Jackie Larue Smith (born February 23, 1940) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Northwestern State Demons. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

Early life

Smith was born on February 23, 1940, in Columbia, Mississippi. He attended Kentwood High School, in Kentwood, Louisiana, where he started out playing the clarinet for the school's band. He decided to try out for the football team as a sophomore, but suffered a torn Achilles tendon that forced him to sit out the season. As a junior, he had osteomyelitis in his ankle, so he could only play in the second half of the last game of the season. In 1983, he was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

St. Louis Cardinals

Smith was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the tenth round (129th overall) of the 1963 NFL draft, based on the recommendation of Jack Rockwell, then a Cardinals trainer and a part-time scout, who saw him in a spring game during his senior season, where he showed enough speed to stand out.

Smith was so surprised that he even thought it must have been a mistake that he had been drafted, but once drafted was determined to make the team. Fran Polsfoot, the Cardinals ends' coach, saw Smith's potential as a tight end as the position's possibilities were developing in the NFL.

He started the remaining games that season, eight of 14 games in 1964, and then every game he played in for the Cardinals from 1965-74, not relinquishing his starter position for over a decade. He was the team starting punter from 1964 to 1966, until Chuck Latourette took over the role.

His best season came in 1967, when in 14 games he registered 56 receptions for 1,205 (third on the league), 21.5 yard-average per reception and nine touchdowns.

Smith played in five straight Pro Bowls and posted more than 40 receptions in seven seasons. In 1968, he was named second-team All-Pro by the NEA and UPI; and first-team All-Conference by The Sporting News. In 1969, the NEA named him second-team All-Pro among all NFL and American Football League tight ends. In 1970, the NEA named him second-team All-Conference. Smith proved his durability by playing in 121 straight games, until suffering torn ligaments in the ninth game of the 1971 season.

Smith had two great tight end close contemporaries, fellow Hall of Famers John Mackey (1963-72) and Mike Ditka (1961-72), who were voted first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press (AP) during the first half of Smith's career. The three have been identified as players who took tight ends from only being another blocker, to being excellent receivers as well as strong blockers; with Mackey and Smith introducing the element of breakaway speed as well.

Injuries that included a problem with the arch in one foot and a spinal condition (his arms would go numb after being tackled) affected him in his last two years. In August 1978, it was reported in the media that the Cardinals contacted Smith to return, but no contract was offered.

When he left the Cardinals, only Jim Bakken (who joined the team the year before Smith) played more games than Smith, who played in 198 games. He had a string of 45 straight games with at least one reception from 1967 to 1970. Despite his individual accomplishments, the franchise's success proved fleeting, as the Cardinals only made the playoffs twice in Smith's 15 seasons with them, and were eliminated both times in their first round, with Smith catching only one pass in each game.

Dallas Cowboys

In late September 1978, the Cowboys needed to add depth at tight end after Jay Saldi fractured his arm in the fourth game of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals. Head coach Tom Landry called Smith on Monday, September 25, looking to convince him to come back from retirement and sign with the defending Super Bowl champions on September 28.

He reported to the team on Thursday, September 28, and provided depth against the Washington Redskins three days later. Although he was the oldest player (38 years old) on the Dallas Cowboys roster, not many could keep up with his running ability, as he could reportedly still run the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds.

Smith eventually made his only trip to the Super Bowl, which would end up leaving a mark on his career. With the Cowboys 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 Staubach, so instead of tying the score, the team had to settle for a field goal. Although this wasn't the only critical play or turning point of the game and Staubach has also stated at different times that it was a poorly thrown pass, because it was such an iconic play, Smith was singled out in the media for the 35–31 loss. ESPN ranked Smith's dropped pass in the end zone No. 24 on their list of "100 Greatest Super Bowl Moments".

Smith retired again, even though the Cowboys still wanted him back for the 1979 season. At the time, Smith's 7,918 career receiving yards were the most ever by an NFL tight end, until he was surpassed by Ozzie Newsome's 7,980 yards in 1990. His 16.5 yards per catch average is currently the highest among all tight ends in the Hall of Fame.

Honors

On January 29, 1994, Smith was officially voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, as the third tight end to ever receive this honor (after Mackey and Ditka), and recognized as one of the key players that helped revolutionize the position. In 2001, he was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. In 2009, he was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.

NFL career statistics

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="2"| Legend

|-

| Bold

| Career high

|}

Regular season

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|-

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Team

! colspan="2"| Games

! colspan="5"| Receiving

! colspan="5"| Rushing

! colspan="1"| Fumbles

|-

! GP !! GS !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Fum

|-

! 1963 !! STL

| 14 || 9 || 28 || 445 || 15.9 || 55 || 2 || – || – || – || – || – || 2

|-

! 1964 !! STL

| 14 || 8 || 47 || 657 || 14.0 || 78 || 4 || – || – || – || – || – || 2

|-

! 1965 !! STL

| 14 || 14 || 41 || 648 || 15.8 || 70 || 2 || – || – || – || – || – || 0

|-

! 1966 !! STL

| 14 || 14 || 45 || 810 || 18.0 || 69 || 3 || 1 || 8 || 8.0 || 8 || 0 || 1

|-

! 1967 !! STL

| 14 || 14 || 56 || 1,205 || 21.5 || 76 || 9 || 9 || 86 || 9.6 || 18 || 0 || 3

|-

! 1968 !! STL

| 14 || 14 || 49 || 789 || 16.1 || 65 || 2 || 12 || 163 || 13.6 || 37 || 3 || 0

|-

! 1969 !! STL

| 14 || 14 || 43 || 561 || 13.0 || 34 || 1 || 4 || 0 || 0.0 || 9 || 0 || 1

|-

! 1970 !! STL

| 14 || 14 || 37 || 637 || 18.6 || 59 || 4 || 5 || 43 || 8.6 || 26 || 0 || 0

|-

! 1971 !! STL

| 9 || 9 || 21 || 379 || 18.0 || 61 || 4 || 1 || 10 || 10.0 || 10 || 0 || 0

|-

! 1972 !! STL

| 14 || 14 || 26 || 407 || 15.7 || 71 || 2 || 5 || 31 || 6.2 || 17 || 0 || 0

|-

! 1973 !! STL

| 14 || 14 || 41 || 600 || 14.6 || 42 || 1 || 1 || -14 || -14.0 || -14 || 0 || 1

|-

! 1974 !! STL

| 14 || 14 || 25 || 413 || 16.5 || 81 || 3 || – || – || – || – || – || 1

|-

! 1975 !! STL

| 9 || 7 || 13 || 246 || 18.9 || 45 || 2 || – || – || – || – || – || 0

|-

! 1976 !! STL

| 12 || 0 || 3 || 22 || 7.3 || 16 || 0 || – || – || – || – || – || 0

|-

! 1977 !! STL

| 14 || 1 || 5 || 49 || 9.8 || 13 || 1 || – || – || – || – || – || 1

|-

! 1978 !! DAL

| 12 || 2 || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || –

|-

! colspan="2" | Career

! 210 !! 162 !! 480 !! 7,918 !! 16.5 !! 81 !! 40 !! 38 !! 327 !! 8.6 !! 37 !! 3 !! 12

|}

Postseason

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|-

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Team

! colspan="2"| Games

! colspan="5"| Receiving

! colspan="5"| Rushing

! colspan="1"| Fumbles

|-

! GP !! GS !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Fum

|-

! 1974 !! STL

| 1 || 1 || 1 || 7 || 7.0 || 7 || 0 || – || – || – || – || – || 0

|-

! 1975 !! STL

| 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1.0 || 1 || 0 || – || – || – || – || – || 0

|-

! 1978 !! DAL

| 3 || 0 || 3 || 38 || 12.7 || 18 || 1 || 1 || -9 || -9.0 || -9 || 0 || 0

|-

! colspan="2" | Career

! 5 !! 2 !! 5 !! 46 !! 9.2 !! 18 !! 1 !! 1 !! -9 !! -9.0 !! -9 !! 0 !! 0

|}

Personal life

Smith has worked in the marketing of Hobie Cat boats, including pedal kayaks and the Mirage Pro Angler. He has performed the national anthem at different sporting events.

References

  • Jackie Smith at the Pro Football Hall of Fame
  • Super Bowl drop doesn't define Jackie Smith's Hall of Fame career