Louie Lehman Smyth (March 19, 1898 – September 11, 1964) was a 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 for the
Canton Bulldogs
The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Lea ...
from
1920
Events January
* January 1
** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.
** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...
until
1923
In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...
. Smyth won two NFL championships with the Bulldogs in 1922 and 1923 and another with the Yellow Jackets in 1926. He also played for the
Hartford Blues
The Hartford Blues of the National Football League played only in the 1926 NFL season, with a record of 3–7. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut but played at the East Hartford Velodrome.
Hall of Famers
Season-by-season
Referen ...
,
Rochester Jeffersons and the
Providence Steamroller. Outside 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 played for the
Gilberton Cadamounts of the
Anthracite League
The Anthracite League, also referred to as the Anthracite Association, was a short-lived American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league comprising teams based in coal-mining towns in eastern Pennsylvania (hence the league name' ...
. During his year in Gilberton, Smyth doubled as a player with the Jeffersons.
In 1923 Smyth led the NFL in touchdowns, with 7.
Smyth was strong runner. He was able to run over opposing linemen due to his size. However, he was also an effective passer. Although he completed 25% of his passes, his passing average was better than 20-yards per completion. He also led the league in both
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 rushing and touchdown passes thrown, matching the record held by
Jimmy Conzelman
James Gleason Dunn Conzelman (March 6, 1898 – July 31, 1970) was an American professional American football, football player and coach, baseball executive, and advertising executive. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964 a ...
from the
1922 season. On defense, he may also have tied for the NFL lead in interceptions however no official statistics were kept at the time.
Highlights
*Smyth connected on a few passes to get Canton kicker
Pete Henry within
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...
range, for a 6-0 win over the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
.
*A Canton win over the
Chicago Cardinals
The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons.
Roots ca ...
resulted on November 4, 1923 when Smyth threw a 45-yard pass to
Guy Chamberlin to put Canton at the Cardinals 13-yard-line. Smyth later cross over the goal line for the winning score.
*On September 27, 1925, while playing for Rochester Jeffersons, Smyth threw a 55-yard pass to
Shag Sheard during a 14-7 loss to the Canton Bulldogs.
*On October 18, 1925 Smyth threw a 40-yard pass to
Eddie Lynch during a 7-6 defeat to the
Waterbury Blues.
*A week later Smyth threw a 20-yard pass to Kellogg in a 33-13 loss to the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
.
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, Lou
1898 births
Canton Bulldogs players
Frankford Yellow Jackets players
Hartford Blues players
Rochester Jeffersons players
Providence Steam Roller players
Texas Longhorns football players
Gilberton Cadamounts players
Centre Colonels football players
1964 deaths
Sportspeople from Cleburne, Texas
Players of American football from Texas
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)