 Smith on a 1952 Bowman football card | |||||||||||||
| No. 77, 47 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Halfback | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1923-10-30)October 30, 1923 Sweetwater, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died | February 14, 2000(2000-02-14) (aged 76) Lake Dallas, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 179 lb (81 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Sweetwater (TX) Ventura (CA) | ||||||||||||
| College | Abilene Christian | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1949: undrafted | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Verda T. "Vitamin" Smith Jr. (October 30, 1923 – February 14, 2000) was aNational Football League (NFL)running back for theLos Angeles Rams from 1949 through 1953.
Smith served in theUnited States Army and participated in theBattle of Normandy before enrolling atAbilene Christian University where he sprinted, threwjavelin and playedcollege football for theWildcats.[1] In the NFL, Smith was areturn specialist. In 1950, he set a record by returning three kicks for touchdowns in a single season. That record would stand until 1967.[2]
Verda T. Smith married Myra Pearce, daughter of Mr. and Mr.s Herman F. Pearce, in Ventura, California on August 15, 1946. He was a student at Abilene Christian College at the time.[3]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theNFL championship | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1949 | RAM | 12 | 4 | 40 | 117 | 2.9 | 26 | 2 | 5 | 63 | 12.6 | 24 | 1 |
| 1950 | RAM | 12 | 4 | 51 | 250 | 4.9 | 25 | 1 | 16 | 279 | 17.4 | 67 | 4 |
| 1951 | RAM | 12 | 9 | 52 | 143 | 2.8 | 31 | 1 | 16 | 278 | 17.4 | 67 | 1 |
| 1952 | RAM | 12 | 10 | 57 | 133 | 2.3 | 20 | 3 | 16 | 254 | 15.9 | 56 | 3 |
| 1953 | RAM | 11 | 3 | 8 | 26 | 3.3 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 151 | 25.2 | 54 | 3 |
| 59 | 30 | 208 | 669 | 3.2 | 31 | 7 | 59 | 1,025 | 17.4 | 67 | 12 | ||
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1949 | RAM | 1 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 1.8 | - | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | - | 0 |
| 1950 | RAM | 2 | 2 | 7 | 23 | 3.3 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 81 | 20.3 | 38 | 0 |
| 1951 | RAM | 1 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 1.7 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 |
| 1952 | RAM | 1 | 1 | 4 | -8 | -2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 4 | 26 | 41 | 1.6 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 110 | 15.7 | 38 | 0 | ||
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