Gaylon Smith

Gaylon Smith

Smith at Rhodes College in 1936
No. 10, 49, 74
Position:	Back, Defensive end
Personal information
Born:	(1916-07-15)July 15, 1916 Lonoke, Arkansas, US
Died:	March 10, 1958(1958-03-10) (aged 41) Cleveland, Ohio, US
Height:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:	202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:	Beebe (Beebe, Arkansas)
College:	Southwestern (TN)
NFL draft:	1939 / round: 2 / pick: 13
Career history
Cleveland Rams (1939–1942) Cleveland Browns (1946)
Career highlights and awards
AAFC champion (1946) First-team Little All-American (1938) Second-team All-Southern (1938) 2× All-Dixie (1937, 1938)
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards: 710 Rushing touchdowns: 9 Receptions: 15 Receiving yards: 256 Passing yards: 202 Passing touchdowns: 2 Interceptions: 4 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Gaylon Wesley Smith (July 15, 1916 – March 10, 1958) was a professional American football back and defensive end who played five seasons for the Cleveland Rams in the National Football League (NFL) and one season for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). Before entering professional football, Smith starred as a halfback at Rhodes College and led the country in scoring in 1938. He was selected by the Rams in the second round of the following season's NFL draft and played for the Cleveland team until deciding to retire from the sport in 1943.^[1] After taking a job as a personnel director and playing on a regional basketball and baseball teams based in the Cleveland area, Smith joined the U.S. Navy in 1944 during World War II. He was discharged two years later and signed with the Browns, then a new team in the AAFC. Smith was a second-string player with the Browns but substituted for an injured Marion Motley late in the season as the team won the AAFC championship game. Smith retired after the 1946 season but stayed in Ohio to raise his family and work as a manufacturer's representative. He died in 1958 at the age of 41.