August 3, 2011(2011-08-03) (aged 66) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Height:
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:
265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High school:
Charlton-Pollard (Beaumont, Texas)
College:
Michigan State (1964–1966)
NFL draft:
1967 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1
Career history
Baltimore Colts (1967–1972)
Oakland Raiders (1973–1974)
Houston Oilers (1975–1976)
Career highlights and awards
Super Bowl champion (V)
NFL champion (1968)
First-team All-Pro (1971)
Second-team All-Pro (1968)
2× Pro Bowl (1970, 1971)
UPI Lineman of the Year (1966)
Unanimous All-American (1966)
Consensus All-American (1965)
2× First-team All-Big Ten (1965, 1966)
Michigan State Spartans No. 95 retired
Career NFL statistics
Fumble recoveries:
4
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR
College Football Hall of Fame
Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith (February 28, 1945 – August 3, 2011) was an American professional football defensive end and actor. Smith played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts, Oakland Raiders, and Houston Oilers.
Smith played college football for Michigan State University, where he twice earned All-American honors on the Spartans football team. Smith had a major role in a 10–10 tie against Notre Dame in 1966 that was billed as "The Game of the Century". He is one of only six players to have his jersey number retired by the program. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988.[1]
The first overall pick of the 1967 NFL/AFL draft, Smith played nine years in the NFL for the Colts, Raiders, and Oilers from 1967 to 1976. He was the Colts' starting left defensive end for five seasons, playing in Super Bowls III and V. He was named to two Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro in 1971.[2] He had tremendous quickness despite being 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) and 265 pounds (120 kg),[3] a combination which usually earned him a double-team.[2]
During his acting career, Smith specialized in comedic roles in film, television, and television advertising. For about a decade following his retirement from football, he appeared in various commercials for Miller Lite, alongside Chicago Bears linebacker Dick Butkus. His best-known role was as Moses Hightower in the first six Police Academy movies.[4]
Smith was posthumously diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurological condition generally related to head trauma. He is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease.[5]
^"Former Two-Time All-American Bubba Smith Passes Away At Age 66". msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
^ abDabe, By Christopher (August 4, 2011). "Local football legend Bubba Smith dies at 66". Beaumont Enterprise. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
^"Bubba Smith". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
^"Bubba Smith obituary: NFL player turned beer pitchman dies at 66". Los Angeles Times. August 4, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
^"Researchers Find CTE in 345 of 376 Former NFL Players Studied". Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith (February 28, 1945 – August 3, 2011) was an American professional football defensive end and actor. Smith played in the National...
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Full Clip is a 2004 action film starring Busta Rhymes, Xzibit, BubbaSmith, Tiny Lister and Mark Boone Junior. It is directed by mink and written by Kantz...
49ers. Cowlings's first film role was in the 1985 film Bubba Until It Hurts, starring BubbaSmith. He had a recurring minor role as Coach Nabors in the...
Nobis 1 1967 March 14–15, 1967 17 445 Gotham Hotel New York City, NY BubbaSmith 8 1968 January 30–31, 1968 17 462 Belmont Plaza Hotel New York City,...
Colts lineman BubbaSmith alleged that the game had been rigged to allow the Jets to win so the NFL/AFL merger would proceed smoothly. Smith (who died in...
Windom and his team there. In L.A., Quint meets with FBI agent Johnson (BubbaSmith) and demands double pay and a clean passport so he can retire since he...
feature both elite ex-athletes such as Ray Nitschke, Ben Davidson, and BubbaSmith but also oddball cultural figures such as Mickey Spillane (accompanied...
Fred L. "Bubba" Copeland (May 27, 1974 – November 3, 2023) was an American politician and pastor who served as mayor of Smiths Station, Alabama, from...
Bubba the Love Sponge Clem (born Todd Alan Clem, April 23, 1966) is an American radio personality who hosts The Bubba the Love Sponge Show on the radio...
William Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. (born October 8, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup...
the role of Debby in the film The Wild Pair, starring Beau Bridges and BubbaSmith. In 1989, Rochon acted opposite Eddie Murphy in 1989's Harlem Nights...
and jewelry. He is usually accompanied by bodyguards (one portrayed by BubbaSmith, the other by series painter Ernie Barnes) and comes across as cool and...
in Michigan State's history, including Herb Adderley, Brad Van Pelt, BubbaSmith, George Webster, Joe DeLamielleure, and Billy Joe DuPree who is recognized...
2012, Smith was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, along with BubbaSmith, Dave Parks, Andre Ware, Mack Brown and Fred Couples. "Soft-spoken guy...
Warren Anderson Mathis (born March 6, 1977), better known by his stage name Bubba Sparxxx, is an American rapper. His 2001 single, "Ugly" (featuring Timbaland)...
George Gaynes Tedd Dillon George Gaynes Moses Hightower BubbaSmith Greg Morton BubbaSmith Henry J. Hurst George R. Robertson George R. Robertson Laverne...
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