Fred Smerlas

Sacks:	29.0
Interceptions:	2
Fumble recoveries:	10

Fred Smerlas
No. 76
Position:	Nose tackle
Personal information
Born:	April 8, 1957 (age 67); Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	295 lb (134 kg)
Career information
High school:	Waltham
College:	Boston College
NFL draft:	1979 / round: 2 / pick: 32
Career history
	Buffalo Bills (1979–1989); San Francisco 49ers (1990); New England Patriots (1991–1992);
Career highlights and awards
	5× All-Pro (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988); 5× Pro Bowl (1980–1983, 1988); PFWA All-Rookie Team (1979); Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame; Buffalo Bills 50th Anniversary Team; Buffalo Bills 25th Anniversary All Time Team; Second-team All-East (1977);
Career NFL statistics
Sacks:
Sacks:	29.0
Interceptions:	2
Fumble recoveries:	10
	Player stats at PFR

Frederic Charles Smerlas (born April 8, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was a nose tackle for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). A five-time Pro Bowl selection with the Buffalo Bills, he also played for the San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots.

Smerlas, of Greek-American descent, graduated from Waltham High School in 1975, where he was a star football player and wrestler.^{[citation needed]} He became a defensive lineman for Boston College before embarking on an NFL career.^[1] Smerlas' 1990 autobiography, By a Nose, recounts his 11 years with the Bills and their climb from cellar-dwellers to Super Bowl contenders.

Smerlas currently resides in Massachusetts and is a part-time co-host during football season on sports radio WEEI-FM, NBC Sports Boston - The New England Tailgate Show, as well as a contributor to western New York radio station WHAM (AM) in Rochester.

In 2018, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Smerlas to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018.^[2]

Two Time, Two sport All American in Wrestling and Football in High School; Two time New England heavyweight wrestling champ.

During Smerlas' playing career, he was the only player in the NFL who was of Greek descent.^[3]

^ "Fred Smerlas (1994) - Varsity Club Hall of Fame". Boston College Athletics. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
^ "PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018". Retrieved September 20, 2019.
^ Glionna, John M. "The Gore, Guts and Horror of an NFL Fumble Pile". SB Nation. Retrieved October 13, 2022. Now in his 60s, Smerlas was a five-time NFL Pro Bowl selection during a 14-year career as a nose tackle with the Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots. No pushover between the lines, he was then the only Greek player in the NFL, with a 6'3, 270-pound body filled out by dolmades, bougatsa and baklava.

[1] "Fred Smerlas (1994) - Varsity Club Hall of Fame". Boston College Athletics. Retrieved September 15, 2024.

[2] "PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018". Retrieved September 20, 2019.

[3] Glionna, John M. "The Gore, Guts and Horror of an NFL Fumble Pile". SB Nation. Retrieved October 13, 2022. Now in his 60s, Smerlas was a five-time NFL Pro Bowl selection during a 14-year career as a nose tackle with the Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots. No pushover between the lines, he was then the only Greek player in the NFL, with a 6'3, 270-pound body filled out by dolmades, bougatsa and baklava.

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