Darrell Karland Smith (November 5, 1961 – February 13, 2017) was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) for the

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

and

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

. He 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 ...

at Central State University.

Early life

Smith attended Ursuline High School, where he played as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and

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 ...

. He also practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from Central State University, with the intention of playing him at

. As senior in 1983, he led the team with 47 receptions for 814 yards (17.3-yard avg.) and 17 touchdowns in 12 games. He contributed to the team finishing with a 12–0 record school and making its first Division II playoff appearance, where they lost the title game to the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

Professional career

In 1984, he was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. He was released on August 27. On November 29, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

, for the 1985 training camp. He was released on August 12, 1985. In 1986, he signed as a

with the

of the

. In 1990, he caught a league record of 20 touchdowns, to go along with 1,826 receiving yards. He finished his career with the Argonauts with 465 receptions for 8,144 yards, 52 touchdowns and 84 kickoffs returns for 1,139 yards. He set team records for single-season touchdown receptions (20), consecutive games with a reception (96) and average yards per catch (17.5). He ranks second All-time in career and single-season 200-yard receiving games (2), third in receiving yards in a single-season (1,826) and 100-yard receiving games (25), and fifth in receiving touchdowns (111) and combined yards (9,374). He appeared in two Grey Cup games with the Argonauts, losing in 1987 and winning in 1991. In January 1993, he was traded to the

as a part of the largest trade in CFL history, involving 16 players. In August, he was released after appearing in 4 games. In 1994, he signed as a

with the

expansion franchise Shreveport Pirates. He was released before the start of the season. He finished his football career with 476 receptions for 8,236 yards and 52 touchdowns.

Personal life

On February 13, 2017, he died of cancer at the age of 55. His brother was former NFL player Sherman Smith. Married: Frances Foster Children: Daimeyon K Smith

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Darrell 1961 births 2017 deaths Players of American football from Youngstown, Ohio Players of Canadian football from Ohio Canadian football slotbacks Canadian football wide receivers Central State Marauders football players Toronto Argonauts players Edmonton Elks players Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state)