Biography
This page uses content from the Bubba Smith biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.
Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith (born February 28, 1945) is an American actor and former athlete. He was a professional football player in the 1960s and 1970s who became an actor in the late 1970s. Born in Orange, Texas, he attended high school in Beaumont, Texas. He is well known for his tremendous size at 6 ft 7 in (2 m).
College athlete
Smith played college football at Michigan State University. He was awarded with All-America honors in 1965 and 1966. In his senior season, he played in the "Game of the Century" (a 10–10 tie at home against the University of Notre Dame). Michigan State finished 2nd in the voting for the National Championship, behind Notre Dame. In 1988, Smith was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. Smith was a popular athlete at Michigan State, earning the slogan "Kill Bubba Kill."
Michigan State retired his number 95 jersey on September 23, 2006, prior to the Spartans' home game against Notre Dame, amid repeated cheers of his old slogan from the student section. This game also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the "Game of the Century".
Professional football player
Smith spent nine seasons in the NFL as a defensive end. He was the first overall selection in the 1967 NFL draft, chosen by the Baltimore Colts. The Colts won Super Bowl V at the end of the 1970 season, earning Smith his only Super Bowl ring. However, in interviews, he has stated that he never wears the ring, as it was seen as a "sloppy" game by many. He was traded to the Oakland Raiders before the 1972 season, and finished his career with the Houston Oilers. He was selected All-Pro one year, All-Conference two years, and went to two Pro Bowls.
Professional actor
After leaving professional football, Smith began his acting career in small movie and television roles in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is perhaps best known for his role as Moses Hightower in the Police Academy movie series, a role he has reprised in all but one of the Police Academy sequels. He is the long time spokesman of Baltimore area law firm Cohen, Snyder, Eisenberg & Katzenberg. Smith starred in the short-lived television series Blue Thunder, partnering with fellow Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive star Dick Butkus.
Personal
His late brother Tody Smith played for the University of Southern California and for the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills.
External links
- Profile of the 1966 "Game of the Century"
- Details of the 1967 NFL draft
- Entry for Smith at the College Football Hall of Fame
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify the biographical information on this page under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
IGN RSS Feeds