William Lawrence Smith (born September 2, 1947) 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 a

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 ...

for six seasons 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) during the 1960s and 1970s. 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

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

, earning

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors. He was a first-round pick in the 1969 NFL/AFL draft, and played professionally for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

and

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 ...

of the NFL.

Early life

Smith was born in 1947 in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

,Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Larry Smith
Retrieved July 9, 2010. and attended Thomas Richard Robinson High School in Tampa. As a junior in 1963, Smith was the star running back on the Robinson Knights high school football team, and led his team to Florida's first-ever state championship football game before losing to the Coral Gables Cavaliers 16–14.Katherine Smith,
Tampa Bay's All-Century Team: No. 29 Larry Smith
", ''The Tampa Tribune'' (November 28, 1999). Retrieved May 20, 2010. He finished his high school career with forty-seven

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, and received all-county, all-state, and ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'' magazine high school All-American accolades. FHSAA unveils '100 Greatest Players of First 100 Years' as part of centennial football celebration
, Florida High School Athletic Association (December 4, 2007). Retrieved May 26, 2011. In 2007, forty-two years after he graduated from high school, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) recognized Smith as one of the "100 Greatest Players of the First 100 Years" of Florida high school football.

College career

Smith accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where he was a tailback for coach Ray Graves'

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American football, American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team from

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 87, 91, 96, 103, 138–140, 147–148, 159, 162, 173, 185 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011. Memorably, Smith had a 94-yard touchdown run in the Gators' 27–12 victory over the

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The teams have also been nicknamed the ...

in the 1967

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...

—while struggling to keep his pants up. His 187 yards rushing in the Orange Bowl resulted in him being named the game's "Outstanding Player." He finished his college football career with 528 carries for 2,186 yards and twenty-four rushing touchdowns, and 607 yards receiving. He was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection in 1966,

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

and 1968, and was a first-team All-American in 1968. Smith was also the recipient of the Gators'

Fergie Ferguson Award The Forest K. Ferguson Award, commonly known as the "Fergie Ferguson Award," is presented annually to a senior member of the Florida Gators football team in memory of one of the University of Florida's greatest athletes. Namesake The award ta ...

, recognizing the "senior football player who displays outstanding leadership, character and courage." Smith graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1970, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1983. In a 2006 article series written for ''The Gainesville Sun'', he was recognized as No. 29 among the top 100 Gator players from the first 100 years of Florida football.

Professional career

Smith was selected in the first round (eighth pick overall) of the 1969 NFL Draft by the

, and played for the Rams from to and the Washington Redskins in .National Football League, Historical Players
Larry Smith
Retrieved May 20, 2010. His rookie year with the Rams was his most productive season: 599 yards rushing and 300 yards receiving. After five seasons with the Rams, he was traded to the Redskins in as part of coach George Allen's effort to rebuild the Redskins with experienced players.Neil Amdur,
Larry Smith Is An Example Of Redskin 'Now' Idea
, ''The New York Times'', p. S4 (October 20, 1974). Retrieved June 29, 2010. He received few carries with the Redskins, however, accumulating only 149 yards in seven games, with no touchdowns.databaseFootball.com, Players, . Retrieved June 6, 2010. In his six NFL seasons, Smith gained 2,057 yards rushing on 528 carries for eleven touchdowns; he also had 149 receptions for 1,176 yards receiving and five touchdowns.

Life after football

Smith returned to the University of Florida to earn a master's degree in business administration in 1975.Hill, Ward & Henderson, Attorneys
W. Lawrence Smith
Retrieved May 20, 2010. In 1982, he graduated from the

Stetson University College of Law The Stetson University College of Law (branded as Stetson Law) is the law school of Stetson University. The law school occupies a historic 1920s resort hotel, the Rolyat Hotel, designed by Richard Kiehnel. The College of Law is accredited by the ...

with a J.D. degree, and is now a commercial real estate attorney with the Tampa law firm of Hill, Ward & Henderson. Smith is married, and he and his wife have two daughters and a son.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * McEwen, Tom, ''The Gators: A Story of Florida Football'', The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Larry 1947 births Living people All-American college football players American football running backs Florida Gators football players Florida lawyers Los Angeles Rams players Players of American football from Tampa, Florida Washington Redskins players