James Arthur Smith (born July 20, 1955) is an American former professional football player who was wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines from 1974 to 1976. He played in the NFL for six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1977 to 1982 before starring on the Birmingham Stallions of the rival United States Football League (USFL). After the USFL's demise, Smith played a final season for the Los Angeles Raiders in 1985.
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| Position: | Wide receiver, punt returner | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | July 20, 1955 Harvey, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Dwight D. Eisenhower (Blue Island, Illinois) | ||||||||
| College: | Michigan | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1977 / round: 3 / pick: 75 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Early life
editSmith grew up in Robbins, Illinois, and attended Dwight D. Eisenhower High School in Blue Island, Illinois, where he earned All-Conference and All-State honors. In his senior year, he led the Eisenhower Cardinals to the South Suburban Conference title.
University of Michigan
editSmith was a flanker and wingback for the University of Michigan from 1974 to 1976. In three years at Michigan, he caught 73 passes for 1,687 yards (23.1 yards per reception) and 14 touchdowns. He also returned 51 punts for 525 yards, an average of 10.3 yards per return. He also ran with the ball 56 times for 394 yards, an average of 7.0 yards per carry.[1] On November 8, 1975, in a victory over Purdue, Smith had a career-high 184 receiving yards on five catches, including an 83-yard touchdown that set a record as the longest pass completion in Michigan history.[2][3] He was selected as a consensus first-team wide receiver on the 1976 College Football All-America Team.[4]
Professional football
editSmith was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round (75th overall pick) of the 1977 NFL draft.[5] He played for the Steelers from 1977 to 1982,[6] backing up Hall of Famers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth and earning two Super Bowl rings in the process. Smith's best season with the Steelers was 1980 when he caught 37 passes for 711 yards and nine touchdowns. He had another strong year in 1981 with 29 passes for 571 yards and seven touchdowns. In 1982, Smith led the NFL with an average of 22.8 yards per reception.[6] In six years with the Steelers, Smith caught 113 passes for 2,103 yards and 25 touchdowns.[6]
In April 1983, Smith signed a three-year contract to play for the Birmingham Stallions in the newly formed USFL.[7] In order to persuade him to jump to the USFL, Smith was offered a sum greater than any NFL receiver was then making.[7] He led the Stallions in receiving each year from 1983 to 1985. In 1983, he caught 51 passes for 756 yards and three touchdowns. In 1984, he caught 89 passes and led the USFL with 1,481 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. In the USFL's final season, 1985, Smith had his best year as a professional, finishing third in the USFL with 87 catches for 1,322 yards. He also led the USFL's receivers with 20 touchdown receptions. He made both the 1985 USFL all-league team and The Sporting News's 1985 USFL All-Star Team.[8]
NFL career statistics
edit| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won the Super Bowl | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1977 | PIT | 14 | 0 | 4 | 80 | 20.0 | 26 | 0 |
| 1978 | PIT | 9 | 0 | 6 | 83 | 13.8 | 29 | 2 |
| 1979 | PIT | 15 | 4 | 17 | 243 | 14.3 | 25 | 2 |
| 1980 | PIT | 12 | 10 | 37 | 711 | 19.2 | 45 | 9 |
| 1981 | PIT | 15 | 3 | 29 | 571 | 19.7 | 46 | 7 |
| 1982 | PIT | 8 | 0 | 17 | 387 | 22.8 | 51 | 4 |
| 1985 | RAI | 6 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 9.3 | 14 | 1 |
| 79 | 17 | 113 | 2,103 | 18.6 | 51 | 25 | ||
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1977 | PIT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1978 | PIT | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | PIT | 3 | 0 | 4 | 41 | 10.3 | 14 | 0 |
| 1982 | PIT | 1 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 40.0 | 40 | 0 |
| 8 | 0 | 5 | 81 | 16.2 | 40 | 0 | ||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page". University of Michigan. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007.
- ^ "Michigan Blanks Purdue As Leach Goes To The Air". Toledo Blade. November 10, 1975.
- ^ "Michigan blazes to victory; Leach throws for 218 yards". The Michigan Daily. November 9, 1975.
- ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
- ^ "1977 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Jim Smith". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
- ^ a b "Steelers lose Jim Smith to USFL". Beaver County Times. April 6, 1983.
- ^ "USFL Awards - USFL (United States Football League)".
External links
edit- Career statistics from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference