View source for Bruce Smith (halfback)

{{Short description|American football player (1920–1967)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name        = Bruce Smith
| image       = Bruce Smith 1943 (cropped).jpg
| alt         =
| caption     = Smith in 1943
| number      = 42, 65
| position    = [[Halfback (American football)|Halfback]]
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1920|2|8|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Faribault, Minnesota]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1967|8|28|1920|2|8|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Alexandria, Minnesota]], U.S.
| height_ft   = 6
| height_in   = 0
| weight_lb   = 197
| high_school = Faribault
| college     = [[Minnesota Golden Gophers football|Minnesota]] (1939–1941)
| draftyear   = 1942
| draftround  = 13
| draftpick   = 119
| pastteams   = * [[Green Bay Packers]] ({{NFL Year|1945|1948}})
* [[Los Angeles Rams]] (1948)
| highlights  = * 2× [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|National champion]] ([[1940 college football season|1940]], [[1941 college football season|1941]])
* [[Heisman Trophy]] (1941)
* Consensus [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1941 College Football All-America Team|1941]])
* First-team [[List of All-Big Ten Conference football teams|All-Big Ten]] ([[1941 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1941]])
* Second-team All-Big Ten ([[1940 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1940]])
* [[Minnesota Golden Gophers football#Retired numbers|Minnesota Golden Gophers No. 54]] retired
| statlabel1  = Rushing yards
| statvalue1  = 560
| statlabel2  = Rushing average
| statvalue2  = 5.2
| statlabel3  = Rushing [[touchdown]]s
| statvalue3  = 1
| statlabel4  = [[Reception (gridiron football)|Receptions]]
| statvalue4  = 8
| statlabel5  = Receiving yards
| statvalue5  = 79
| statlabel6  = Receiving touchdowns
| statvalue6  = 1
| pfr         = S/SmitBr24
| CollegeHOF  = 1684 
}}

'''Bruce Phillip Smith''' (February 8, 1920 – August 28, 1967), nicknamed "'''Boo'''", was an American professional [[American football|football]] [[Halfback (American football)|halfback]]. He played [[college football]] for the [[Minnesota Golden Gophers football|Minnesota Golden Gophers]], where he won the [[Heisman Trophy]] in 1941.

== Biography ==
Smith was born in [[Faribault, Minnesota]], where he excelled in [[high school football]] under the coach [[Win Brockmeyer]] at Faribault High School. The football field at Faribault High is now named after Smith. He also played basketball.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Rippel |first=Joel |date=2019-12-10 |title=Bruce Smith: Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Class of 1986 |url=https://www.startribune.com/bruce-smith-minnesota-sports-hall-of-fame-inductee-class-of-1986/566004071 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250320105714/https://www.startribune.com/bruce-smith-minnesota-sports-hall-of-fame-inductee-class-of-1986/566004071 |archive-date=2025-03-20 |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=Star Tribune |language=en}}</ref>

Smith attended the [[University of Minnesota]]. His father, Lucius Smith, had played for the Golden Gophers in 1910, losing 6-0 in the championship to the University of Michigan. His son, Bruce Smith played for the back-to-back [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|national champion]] [[Minnesota Golden Gophers football|Gophers]] in 1940 and 1941.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Bruce Smith |url=https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/bruce-smith/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250713054920/https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/bruce-smith/ |archive-date=2025-07-13 |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=Heisman |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1940, Smith faced off against Michigan in the national championship, the same as his father, and was key in giving Minnesota a 7-6 advantage to win the game.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=BRUCE SMITH |url=https://gophersports.com/sports/2018/5/21/sports-m-footbl-spec-rel-heisman-html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250103093255/https://gophersports.com/sports/2018/5/21/sports-m-footbl-spec-rel-heisman-html |archive-date=2025-01-03 |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=University of Minnesota Athletics |language=en}}</ref>

He was coached by [[Bernie Bierman]] who said, "My feeling in regard to Bruce is this — as a player, he did more to bring football glory to Minnesota than any player ever has." Smith was a starter on both offense and defense, and was captain of the undefeated [[1941 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|1941 Minnesota team]].<ref name=":0" /> Smith earned first-team All-American and All-Big Ten Conference honors in 1941.<ref name=":2" />

Smith won the 1941 Heisman Trophy two days after the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].<ref name=":0" /> At the time, he was the first and only Minnesota player to receive the award.<ref name=":2" />

During [[World War II]], he served as a [[United States Navy]] [[fighter pilot]]. After the war, he played in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) with the [[Green Bay Packers]] (1945–1948) and the [[Los Angeles Rams]] (1948).<ref name=":1" />

The movie ''[[Smith of Minnesota]]''<ref>{{Citation |title=Smith of Minnesota |date=1942-10-15 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035346/ |access-date= |publisher=Columbia Pictures}}</ref> was released in 1942. The premiere occurred in his home town of Faribault, Minnesota, to the amazement of the locals due to this novelty. However, laughter was heard in the movie house when certain advanced technologies, for that time (direct-dial phones, streetlights, etc.) were seen as part of the scenery—courtesy of being filmed in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles]].

Following his Navy service, Smith returned to Faribault. He and his family moved to [[Alexandria, Minnesota]] in 1964. Smith was diagnosed with [[cancer]] in the spring of 1967, and he spent the next several months visiting young cancer patients with the Rev. William Cantwell. Smith lost over half his body weight before succumbing to the disease.<ref name=":2" />

== Posthumous honors ==
Rev. Cantwell, who was unfamiliar with Smith's sports achievements, nominated Smith for [[canonization|sainthood]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1978-04-14 |title=Football Player's Canonization Draws Support |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1978/04/14/football-players-canonization-draws-support/43b8351b-5485-4731-9784-48fe25d27653/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828155428/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1978/04/14/football-players-canonization-draws-support/43b8351b-5485-4731-9784-48fe25d27653/ |archive-date=2017-08-28 |access-date=2025-10-07 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ESPN - NCAA College Football - Heisman 75 |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/features/heisman?year=1941&set=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251008004213/https://www.espn.com/college-football/features/heisman?year=1941&set=2 |archive-date=2025-10-08 |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=www.espn.com}}</ref>

In 1972,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bruce "Boo" Smith (1972) - Hall of Fame |url=https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.aspx?hof=1684 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250904071658/https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.aspx?hof=1684 |archive-date=2025-09-04 |access-date= |website=National Football Foundation |language=en}}</ref> Smith was inducted into the [[College Football Hall of Fame]]. His number 54 was the first to be officially retired by the Minnesota Gophers in 1977.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bruce Smith |url=https://gophersports.com/news/2007/9/6/Bruce_Smith |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251008003727/https://gophersports.com/news/2007/9/6/Bruce_Smith |archive-date=2025-10-08 |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=University of Minnesota Athletics |language=en}}</ref> In 1986, Smith was inducted into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame.<ref name=":0" /> As of 2018, Faribault High School displayed a bust and memorabilia of Smith outside their gymnasium.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kerkman |first=Alex |date=2018-01-03 |title=New Bruce Smith display honors Minnesota's only Heisman winner |url=https://www.southernminn.com/faribault_daily_news/sports/new-bruce-smith-display-honors-minnesotas-only-heisman-winner/article_aab2f17d-8163-59cd-b5dd-c3f6985f6e2b.html |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=Faribault Daily News |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}'''General References'''

* Danny Spewak, ''From the Gridiron to the Battlefield: Minnesota's March to a College Football Title and into World War II'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021).
{{1940 Minnesota Golden Gophers football navbox}}
{{1941 Minnesota Golden Gophers football navbox}}
{{Heisman Winners}}
{{1941 College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{Green Bay Packers 1942 NFL draft picks}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bruce}}
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:1967 deaths]]
[[Category:American football halfbacks]]
[[Category:Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football players]]
[[Category:Green Bay Packers players]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Rams players]]
[[Category:Minnesota Golden Gophers football players]]
[[Category:Saint Mary's Pre-Flight Air Devils football players]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Heisman Trophy winners]]
[[Category:United States Navy pilots of World War II]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Alexandria, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Faribault, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Minnesota]]