 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (July 2012) |
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| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | July 19, 1943 Eugene, Oregon, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Died: | October 15, 1986 (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 | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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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]
- ^ "1965 AFL Draft". Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
- ^ "Jerry Smith loses struggle against AIDS". Free-Lance Star. (Fredericksburg, Virginia). Associated Press. October 16, 1986. p. 11.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
documentarywas invoked but never defined (see the help page).