Billy Ray Smith Sr.

After graduating from Augusta High School, Bowden Wyatt's Arkansas Razorbacks offered Smith a football scholarship, and in 1953, he enrolled at the University of Arkansas. In January 1955, Smith and the Razorbacks won the Southwest Conference Football Championship at the Cotton Bowl. In 1956, Smith was named to the first All Southwest Conference Team.[2]

Smith was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1976, and enshrined into the University of Arkansas' Hall of Honor in 1994. He was named to the All-Decade Team of the 1950s, and the Arkansas All-Century Team. In 1999, Sports Illustrated named him as one of the "Fifty Greatest Sports Figures from Arkansas".[3]

Smith began his NFL career in 1957, as the third round draft pick for the Los Angeles Rams. He was traded to the Steelers in 1958 and played for Pittsburgh until 1960. In 1961, he was traded to the Baltimore Colts.

It was in Baltimore that he would make his mark on professional football. Nicknamed "The Rabbit" by his teammates, Smith became a mainstay and captain of a defensive line, which took the Colts to Super Bowl III and Super Bowl V during his career. His game motto was simple: "We always play for a shutout. Nothing fancy, nothing sensational. Just a shutout." Smith retired from professional football in 1971 after the Colts defeated the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V, ending his 13-year career.[2]

After retiring from the NFL, Smith became an investment banker. He was the father of 4 children. His son, Billy Ray Smith, Jr. was an NFL linebacker, playing ten years with the San Diego Chargers. He was also a two-time All-American with the University of Arkansas.

Smith died from cancer on March 23, 2001.