Walter "Buzz" Highsmith (August 27, 1943) is an American former

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

player and coach. He played professionally in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL),

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL),

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

(WFL), and

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) as an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

. Highsmith served as the head football coach at

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...

from 1989 to 1993, compiling a record of 19–34–2. Highsmith started his career with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

of the AFL, playing 23 games in two seasons. He next played with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

for two years and 22 games, winning the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

championship in 1970. He then headed to the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

of the NFL, playing nine games in one season. Highsmith returned to the Montreal Alouettes in 1973, playing only one game. The

Memphis Southmen The Memphis Southmen, also known as the Memphis Grizzlies, were an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. They played in the World Football League (WFL), which operated in 1974 and 1975. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl M ...

of the new WFL called, and he played two seasons with them. He finished his career back in the CFL with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

, playing 21 games over two years. Highsmith has also coached at Florida A&M University and for the Toronto Argonauts. Highsmith is the father of former NFL player

Alonzo Highsmith Alonzo Walter Highsmith, Sr. (born February 26, 1965) is an American football executive, former fullback, and former boxer. He is a General Manager for the University of Miami. He served as the vice president of player personnel for the Clevel ...

and uncle of current former NFL player

Ali Highsmith Arlington Louis "Ali" Highsmith (born January 20, 1985) is a former professional American football linebacker. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college foot ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

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CFLapedia profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Highsmith, Wally 1943 births Living people American football centers American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Denver Broncos players Florida A&M Rattlers football coaches Florida A&M Rattlers football players Houston Oilers players Memphis Southmen players Montreal Alouettes players Toronto Argonauts coaches Toronto Argonauts players People from Lake Wales, Florida Players of American football from Tampa, Florida Players of Canadian football from Tampa, Florida African-American coaches of American football African-American coaches of Canadian football African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople