Jerry Smith (tight End)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Gerald Thomas Smith (July 19, 1943 – October 15, 1986) 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
tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
for 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)'s
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 ...
for 13 seasons, from
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
through
1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
. By the time he retired, he held the NFL record for most career
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
s by a tight end. Smith publicly announced he had
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
in August 1986, being the first professional athlete to do so. He died two months later. A 2014 documentary from the NFL Network's ''A Football Life'' series profiles his career, as well as his "double life as a closeted gay man and a star athlete."


Professional career

Smith attended
Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...
, where he did not play football until his junior season. Joining the team as a walk-on
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 1964, Smith caught 9 passes for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns in 9 games. The following season, Smith was converted to tight end, and went on to catch 42 passes for 618 yards and 5 touchdowns. Selected in the ninth round (118th overall) of the
1965 NFL draft The 1965 NFL draft was held at the Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 28, 1964. The first player selected was Tucker Frederickson, back from Auburn, by the New York Giants. The draft was marked by the failure of the St. Loui ...
, - where his teammates included
Charley Taylor Charles Robert Taylor (September 28, 1941 – February 19, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver for 13 seasons with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college foot ...
, and his college friends included
David Mixner David Benjamin Mixner (August 16, 1946 – March 11, 2024) was an American political activist and author. He was best known for his work in anti-war and gay rights advocacy. Mixner played a key role in defeating Proposition 6 in California, ...
- Smith was also drafted by the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
in the 18th round of the 1965 AFL Draft. Smith developed his Redskins career as a running and catching tight end under head coaches
Bill McPeak William Patrick McPeak (July 24, 1926 – May 7, 1991) was an American football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 16th round of the 1948 NFL draft, playing nine seasons ...
,
Otto Graham Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League ...
and most memorably under
Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi ( ; June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American professional football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be among the greatest coaches and leaders in Ame ...
, who had a positive approach to gay players. After Lombardi's death, under George Allen his role changed to mainly blocking, leading the team to
Super Bowl VII Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...
at the end of the
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
season. In the fourth quarter with the Redskins trailing the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
, quarterback Billy Kilmer tried a pass to Smith who was running across the end zone, but the ball hit the goal post. Although the Redskins lost the game 14–7, ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'' called Smith "an outstanding receiver among tight ends, with the ability to break open for a long gain." In 1976 the Redskins signed the larger and faster
Jean Fugett Jean Schloss Fugett, Jr. (born December 16, 1951) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. He played college football at Amherst ...
, whom Smith helped and assisted in his integration to the team. In the same year, he was quietly approached by
Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the ''Washington'' ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday ...
journalist
Lynn Rosellini Lynn may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lynn (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Lynn (surname) * The Lynns, a 1990s American country music duo consisting of twin sisters Peggy and Patsy Lynn * Lynn ...
regarding her series of gay sports people. Smith contributed on the understanding that his name, team, or position would not be revealed. Rosellini opened her article with a description of Smith's hands, which led former teammate Dave Kopay to recognize the player as Smith, and hence lead to Kopay telephoning Rosellini and becoming the first former football player to come out two days later. Despite his skills having diminished, coach Allen kept bringing Smith back into the Redskins roster due to his work ethic. Smith made one catch in 1977, and spent the 1978 season on the injured list. Smith caught 421 passes, including 60
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
s, a career record for tight ends at the time and the 17th highest total in NFL history. His record held for 27 years, beaten by
Shannon Sharpe Shannon Sharpe (born June 26, 1968) is an American former professional football tight end who played 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Denver Broncos. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, h ...
on November 16, 2003. His 421 receptions were the third highest total ever by a tight end when he retired, trailing only Hall of Famers
Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka ( ; born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former professional American football, football player, coach, and television commentator. During his playing career, he was UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year, UPI NFL R ...
and
Jackie Smith Jackie Larue Smith (born February 23, 1940) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the No ...
. Smith was named
All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...
twice and held several NFL records that stood for years. In 2011, the
Professional Football Researchers Association The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional American football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by w ...
named Smith to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2011. In , as a part of a
USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
tour in association with the NFL, Smith, along with other stars
John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...
,
Butch Byrd George Edward "Butch" Byrd (born September 20, 1941) is an American former professional football cornerback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Boston Universit ...
,
Fred Hoaglin Fred Hoaglin, (born January 28, 1944) is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) from 1966 to 1976. He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers. Playing career Hoag ...
, George Kunz, and Tom Woodeshick, visited and signed autographs for wounded military personnel in
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. From 1967 to 1970, Smith was a full time starter for the Redskins. He missed several games in 1971 to injury, but was back as a full-time starter the following season, and would be until his final season in 1977. During his career, Smith made several All-Pro teams.


Coming out

After officially retiring at the end of the 1978 season, Smith quietly came out as gay to a few family members. This allowed him to explain why he moved to
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, where he co-owned the gay bar "The Boathouse" – a decision he later regretted. Smith moved back to the support of his family in
Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...
in 1986, where, looking thinner and coughing, he was diagnosed at the Holy Cross Hospital with HIV. After discussing the matter with his family and friends, he contacted ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' journalist
George Solomon George Solomon (born c. 1940) is an American journalist who served as a sports editor and columnist at ''The Washington Post'' and was the first ombudsman for ESPN. Biography Solomon graduated from the University of Florida in 1963. He began wor ...
– the ground rule being that they did not discuss how he got the disease – with the resultant front-page article published on August 7, 1986. He was subsequently visited and supported by all of his former teammates and coaches.


Death

Smith died of
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
at age 43 on October 15, 1986, at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland. He was the first former professional athlete to die of the disease. Although he acknowledged that he had AIDS, he never publicly acknowledged he was
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
. At a funeral attended by all of his former teammates and coaches—some of whom also acted as coffin bearers—Smith was buried at
Gate of Heaven Cemetery Gate of Heaven Cemetery, approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of New York City, was established in 1917 at 10 West Stevens Ave. in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York, as a Catholic burial site. Among its famous residents is baseb ...
in Silver Spring. Head coach
Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi ( ; June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American professional football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be among the greatest coaches and leaders in Ame ...
, who had a gay brother, demanded a
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
-free locker room but "not even the legendary Lombardi could insulate him from the crippling societal homophobia of the era." Shortly before he died, Smith said: "Every important thing a man searches for in his life, I found in Coach Lombardi. He made us men." Smith's sexuality was confirmed after his death by former teammate pro NFL football player David Kopay, who had
come out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...
years earlier. Kopay referred to a sexual encounter with Smith, using an alias for him, in his autobiography. After the book's publication, Smith never spoke to Kopay again. The Redskins logo, along with Smith's uniform number 87, was part of the
AIDS quilt The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, often abbreviated to AIDS Memorial Quilt or AIDS Quilt, is a memorial to celebrate the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes. Weighing an estimated 54 tons, it is the largest piece of communit ...
. After a period of time post his death, some of Smith's teammates said they knew he was gay.
Brig Owens Brigman P. Owens (February 16, 1943 – June 21, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. He played college football at the Universi ...
, a safety for the Redskins at the time who also roomed with Smith, said Smith lived in fear, because if people knew he was gay, he would be done in football. He said Smith was afraid that people would take away something that he loved. Owens was one of the players on the team that knew for sure Smith was gay. Dave Kopay was briefly a teammate of Smith's. Kopay came out in 1976, after his playing career ended. He also wrote an autobiography about having a relationship with a teammate. Even though Kopay used an alias, Smith knew Kopay was talking about him. After the autobiography came out, Smith never spoke to Kopay again. Of all of his teammates, Smith was closer to Owens than perhaps anyone else. Their bond was so tight, Owens' own daughters referred to Smith as 'Uncle Jerry'. Redskins center Len Hauss was another close friend to Smith as well. On one occasion, a player said a word Hauss did not like (most likely a gay slur) and Hauss confronted the player and said he'd better not hear that word in the locker room again - and it never was again. In 2014, the NFL network aired ''A Football Life: Jerry Smith''. The hour-long show was about Smith, his career, and his death from AIDS. Brig Owens was interviewed during commercial breaks. When asked if Smith belongs in the Hall of Fame, Owens replied that Smith would be in the hall already if he was not gay.


See also

*
Homosexuality in American football There has been only one player who has publicly come out as gay or bisexual while being an active player in the National Football League (NFL): Carl Nassib, who came out as gay on June 21, 2021, while with the Las Vegas Raiders. He became the f ...


References


Sources

* * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jerry 1943 births 1986 deaths AIDS-related deaths in Maryland American football tight ends Arizona State Sun Devils football players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players LGBTQ people from Oregon LGBTQ players of American football Players of American football from Eugene, Oregon Washington Redskins players 20th-century American LGBTQ people American gay sportsmen San Lorenzo High School alumni Players of American football from Alameda County, California