Robert Lee Smith (February 28, 1929 – January 5, 2005) was an American professional

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fullback who played two seasons with the

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of 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). He was selected by the

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in the fourth round of the 1951 NFL draft. He played

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Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

Early life

Robert Lee Smith was born on February 28, 1929, in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. His family moved to

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

when Smith was in seventh grade. He attended Mirabeau B. Lamar Senior High School in Houston.

College career

Smith was a member of the

Texas A&M Aggies The Texas A&M Aggies are the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "wikt:aggie#Etymology 2, Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also simply referr ...

from 1948 to 1951, and a three-year

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from 1949 to 1951. He earned

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(AP) and

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(UP) second-team All-

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

(SWC) honors in 1949. In 1950, he totaled 219 rushing attempts for 1,416 yards and 14 touchdowns, eight catches for 116 yards and one touchdown, and one completion on two passing attempts for five yards, one touchdown, and one interception, garnering AP and UP first-team All-SWC recognition. He was the first player in SWC history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in one season. He also rushed for 297 yards in a game against the

SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs are the sport, athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. SMU was founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor Bears, Baylor, Rice Owls, ...

that year, setting a single-game school record. The Texas Sportswriters Association named him the Texas Athlete of the Year in 1950.

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head coach

Bud Wilkinson Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson (April 23, 1916 – February 9, 1994) was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of ...

said Smith "leaves me breathless. He may be the greatest runner I've ever seen." Smith totaled 95 carries for 419 yards and one touchdown in 1951 while also catching seven passes for 111 yards and one touchdown. He was inducted into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 1969.

Professional career

Smith was selected by the

in the fourth round, with the 41st overall pick, of the 1951 NFL draft but returned to Texas A&M for his final season of college football. After college, he served as a lieutenant in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Smith's NFL draft rights were later purchased by the

. He played in three games, starting one, for the Lions during the 1953 season, recording six carries for 51 yards and one reception for 11 yards. On December 27, 1953, the Lions beat the

in the

1953 NFL Championship Game The 1953 NFL Championship Game was the 21st annual championship game, held on December 27 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. The defending NFL champion Detroit Lions (10–2) of the Western Conference were led by quarterback Bobby Layne and runnin ...

. He appeared in 12 games during the 1954 season, rushing three times for one yard. He also played in one playoff game that year. Smith was teammates with defensive back Bob Smith during his time with the Lions. Smith became a free agent after the 1955 season.

Personal life

Smith later worked as an engineer on oil rigs and opened his own print shop. He died on January 5, 2005, in Dallas at the age of 75 after suffering a heart attack and stroke earlier in the week.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bob 1929 births 2005 deaths Players of American football from Dallas Players of American football from Houston American football fullbacks Texas A&M Aggies football players Detroit Lions players United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War