James Arthur Smith (born July 20, 1955) is an American former 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

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

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 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

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

from 1974 to 1976. He played in the NFL for six seasons with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

from 1977 to 1982 before starring on the Birmingham Stallions of the rival

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). After the USFL's demise, Smith played a final season for the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural ...

in 1985.

Early life

Smith grew up in

Robbins, Illinois Robbins is a village and southwest suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,629 at the 2020 census. It is the second oldest African American incorporated town in the north following Brooklyn, Illinois, an ...

, and attended Dwight D. Eisenhower High School in

Blue Island, Illinois Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, south of Chicago Loop, Chicago's Loop. Blue Island is adjacent to the city of Chicago and shares its northern boundary with that city's Morgan Park, Chicago, Morgan Park neighborho ...

, where he earned All-Conference and All-State honors. In his senior year, he led the Eisenhower Cardinals to the South Suburban Conference title.

University of Michigan

Smith was a flanker and wingback for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

from 1974 to 1976. In three years at Michigan, he caught 73 passes for 1,687 yards (23.1 yards per reception) and 14 touchdowns. He also returned 51 punts for 525 yards, an average of 10.3 yards per return. He also ran with the ball 56 times for 394 yards, an average of 7.0 yards per carry. On November 8, 1975, in a victory over

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, Smith had a career-high 184 receiving yards on five catches, including an 83-yard touchdown that set a record as the longest pass completion in Michigan history. He was selected as a consensus first-team wide receiver on the

1976 College Football All-America Team The 1976 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1976. The National Collegiate Athletic Ass ...

Professional football

Smith was selected by the

in the third round (75th overall pick) of the

1977 NFL draft The 1977 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1977, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...

. He played for the Steelers from 1977 to 1982, backing up Hall of Famers

Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former professional football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He ...

and

John Stallworth Johnny Lee Stallworth (born July 15, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Alabama ...

and earning two

Super Bowl ring The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl ring offers a collectible memento for the actual players and t ...

s in the process. Smith's best season with the Steelers was 1980 when he caught 37 passes for 711 yards and nine touchdowns. He had another strong year in 1981 with 29 passes for 571 yards and seven touchdowns. In 1982, Smith led the NFL with an average of 22.8 yards per reception. In six years with the Steelers, Smith caught 113 passes for 2,103 yards and 25 touchdowns. In April 1983, Smith signed a three-year contract to play for the Birmingham Stallions in the newly formed

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

. In order to persuade him to jump to the USFL, Smith was offered a sum greater than any NFL receiver was then making. He led the Stallions in receiving each year from 1983 to 1985. In 1983, he caught 51 passes for 756 yards and three touchdowns. In 1984, he caught 89 passes and led the USFL with 1,481 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. In the USFL's final season, 1985, Smith had his best year as a professional, finishing third in the USFL with 87 catches for 1,322 yards. He also led the USFL's receivers with 20 touchdown receptions. He made both the 1985 USFL all-league team and ''The Sporting Newss 1985 USFL All-Star Team.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jim 1955 births Living people American football wide receivers Birmingham Stallions players Los Angeles Raiders players Michigan Wolverines football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Sportspeople from Blue Island, Illinois Sportspeople from Harvey, Illinois Players of American football from Cook County, Illinois People from Robbins, Illinois 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen