Vernon Smith (football)

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"Catfish Smith" redirects here. High school football and basketball coach Milburn Smith was also nicknamed such.

Vernon Smith
Catfish Smith photo from the College Football Hall of Fame
College	Georgia
Conference	Southern
Sport	Football
Position	E
Jersey #	33
Nickname	Catfish
Career	1929 – 1931
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg)
Nationality	USA
Born	January 14, 1908(1908-01-14) Macon, Georgia
Died	September 29, 1988 (aged 80)
High school	Lanier High School Macon, Georgia
Honors
1931 College Football All-America Team All-Southern Conference (1929-1931)

Vernon “Catfish” Smith (January 14, 1908 – September 29, 1988) played football at the University of Georgia from 1929 to 1931 and was named an All-American in 1931. In 1929, he scored all 15 points for Georgia in an upset of Yale University – scoring one touchdown by falling on a blocked punt in the end zone and another by receiving a pass, kicking an extra point and tackling a Yale player for a safety. The game was the first-ever played at Sanford Stadium.

Smith's nickname of "Catfish" is attributed to his eating of one raw and whole as bet while a student at Lanier High School in Macon, Georgia.

After completing his Georgia career as a football player in 1931 (he graduated with a B.S. in 1933), Catfish Smith went into coaching from 1932 to 1941 and coached at Georgia, the University of South Carolina and the University of Mississippi. He then joined the United States Army Air Forces, retiring in 1963 with the rank of colonel.

Smith's sports honors include being inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1966 and in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979. His military honors included the Legion of Merit, Air Force Commendation Medal, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Air Force Reserve Medal and Air Force Longevity Medal. He was born in Macon and died in California.

[edit] See also

1931 College Football All-America Team

[edit] References

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame bio
College Football Hall of Fame bio
Charles E. Martin, I've Seen 'Em All: Half Century of Georgia Football, p.57, The McGregor Company, Athens, Georgia, 1961.

Persondata
NAME	Smith, Vernon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Smith, Vernon "Catfish", Smith, Catfish
SHORT DESCRIPTION	football player, baseball player, military serviceman
DATE OF BIRTH	January 14, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH	Macon, Georgia, Georgia (U.S. state), United States
DATE OF DEATH	September 29, 1988
PLACE OF DEATH	California, United States

v • d • e Georgia Bulldogs Head Baseball Coaches

Morris • Jennings • Dickinson • Reynolds • Dickinson • Stouch • Johnson • Lewis • Anderson • Bean • Henderson • Colby • Stegeman • White • Smith • Sikes • Whitworth • Sikes • Trippi • Whatley • Richardson • Whatley • Umstattd • Webber • Sapp • Polk • Perno