The start of the new week means that today we are only 48 days away from the start of the NFL regular season, and to celebrate, today's installment of Chicago Bears Countdown to Kickoff will focus on the life and career of the best player in franchise history to wear the number 48, defensive back and return specialist Ron Smith.
Ron Smith joins the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent
Long before becoming a Chicago Bear himself, Ron Smith grew up in the city and attended the nearby East Chicago Washington High School in Indiana. There, Smith was a three-sport athlete, participating in football, basketball, and track. During his senior season, Smith helped lead the school to an 8-1 regular season record. Following the year, Smith was named an All-State player.
Following his high school career, Smith elected to join the University of Wisconsin, where he would play the running back position. In his first year with the varsity squad, Smith was an extremely productive back to the tune of 335 yards and seven touchdowns on just 61 touches. Within the Big 10, Smith finished fifth in touchdowns and points scored as well as seventh in both rushing and receiving touchdowns.
Unfortunately, over his next two collegiate seasons, Smith struggled to maintain as a focal point of the offense. In his second season, the Chicago native finished with just 174 yards and one touchdown on 24 total touchdowns. In 1964, Smith had somewhat of a resurgence, logging 552 yards and one touchdown on 114 touches, and even finished the season as the Big 10's eighth-leading rusher. Following his final season at Wisconsin, Smith entered the ensuing 1965 NFL Draft.
While the 1965 NFL Draft would be a home run for the Bears, who ended up selecting both Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers in the first round, Smith had a much quieter day and waited until the final selection, where he remained undrafted. At the end of the draft, Smith elected to sign with the Chicago Bears as a free agent, bringing the Chicago native even closer to home than he was in Wisconsin.
Ron Smith boomerangs back to the Chicago Bears
In his first season, Smith, who was then wearing the number 84, struggled to find a spot on the offensive side of the ball and instead focused his efforts on making a name for himself as a special teamer whilst transitioning from running back to defensive back. After serving mainly as a backup throughout his first season, Smith left the Chicago Bears after just one year to join the Atlanta Falcons.
As a Falcon, Smith had two great seasons that catapulted to the top of the special-teamers list in the NFL. Over these two seasons, Smith led the league in punt return yardage twice, totaling nearly 2,000 yards total. In his first season with the team, Smith was even able to start as one of the team's boundary cornerbacks, where he recorded two interceptions on the year. In his second season with the Falcons, Smith eventually lost his role on defense throughout the season but remained an elite special teams player.
After a two-year stint in Atlanta, Smith joined the Los Angeles Rams, where he also remained for just two seasons. In his first season, Smith led the NFL in punt return yard average and started for the defense at the strong safety position, where he logged three interceptions for the year. In his second season, Smith was able to start nearly every game on defense, but still left the Rams at the end of the year in favor of a return to the Chicago Bears.
During his second stint with the Bears, where Smith wore the number 48, the Wisconsin product remained a solid returner, adding over 750 yards on punt and kick returns combined. Smith also logged playing time defensively in 14 of the team's games and even made four starts, where he recorded a sack and five fumble recoveries.
In his second year of this stint, Smith became a starter in the Bears' secondary at the safety position. Starting in every game for the team, the Chicago native played very well, matching a career-high three interceptions on the season while setting a new personal best in sacks with two for the year.
Ron Smith's retirement and place in Chicago Bears record books
Smith's ensuing 1972 season was perhaps the strongest of his career, as the special teams ace finally made his first Pro Bowl on the heels of leading the league in punt return average and kickoff return touchdown. During the year, Smith also logged an interception while starting every game at the safety position.
After his Pro Bowl season, Smith departed from the Bears once again, signing a one-year deal with the San Diego Chargers. There, Smith recorded a league-leading punt return average and punt return touchdown total while also leading the league in fumble recoveries with six. Despite a strong season, Smith left the Chargers after only one year in favor of the Oakland Raiders. After a season that included nearly 1,000 total return yards, Smith retired from the NFL in 1975 after a 10-year professional career that saw the majority spent with the Chicago Bears.
Within franchise history, Smith today sits with the eighth most kickoff return yards and tied for ninth in kickoff return touchdowns. Defensively, the Wisconsin product added four interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries as a Bear after making 32 starts at the strong safety position. Smith had a long road in front of him to make, let alone contribute to, an NFL roster as an undrafted player, but after switching positions and finding a niche on special teams, Smith developed into one of the premier special teams players of his era.
Unfortunately, today's installment of Chicago Bears Countdown to Kickoff comes out just a little after 10 years since Smith passed away. Battling complications from lung cancer, Smith passed after spending his final days in Denver, Colorado with his family.