Former NFL defensive end and longtime television and movie actor Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith was found dead in his Los Angeles home on Wednesday. Coroner's reports have not yet been released, but according to the Los Angeles Times, it is believed that Smith died of natural causes.
Smith attended Michigan State, where he was one of the most dominant collegiate defensive linemen of all time. He won All-America honors in 1965 and 1966, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988.
Selected first overall in the 1967 NFL draft by the Baltimore Colts, Smith soon became, along with Deacon Jones, one of the first truly modern-style pass-rushers and sack artists. He played long before sacks were first tabulated as an official NFL statistic in 1982, but he was known from the start of his professional career to be nearly impossible to block.
He played for three teams — the Colts, Oakland Raiders, and Houston Texans, appeared in two Pro Bowls and was named First-Team All-Pro in 1971. Smith played in two Super Bowls — Super Bowl III, which the Colts lost to the New York Jets in an enormous upset, and Super Bowl V, which Smith's team won with a last-second field goal. Smith retired after the 1976 season, having played in 111 regular-season games.
Smith was also a very successful pitchman for Miller Lite beer.
We always liked the easy-opening can, too. Godspeed, Mr. Smith.
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Shutdown Corner is an NFL blog edited by Matthew J. Darnell. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.
