Jackie Smith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jackie Smith | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | February 23, 1940 (age 67) |
| Place of birth |  Columbia, Mississippi |
| Position(s) | Tight End, Punter |
| College | Northwestern State |
| NFL Draft | 1963 / Round 10/ Pick 129 |
| Pro Bowls | 5 |
| Stats | |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 1963-1977 1978 |
St. Louis Cardinals Dallas Cowboys |
| Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1994 | |
Jackie Larue Smith (born February 23, 1940 in Columbia, Mississippi) is a former professional American football player. He played tight end for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys from 1963 to 1978. He has career marks of 480 receptions, 7918 yards, and 40 touchdowns. He attended Northwestern Louisiana State University, now Northwestern State University.
After spending his entire career with the Cardinals, Smith signed with Dallas in 1978. Although the 38-year old Smith was used only as a blocking tight end in the goal line formation and didn't catch a pass during the entire season, joining Dallas allowed him to make his first (and only) trip to the NFL Super Bowl (The Cardinals only made the playoffs twice in his 15 seasons, and they lost both times in the first round). Unfortunately, this turned out to leave a bitter mark on his career, as he ended up being remembered for committing one of the most famous errors in Super Bowl history. With his team trailing the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-14 in the third quarter of Super Bowl XIII, Smith dropped a third down pass in the end zone from quarterback Roger Staubach. Because of the drop, the Cowboys had to settle for a field goal to make the score 21-17. The Cowboys ended up losing the game by 4 points, 35-31, and Smith retired before the start of the next season.
At the time of his retirement, Smith's 7,918 receiving yards were the most ever by an NFL tight end, and would remain so until narrowly surpassed by Ozzie Newsome's 7,980 yards in 1990.
ESPN ranked Smith's dropped pass in the end zone #24 on their list of "100 Greatest Super Bowl Moments".
In 1994, Smith was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. In 2001. he was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
[edit] External links
- Jackie Smith at the Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Jackie Smith at ESPN
- St. Louis Walk of Fame
 |
This biographical article relating to an American football tight end is a stub. You can help by adding to it. |
