James Robert Smith (August 20, 1925 – March 1, 2002) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

, halfback and punter. He played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

from 1949 to 1954. He played for NFL championship teams in Detroit in 1952 and 1953 and was selected as a first-team All Pro after the 1952 season. He also played in the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...

(AAFC) for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

(1948),

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

(1948), and

Chicago Hornets The Chicago Rockets were an American football team that played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946 to 1949. During the 1949 season, the team was known as the Chicago Hornets. Unlike the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, a ...

(1949). Smith played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Tulsa Golden Hurricane The Tulsa Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the Universit ...

(1943, 1945), the

Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks The Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks represented the U.S. Navy pre-flight school at the University of Iowa in the college football seasons of 1942, 1943, and 1944. History The United States Navy commissioned pre-flight schools at the University of Georg ...

(1944), and the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

(1946–1947).

Early life

Smith was born in

Ranger, Texas Ranger is a city in Eastland County, Texas, United States. Its population was 2,300 at the 2020 census. Ranger College, a community college, is the second-largest employer in the community. During the 1920s, Ranger, like nearby Cisco, Eastland ...

, in 1925.

College football

Smith played college football for the

and

(1946–1947).

Professional football

Smith was selected by 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

in the 24th round (217th overall pick) of the

1947 NFL draft The 1947 NFL draft was held on December 16, 1946, at the Commodore Hotel in New York City, New York. The National Football League in this draft made the first overall pick, a bonus pick determined by lottery. The Chicago Bears won the first lo ...

. He did not sign with the Redskins, instead opting in January 1948 to sign with the

of the

(AAFC), reportedly for $8,500. Smith appeared in only three games for the Bills, as he was traded by the Bills to the

in exchange for

Al Akins Albert George Akins (June 13, 1921 – August 29, 1995) was an American professional football halfback and defensive back who played three seasons for the Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills and Brooklyn Dodgers in the All-America Football Conferen ...

. He appeared in 10 games for the Dodgers, intercepted three passes, had a 58-yard punt, the longest in the AAFC during the 1948 season. In July 1949, Smith signed with the

of the AAFC. He appeared in three games with the Hornets during their 1949 season. Shortly before the start of the

1949 NFL season The 1949 NFL season was the 30th regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, Boston Yanks owner Ted Collins asked the league to fold his team due to financial woes and give him a new one in New York City. This new team ...

, the

acquired NFL rights to Smith from the Redskins. Smith signed with the Lions, left the Hornets, and appeared in all 12 games with the Lions during the 1949 season. In his first NFL season, he ranked among the league leaders with nine interceptions (fourth) and 218 interception return yards (third). On Thanksgiving Day 1949, he set an NFL record with a 102-yard return after intercepting a

Sid Luckman Sidney Luckman (November 21, 1916 – July 5, 1998) was an American professional football quarterback who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1939 through 1950. During his 12 seasons with the Bears, he led t ...

pass in the end zone during a 28-7 loss to 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. Smith's interception return against the Bears remains the Lions record for longest interception return. Smith spent the remainder of his football career with the Lions, remaining through the 1954 season and playing on NFL championship teams in 1952 and 1953. During the Lions' 1952 championship season, Smith recorded nine interceptions (third best in the NFL) and 184 interception return yards (third in the NFL). In addition to playing in the Lions' defensive backfield, he handled punting duties from 1950 to 1953. His 2,729 punting yards in 1952 ranked sixth in the NFL, and his average that year of 44.7 yards per punt was second best in the league. After the 1952 season, Smith was selected as a first-team All Pro player by the

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

and a second-team All Pro by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. He was also invited to play in the

1953 Pro Bowl The 1953 Pro Bowl was the NFL's third annual all-star game which featured the league's outstanding performers from the 1952 season. The game was played on January 10, 1953, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California in fron ...

Later years

Smith died in

Flower Mound, Texas Flower Mound is an incorporated town located in Denton and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Located northwest of Dallas and northeast of Fort Worth adjacent to Grapevine Lake, the town derives its name from a prominent mound loca ...

, in 2002 at age 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bob 1925 births 2002 deaths American football cornerbacks Brooklyn Dodgers (AAFC) players Buffalo Bills (AAFC) players Chicago Hornets players Detroit Lions players Iowa Hawkeyes football players Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks football players People from Ranger, Texas Western Conference Pro Bowl players