Dick Smith was a star lineman on perhaps the greatest Rockford high school football team prior to the 1960s and the greatest college football dynasty of the 1930s.
Smith was an honorable mention All-Big Six tackle for the 1930 Rockford Rabs football team that went 8-1, scoring 276 points and giving up just 24. Several players from that squad became NCAA Division 1 impact players, including Bart Cummings and Jack Beynon (Illinois), Ewald Nyquist (University of Chicago) and Willard Earngey (Duke).
Smith didn't directly go to college after graduating in 1931. He eventually made his way to Minnesota to play under Bernie Bierman in 1932. He became a starter midway through his sophomore season and he never played on a losing team in college. The Golden Gophers werent 20-0-4 during Smith's three seasons on the varsity.
The 1934 and 1935 Golden Gophers teams are recognized in some circles as natonal champions.
In 1935, Smith was one of three Golden Gophers lineman, along with Ed Widseth and future Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson, to be named to several All-American teams. Smith was honored by the Associated Press, United Press International, Collier's, New York World Telegram and Look Magazine.
The Chicago Bears drafted Smith in the 7th round (60th pick overall) of the 1936 NFL Draft. That fall, Smith was a member of the collegiate all-star team that played against several NFL squads but Smith never signed with a pro football team.
By 1938, Smith was back in Rockford and had become an IHSA official. In the 1950s, he appeared in the Rockford Morning Star as a Rochelle resident where he was partner in a car dealership.
By the 1970s, Smith had moved to Arizona where he was a "businessman-rancher." He had four sons, the youngest of which, Brad, became a world champion steer wrestler. Smith died in 2000.
