Billy Ray Smith, Sr.

Billy Ray Smith Sr. (January 27, 1935 – March 21, 2001) was an American professional football player who was a defensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 to 1970. He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Smith was born in Augusta, Arkansas.

Early life Smith was born in Augusta, Arkansas on January 27, 1935, to J.D. and Louise Smith. He attended Augusta High School where he played football under coach Curtis King from 1950 to 1952. In 1952, he made the All-American Prep team and in 1953, Smith played in the High School All-American game.

Smith was also a boxer. He was a Golden Gloves regional champion in 1953 and 1954, and won the South Heavyweight Championship in 1955 and 1956. making their accomplishment all the more amazing. He played in the 1955 Cotton Bowl, and the Razorbacks were ranked in the top 10. 1955 (27-20), and 1956 (32-14).

Smith was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1976, and enshrined into the University of Arkansas' Hall of Honor in 1994. He was named to the Arkansas All-Decade Team of the 1950s, and the Arkansas All-Century Team in 1994. In 1999, Sports Illustrated named him as one of the "Fifty Greatest Sports Figures from Arkansas". He was traded to the Steelers in 1958 and played for Pittsburgh until 1960. In 1961, he was traded to the Baltimore Colts.

It was in Baltimore that he would make his mark on professional football. Nicknamed "The Rabbit" by his teammates, Smith retired from professional football at the end of the 1970 season after the Colts defeated the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V, ending his 13-year career.

Smith was small for a tackle, at only 230-235 pounds, but Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle Art Donovan, a Baltimore Colt teammate for two years, observed of Smith, "'He intimidated a lot of people .... He was not really that big to be a defensive tackle but he was so aggressive.'" He is considered one of the greatest Chargers players in the team's history. He became a sportscaster and sports talk radio host in San Diego after retiring as a player.

Smith was ROTC at Arkansas, and commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Air Defense Artillery in 1958, serving in the Air Reserve until 1965. Smith's son Kevin Bruce Smith attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and was a lieutenant colonel and battalion commander at the time of Smith's death in 2001.

Smith died from cancer on March 23, 2001.