Larry Smith (running back)

Larry Smith

Smith on 1968 cover of Street & Smith
No. 38, 33
Position:	Running back
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1947-09-02) September 2, 1947 (age 69)
Place of birth:	Tampa, Florida
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:	Tampa (FL) Robinson
College:	Florida
NFL Draft:	1969 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8
Career history
Los Angeles Rams (1969–1973) Washington Redskins (1974)
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-SEC (1966, 1967, 1968) First-team All-American (1968) University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 72 Rushing attempts: 528 Rushing yards: 2,057 Receptions: 149 Receiving yards: 1,176 Touchdowns: 16 Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

William Lawrence Smith (born September 2, 1947) is an American former college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons during the 1960s and 1970s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, and earned All-American honors. He was a first-round pick in the 1969 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins of the NFL.

Smith was born in 1947 in Tampa, Florida, 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. He finished his high school career with forty-seven touchdowns, and received all-county, all-state, and Parade magazine high school All-American accolades. 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.

Smith accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he was a tailback for coach Ray Graves' Florida Gators football team from 1966 to 1968. Memorably, Smith had a 94-yard touchdown run in the Gators' 27–12 victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the 1967 Orange Bowl—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 and 1968, and was a first-team All-American in 1968. Smith was also the recipient of the Gators' Fergie Ferguson Award, recognizing the "senior football player who displays outstanding leadership, character and courage."