

References

Sources

*Charles E. Martin, ''I've Seen 'Em All: Half Century of Georgia Football'', p. 57, The McGregor Company, Athens, Georgia, 1961. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Vernon 1908 births 1988 deaths All-American college football players All-Southern college football players American football ends American men's basketball players United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Basketball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state) Basketball players from Macon, Georgia College Football Hall of Fame inductees Georgia Bulldogs baseball coaches Georgia Bulldogs baseball players Georgia Bulldogs basketball coaches Georgia Bulldogs basketball players Georgia Bulldogs football players Ole Miss Rebels football coaches Recipients of the Legion of Merit South Carolina Gamecocks baseball coaches South Carolina Gamecocks football coaches Players of American football from Macon, Georgia United States Army Air Forces officers United States Air Force colonels Baseball players from Macon, Georgia