Larry Smith

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

Early life

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. 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. He finished his college football career with 528 carries for 2,186 yards and twenty-four rushing touchdowns, and 607 yards receiving. In a 2006 article series written for The Gainesville Sun, he was recognized as No. 29 among the top 100 Gator players from the first 100 years of Florida football.

Professional career

Smith was selected in the first round (eighth overall) of the 1969 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams, and played for the Rams from to and the Washington Redskins in . His rookie year with the Rams was his most productive season: 599 yards rushing and 300 yards receiving. He received few carries with the Redskins, however, accumulating only 149 yards in seven games, with no touchdowns. In his six NFL seasons, Smith gained 2,057 yards rushing on 528 carries for eleven touchdowns; he also had 149 receptions for 1,176 yards receiving and five touchdowns. In 1982, he graduated from the Stetson University College of Law with a J.D. degree, and is now a commercial real estate attorney with the Tampa law firm of Hill, Ward & Henderson.

Smith is married, and he and his wife have two daughters and a son.