TTM Stats
- Sent: 1/4/2018 | Received: 1/11/18 | 7 Days
- ’90 Fleer, ’91 Pacific, ’91 Pro Line, ’91 Skybox
- Address: Home
The Story of the Autograph
Billy Ray Smith, Jr. played his entire professional football career in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers. He was a linebacker who went to Arkansas and was drafted in the first round with the fifth pick in the 1983 NFL Draft.
Smith was born in Arkansas and grew up in Texas where he helped his school win the Texas Class 4A state championship. He then moved on to the University of Arkansas where he was a two-time All-American selection in 1981 and 1982. He was a team captain in his senior year and helped the Razorbacks to a 9-2-1 record. His college career ended with 299 total tackles and he set a record for career tackles for los with 63. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000
The Chargers drafted him with the fifth pick in 1983. He was a force for the San Diego defense for a long time and it didn’t take long for that to happen. In 1985 and 1986 he was the teams defensive player of the year. In 1987 he was the Chargers team MVP. He was never a Pro Bowler or a first-team All-Pro but was a second-team All-Pro in 1989. His best statistical year might have been 1986 when he posted 11 sacks. That was by far the most he had in a season with his next highest total being three. In 1987 he made 5 interceptions, a career high.
Billy Ray is a second generation defender as his father Billy Ray Smith, Sr. also played for Arkansas and spent 13 years in the pros.
These days Billy Ray works in radio and television in the San Diego area.
The Score on Billy Ray Smith – 5.5
Billy Ray has a pretty scribbly autograph, but you can kind of make out what he is signing. What I really like about his signature is that it’s big and he really fills up the space. The two knocks on the cards here are that they are a bit two busy for this type of signature and that one of the cards shows the marker was dying just a bit. The Skybox card kind of runs out on his last name. I’ll need to try to find a better card for him because I like the way this could come out on the right item.
Thanks Mr. Smith! I’m giving all these a 5.5.
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Information gathered from Wikipedia and Pro-Football Reference