Ralph Smith

Ralph Allon "Catfish" Smith Sr. (December 1, 1938 – August 23, 2023) was an American professional football player who was an end in the National Football League (NFL). He played eight seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles (1962–1964), the Cleveland Browns (1965–1968), and the Atlanta Falcons (1969). He was drafted out of Ole Miss by the Eagles in 1962 and also had a stint with the New Orleans Saints. Early life Smith was born on December 1, 1938, in Brookhaven, Mississippi, and grew up there. He first attended the University Military School in Mobile, Alabama in 1954, before transferring to Brookhaven High School in his hometown, where he would attend from 1955 to 1957. A teammate of Lance Alworth on the football team, he earned 15 letters across four sports (football, basketball, track, baseball). Smith had many accomplishments at Brookhaven. In football, he helped them win the conference championship in 1955 and 1957, earning all-conference, All-Southern and All-American honors in all three seasons while being invited to several all-star games as a senior. He also was three times named all-conference in basketball, helped them win the conference basketball championship in 1955, and helped the track team win the state championship in 1957. College career Smith began attending the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in 1958 and played on the freshman football team that year. He made the varsity team in 1959 and went on to play through 1961 as a two-way end. He contributed to their back-to-back national championships in 1959 and 1960 and overall the team went with him on the roster. Ole Miss made a bowl game every year Smith was on the roster and he earned All-SEC honors in his final two years, being a third-team selection in 1960 and a second-team choice in 1961. As a senior in 1961, he led the team in both receiving and tackles for loss while being named second-team All-American.