Ed Smith

Edward Smith (June 17, 1913 – January 29, 1998) was an American football running back in the National Football League for the Boston Redskins and Green Bay Packers. He played college football at New York University and was drafted in the third round of the 1936 NFL Draft.

Ed Smith is important as the individual who posed for the Heisman Trophy with the now iconic straight arm. This was in the fall of 1935, just prior to the first ever presentation of the now celebrated award. The image is an excellent likeness of the young New York City football star in his football uniform.

Sculptor Frank Eliscu asked his former high school classmate, Ed Smith, to pose for a commissioned work involving a football player. They both attended George Washington High School in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood. Smith was a local football legend, having starred in high school and later by virtue of his outstanding football career at New York University. NYU played its home games at Yankee Stadium and football had a strong following. Smith did not realize that the sculpture, for which he posed, became the fabled Heisman Trophy until 1982. A documentary filmmaker tracked down Smith through his brother-in-law, Bob Pastor, a former heavyweight boxer who fought Joe Louis twice. The Downtown Athletic Club subsequently presented Smith with a Heisman Trophy of his own in 1985.

Ed Smith was what sportswriters used to refer to as a triple-threat; i.e., he ran, passed and often quick-kicked as the key element in New York University’s powerful single-wing offense during the 1933-35 seasons. He was powerfully built for his time, standing 6′2″ and weighing in at 210 pounds. He was big and strong and a magnificent runner in his era. Smith and the Violets suffered through a 3-4-1 season in 1934, due to Smith’s having a torn ligament in his left leg and a hemorrhage in his right leg. The 1935 NYU team on which Smith played was much celebrated. The NYU Violets were 7-0 going into the final game of the season. On Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1935, a crowd of 78,000 filled Yankee Stadium to watch Fordham (5-1-2) face off against New York University. Fordham, coached by James Crowley, who had been one of the legendary Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, had a formidable line known as The Seven Blocks of Granite. One of those lineman was a tough Italian kid from Brooklyn named Vince Lombardi. Smith and Lombardi, both born in 1913, were outstanding New York City high school football players who went on to play college for cross-town rivals. Fordham beat NYU that Thanksgiving Day 21-0. NYU avenged its loss the following year by upsetting an unbeaten Fordham by a score of 7-6 in the last game of the season, depriving Fordham of playing in the 1936 Rose Bowl.

The 1935 Thanksgiving game was the last of Ed Smith’s outstanding collegiate career. The first Heisman Trophy presentation was on December 5, 1935. The Boston Redskins drafted Ed in the NFL’s first ever draft in February 1936. He was selected in round three, the #20 pick overall. Smith graduated from NYU in the spring of 1936 and proceeded to a career in professional football. The pay was two hundred dollars a game for the twelve-week season.

Ed Smith played with the professional Boston Redskins in the 1936 season. The Redskins played in the 1936 NFC Championship game at New York's Polo Grounds on December 13, 1936. The Skins lost to the Green Bay Packers 21-6. Smith played with the Green Bay Packers under Coach Curly Lambeau in the 1937 season. His ligament injury returned while playing in Green Bay and Smith left professional sports. He later played and coached semi-pro football in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1941, hitting the gridiron after a long day at work. As player-coach, Smith again connected with Vince Lombardi, who played under Smith.

Ed Smith and his loving wife Hilda lived most of their life in Washington Heights. Ed worked for Otis Elevator and played a role in the amazing growth of New York City in the post-war era.

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