Black history moment: Lets take the time out to wish former football player-turned-actor Bubba Smith a happy birthday today! Charles Aaron Smith (02/28/1945–08/03/2011) was born in Orange, Texas, and raised in nearby Beaumont. His father was Willie Ray Smith Sr., a football coach who accumulated 235 victories in a career spent at three high schools in the Beaumont area. It was at Charlton-Pollard High School in Beaumont where the son got to play for the father. The younger Smith developed into one of the states best-ever high school football players. Smith originally had hopes of playing college football at the University of Texas. Even though Longhorns head coach Darrell Royal was willing to offer him an athletic scholarship, he was prohibited from doing so because of the prevalent racial segregation throughout the Southern United States. At the time, Texas was a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC), which finally integrated in 1967. The universitys football program did not do likewise until three years later in 1970. The situation motivated Smith to become a much better player. Smith played college football at Michigan State University. He was awarded with All-America honors in 1965 and 1966. Smith was a popular athlete at Michigan State, with the popular fan chant of Kill, Bubba, Kill. His final game at Michigan State was a 10–10 draw with Notre Dame at Spartan Stadium on November 19, 1966. It was hyped as The Game of the Century because both teams were undefeated, untied and ranked atop the national polls entering the contest (Notre Dame was #1 at 8–0–0, Michigan State #2 at 9–0–0). Early in the first quarter, Smith tackled Fighting Irish starting quarterback Terry Hanratty, who suffered a separated left shoulder on the play. Hanratty was replaced for the remainder of the match by Coley OBrien. Smith, who admitted that Hanrattys injury actually backfired on the Spartans, stated, That didnt help us any. It just let them put in that OBrien whos slippery and faster and gave us more trouble. The other guy just sits there and waits, and thats what we wanted. Michigan State finished second behind Notre Dame in the voting for the National Championship. In 1988, Smith was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. Michigan State retired his number 95 jersey on September 23, 2006, prior to the Spartans home game against Notre Dame, amid repeated cheers of his old slogan from the student section. This game also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Game of the Century. Smith spent nine seasons in the NFL as a defensive end. He was the first overall selection in the 1967 NFL draft, chosen by the Baltimore Colts. The Colts won Super Bowl V at the end of the 1970 season, earning Smith his only Super Bowl ring. However, in interviews, Smith stated that he would never wear the ring, out of a sense of disapointment that he and his teammates were unable to win Super Bowl III. He was traded to the Oakland Raiders before the 1972 season, and finished his career with the Houston Oilers. He was selected All-Pro one year, All-Conference two years, and went to two Pro Bowls. After leaving professional football, Smith began his acting career in small movie and television roles in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is perhaps best known for his role as Moses Hightower in the Police Academy movie series, a role he reprised in all but one of the Police Academy sequels. Bubba appeared in the 1982 TV film Fighting Back: The Rocky Bleier Story. He was Arnold the driver in the 1983 movie Stroker Ace that cast stars such as Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Jim Nabors, and Loni Anderson. He was a supporting character in the 1981 - 1982 flop Open All Night. He appeared in two episodes of the hit television series Married... with Children, once as the character Spare Tire Dixon and in a later episode as himself. He was the longtime spokesman of Baltimore-area law firm Cohen, Snyder, Eisenberg & Katzenberg. Smith starred in the short-lived television series Blue Thunder, partnering with Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive star Dick Butkus, with whom he frequently costarred in advertisements for Miller Lite beer. Smith also appeared in Tales of the Gold Monkey, in the episode called God Save the Queen, along with fellow actor James Avery. He appeared on Good Times as Claude, a bodyguard/thug working for Marion Sweet Daddy Williams. He also appeared on an episode of The Odd Couple;when asked by Oscar Madison what his most embarrassing moment was, he replied, When my mother named me Bubba. Smith appeared in a 1982 Episode of Taxi (Season 4 Episode 19) where Smiths character played a football player trying to get back into the NFL after being cut. He inspired Tony, played by Tony Danza to train hard enough to earn his license back as a boxer. He also appeared on Macgyver (Season 7, Episode 10). Bubba also played a character named Bones in the October 22, 1993 episode of Family Matters where he played an enforcer to get his bosss money from Eddie Winslow. At the end he teams up with Steve Urkel to play the accordion. Smith was found dead in his Los Angeles home by his caretaker on August 3, 2011. He died from acute drug intoxication and heart disease. Phentermine, a weight-loss drug was found in his system. His heart weighed more than twice that of an average human heart. He was 66 years old. Happy birthday once again and continue to rest in peace, Bubba Smith! Today wouldve been his 69th birthday!
Posted on: Fri, 28 Feb 2014 18:25:05 +0000
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