Jerry Smith (tight end)

Jerry Smith
No. 87
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born:(1943-07-19)July 19, 1943
Eugene, Oregon, U.S.
Died:October 15, 1986(1986-10-15) (aged 43)
Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school:San Lorenzo (Ashland, California)
College:Arizona State
NFL draft:1965 / round: 9 / pick: 118
AFL draft:1965 / round: 18 / pick: 141
(by the Kansas City Chiefs)[1]
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:421
Receiving yards:5,496
Average:13.1
Touchdowns:60
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Gerald Thomas Smith (July 19, 1943 – October 15, 1986) was an American professional football player who was a tight end for the National Football League (NFL)'s Washington Redskins for 13 seasons, from 1965 through 1977.[2] By the time he retired, he held the NFL record for most career touchdowns by a tight end.[3] Smith publicly announced he had AIDS in August 1986, being the first professional athlete to do so. He died two months later. A 2014 documentary from the NFL Network's A Football Life series profiles his career, as well as his "double life as a closeted gay man and a star athlete."[3]

  1. ^ "1965 AFL Draft". Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  2. ^ "Jerry Smith loses struggle against AIDS". Free-Lance Star. (Fredericksburg, Virginia). Associated Press. October 16, 1986. p. 11.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference documentary was invoked but never defined (see the help page).