nyfan Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I will probably end up with a tear in my eye at the end. Home Run Jerry Smith and Pat Fischer were my 2 favorite skins growing up. ( Yes I am that old ). I saw a photo of Smith in the locker room after a Redskin victory one time and I could not believe the size of the veins on his arms. First in a long line of great Redskins tight ends. Donnie Warren, Clint Didier, Doc Walker, Chris Cooley. Hopefully I can add Reed and Paulson down the road to this lsit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoSkins0721 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I really want to see this. Probably my first Redskins autograph as a kid. Remember it fondly, still displayed in my man cave. Me too. Got Jim "Yazoo" Smith's autograph at the same time at Jim Coleman Cadillac. Jerry Smith was a great, great football player. His NFL record of 60 TD catches by a TE was finally broken by Shannon Sharpe. Think about that: The NFL rules to promote more passing/scoring finally caught up to Smith's record in 2003, 16 years after Smith retired. He & Sonny were like magic together. Great memories of 1960 - 70's Skins games for me. Edit: Thanks to another ES member, I need to apologize for being an old fart and misrepresenting the above accomplishment. Smith's record was broken 26 years after he retired. Really more impressive than the 16 years I originally posted. I was thinking #87 (his number), looking at 1977 (the year he retired), and trying to do basic math in my head (subtracting from 2003). My brain is starting to fail me. Thanks, SB17 for setting me straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Oh cool! This will be an excellent story. Glad to see they're digging a bit for good material rather than just go with whoever's hot at the moment. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjfootballer Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Oh cool! This will be an excellent story. Glad to see they're digging a bit for good material rather than just go with whoever's hot at the moment. ~Bang I prefer the Football Life strories about the players that retired in the 1990s and not the current ones. I mean, they're all pretty good, but Tomlinson just retired a few years ago. I like the ones on Walter Payton, Riggins, Landry more. This one is going to be great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Me too. Got Jim "Yazoo" Smith's autograph at the same time at Jim Coleman Cadillac. Jerry Smith was a great, great football player. His NFL record of 60 TD catches by a TE was finally broken by Shannon Sharpe. Think about that: The NFL rules to promote more passing/scoring finally caught up to Smith's record in 2003, 16 years after Smith retired. He & Sonny were like magic together. Great memories of 1960 - 70's Skins games for me. And don't forget they only played 14 games then... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostofAlvinWalton Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 He was recruited as a RB but switched to WR sometime in college. As Bobby Mitchell indicates, only a handful have ever successfully made the switch at the NFL level (unless you go back to about 1948). He was a RB his first 3 years at 'cuse. Switched to WR his senoir year and was a first round pick (as we all know). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFromYellowstone Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 This man should absolutely be in the hall of fame. It's seriously a shame and a tragedy he has been overlooked probably because of his homosexuality. His number were better than Charlie Sanders, John Mackey, Dave Casper, and even Mike Ditka! I mean if this guy played for the Steelers or Cowboys he would have been in 30 years ago. The ONLY reason I could see that he has been overlooked is the fact that the NFL didn't want to deal with the gay or AIDS aspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkB452 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 BTW, there is a back story episode as well that comes on at midnight (2 hrs after the episode airs)....I noticed this when I was programming my DVR to record it..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubble Screen Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Can't wait for this. Going to set the DVR now. Love these shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbws Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 TiVo set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonYoungEra Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Good episode. I was not familiar with him prior. Glad I am now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebluefood Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Not gonna lie, I nearly lost it when Jerry's brother started crying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins4Life6388 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Any idea when they're going to replay it? I forgot to set my DVR like a dummy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRobi21 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 How is Jerry Smith not in the HOF? 60 TDs while playing 12-14 games a season with the "Three yards and a cloud of dust" offense? Insane. Dwarfed the numbers of HOF TEs of his era. The highlights they showed of him were amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWJ Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Not gonna lie, I nearly lost it when Jerry's brother started crying. I shed some tears. Nothing but good things said about Jerry Smith. I remember my dad talking about how great he was. I only remember Smith during the end of his career just before and after Jean Fuggett was brought in to replace him. As they said, George Allen won by defense and basically Smith was relegated to blocking first and foremost as a TE. Even as small as he was as a TE he still block extremely well. Yes, Jerry Smith should HANDS DOWN be in the Hall of Fame already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.C.O.L.B. Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Made me proud to be a Redskins fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BnG4ever326 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 One of my favorite Jerry Smith highlights was the time he caught a TD pass from Sonny sliding on his knees. Looked like he slid about 3 yards across the end zone. TRULY a great player for the B&G and perhaps one day the HOF voters in the Senior Committee will take a SERIOUS look at his career and confer on him and his family the ultimate honor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I know how to read. I was trying to find out what he was implying by saying he's surprised Smith was gay because his team mates respected him. Because 40-50 years ago being gay in the NFL was probably career suicide. We can't look at everything through 2014 standards and apply it to public opinion or a 1960s/70s NFL locker room. I don't think that comment is worth making an issue of. I too was very surprised to hear the ex-teammates all mention that they suspected he might be gay but didn't care much about it. That's either pretty progressive for that point in time or speaks very highly of how much they loved the individual. No offense to the men who played for my favorite team back then, but I'm guessing the latter. That episode, to me, spoke volumes about how much people adored Smith. I'm not sure any homosexual player in that era would have been as loved as he was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I too was very surprised to hear the ex-teammates all mention that they suspected he might be gay but didn't care much about it. That's either pretty progressive for that point in time or speaks very highly of how much they loved the individual. No offense to the men who played for my favorite team back then, but I'm guessing the latter. An interesting part of the program was Vince Lombardi's role in creating a culture of acceptance. He established a zero tolerance policy toward racism in his years with the Green Bay Packers, and that carried over to homosexuality in his tragically short time with the Redskins. He told Smith in confidence that his homosexuality would never be an issue as long as he coached the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.C.O.L.B. Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 An interesting part of the program was Vince Lombardi's role in creating a culture of acceptance. He established a zero tolerance policy toward racism in his years with the Green Bay Packers, and that carried over to homosexuality in his tragically short time with the Redskins. He told Smith in confidence that his homosexuality would never be an issue as long as he coached the team.yeah didn't know Vince's brother was gay. I swear, my respect for that man just continues to raise. I didn't think it was possible after the two-hour "A Football Life" on him that recently aired. After that, holy ****, why the SB trophy is named after him made complete sense. If there was a saint of football, it would definitely be him. Already thought that. And then my respect for him managed to go even higher somehow last night. Considering how religious he was, just speaks to his greatness as a man (not just a coach). What a ****ing shame his time here was so short. What could've been. On a side note, I think it's so freaking cool his grandson just got hired to be the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions. They were already one of my two (Bengals the other--picked two franchise I thought were a bigger mess than the Skins so I wouldn't feel so shifty. So much for that :doh:) hobby teams (teams I follow, as a hobby, but don't root for (only a Skins fan babyy)) so I really, really look forward to following his career. Would love to see him be successful and be a headcoach one day. That would just be so cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 yeah didn't know Vince's brother was gay. I swear, my respect for that man just continues to raise. I didn't think it was possible after the two-hour "A Football Life" on him that recently aired. After that, holy ****, why the SB trophy is named after him made complete sense. If there was a saint of football, it would definitely be him. Already thought that. And then my respect for him managed to go even higher somehow last night. Considering how religious he was, just speaks to his greatness as a man (not just a coach). What a ****ing shame his time here was so short. What could've been. If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading David Marannis' "When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi." http://www.amazon.com/When-Pride-Still-Mattered-Lombardi/dp/0684870185 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.C.O.L.B. Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading David Marannis' "When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi." http://www.amazon.com/When-Pride-Still-Mattered-Lombardi/dp/0684870185 Definitely will do. Thank you so much for the recommendation. Not to hijack the thread, but I assume your appreciation for him is like mine? What a great coach, what a great man. I mean I honestly have no problems with Belichick but I'm sorry, he'll never be on the level of Lombardi. He's the GOAT beyond just his success on the field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I'll put it this way... Marannis' book deconstructs the myth, in that he explores Lombardi as a man and not a legend, but I still came came away with a deep respect for him. Think, too about all the people that played for him, coached with him, and otherwise knew him, and the universal respect that you hear from them. That's another pretty accurate measure of the man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Another side note on the program... Charley Taylor, another of my all-time favorites, was one of Smith's teammates interviewed on the show. He's 72 years old. He didn't look well. He seemed so frail I felt concerned about his health. I hope everything's okay with old No. 42... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjfootballer Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Great show last night. Didn't have time to watch the after show. I recorded it and will watch it when I get home. I had NO IDEA that Lombardi's brother Harold was gay. He was featured in the 2 part Vince series. I like that Jerry's family are still Redskin fans. Good stuff as always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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