Ed Smith (quarterback)

Ed Smith (born January 13, 1956) is a former American football quarterback.

Ed Smith
Michigan State Spartans
PositionQuarterback
Personal information
Born: (1956-01-13) January 13, 1956 (age 68)
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight168 lb (76 kg)
Career history
College

Early years

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Smith grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and attended Central Catholic High School.[1][2]

Smith's older brother, Danny Smith, has been a football coach for more than 30 years, including stints with Georgia Tech (1987–1994), the Washington Redskins (2004–2012), and the Pittsburgh Steelers (2013 to present).[2]

Michigan State

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Smith played college football at Michigan State University as a quarterback from 1976 to 1978.[3] He was redshirted in 1975.[1] As a senior, he led the Big Ten with 2,226 passing yards, a 139.0 passing efficiency rating, and 2,247 yards of total offense.[4] He was also selected as the most valuable player on the 1978 Michigan State Spartans football team that as the co-champion of the Big Ten.[4][5] He was also selected by both the Associated Press and United Press International as the second-team quarterback (behind Rick Leach) on the 1978 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[6][7] He finished his career as Michigan State's and the Big Ten's all-time leader with 5,706 passing yards.[8][9]

In June 2015, the Lansing State Journal ranked Smith at No. 46 on it list of Michigan State's greatest football players.[8]

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

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In February 1979, Smith signed a two-year contract to play professional football for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.[9][10][11] In one of his early games for Hamilton, he threw five interceptions.[12] He appeared in a total of 16 games for the Tiger-Cats in 1979, completing 61 of 140 passes for 794 yards, four touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.[13] In May 1980, Smith announced his retirement from professional football.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b Roy Damer (November 14, 1978). "Spartans' Smith no passing fancy". Chicago Tribune. pp. 4–6.
  2. ^ a b "Do You Remember? Eddie Smith". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. September 20, 2013.
  3. ^ "Ed Smith College Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "1978 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  5. ^ Roy Damer (December 25, 1978). "Michigan's Leach wins Tribune Silver Football". Chicago Tribune. pp. 5–3.
  6. ^ "Leach leads All-Big Ten: Michigan, MSU dominate team". The Kokomo Tribune. December 7, 1978. p. 26.
  7. ^ "Co-champs dominate all-Big Ten selections". The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL). November 30, 1978. p. B3.
  8. ^ a b "MSU's top 50 football players: No. 46 Ed Smith". Lansing State Journal. June 23, 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Ticats sign highly-rated passer". Ottawa Journal. February 13, 1979. p. 16.
  10. ^ Lynn Henning (February 8, 1979). "Tiger-Cats woo Smith: Can CFL lure MSU star?". The Lansing State Journal. p. D6.
  11. ^ "Ed Smith signs with Tiger-Cats". The Lansing State Journal. February 12, 1979. p. D1.
  12. ^ "CFL job no picnic for Smith". The Lansing State Journal. August 11, 1979. p. B1.
  13. ^ "Ed Smith". cflpedia. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  14. ^ "Ticats passer retires". Ottawa Journal. May 27, 1980. p. 14.