Dean Smith (athletics)

Dean Smith

Smith at the 2013 Texas Book Festival
Personal information
Full name	Finis Dean Smith
Born	January 15, 1932 (1932-01-15) (age 85) Breckenridge, Texas, U.S.
Medal record Men's athletics Representing the  United States Olympic Games 1952 Helsinki 4x100 m relay

Finis Dean Smith (born January 15, 1932) is an American former track and field athlete and stuntman, winner of the gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Born in Breckenridge, Texas, Smith won the Amateur Athletic Union championships in 100 m in 1952. At the Helsinki Olympics, he was fourth in the 100 m and ran the leadoff leg for American gold medal winning 4 × 100 m relay team. As a sprinter on the Longhorn track team, Smith ran a 100-yard dash in 9.4 seconds; one tenth of a second off the world record at the time.

After graduating from University of Texas at Austin where he ran track and was a member of the Silver Spurs, Smith played professional football for the Los Angeles Rams and the Pittsburgh Steelers, but never played in a regular season game. After his sports career, Smith performed as a professional rodeo cowboy and stuntman in various Western movies as The Alamo, The Comancheros, How The West Was Won, , Rio Conchos, Big Jake, and El Dorado. He also appeared in such Western TV shows as Tales of Wells Fargo, Maverick, Gunsmoke, Lawman, Have Gun Will Travel, The Iron Horse and Walker, Texas Ranger.