You never hear about some football greats after they retire, at least unless they become coaches. That’s not the case with Emmitt Smith, who set the all time NFL rushing record. The retired Dallas Cowboy running back set the record, with 18,355 yards, becoming the only player ever to rush for more than 18,000 yards. He also played on three winning Super Bowl teams with the Dallas Cowboys. He was the regular season and Super Bowl MVP in 1993. He played for the team from 1990-2002.
He showed he was more than just a football player this year. After retiring from the Arizona Cardinals, for whom he played from 2003-2004, he and professional dance partner, Cheryl Burke, in 2006 won the championship on the immensely popular television show, Dancing With the Stars, on the third season of the show.
Whether playing in the NFL, dancing on television, or playing football in college and high school Emmitt Smith has been a success at whatever he has done.
At Escambia High School in Pensacola, Florida, Emmitt Smith rushed for 8,804 yards and scored 106 touchdowns. His team won the state championship in his sophomore and junior seasons.
At the University of Florida, Smith set 58 school records, including the single game rushing record, in his very first start. He left after his junior season, after rushing for a career 3,928 yards and scoring 36 touchdowns. Emmitt Smith was a first team All American, the SEC Player of the Year, and finished seventh in the voting for the Heisman Trophy in 1989. That season he rushed for 1,599 yards and scored 16 touchdowns.
There is no doubt that Emmitt Smith was one of the most prolific running backs in NFL history. He was the first player in history to rush for more than 1,400 yards for five straight seasons. Jim Brown and the former Dallas Cowboy star are the only rushers ever to rush for ten or more touchdowns for seven straight seasons. Smith was the first player ever to rush for 1,000 yards for 11 consecutive seasons. He was also the first player to have 11 seasons with 1,000 yards. He made 4,409 rushing attempts, more than any player.
The former Dallas Cowboys star holds the record for running backs with 166 career touchdowns. His total touchdown record of 175 is second only to Jerry Rice’s 209. (Jerry Rice was on Dancing With the Stars himself, and he was the runnerup in the second season.) Smith’s total yards, counting rushing, receiving (3,224), and fumble returns, gave him a total of 21,564. Emmitt Smith is one of only four NFL players who have earned that many total yards.
As with all great players, Emmitt Smith may have saved his best for playoff games and the Super Bowl, as he holds many postseason records. He has records for rushing touchdowns (19), consecutive games with a rushing touchdown (9), and 100 yard rushing games (7). He set the record for total rushing yards in the postseason with 1,586. He and Thurman Thomas share the record for touchdowns with 21.
Emmitt Smith and only four other NFL players have ever rushed for more than 10,000 yards and caught more than 400 passes. He and Jerry Rice are the only non-kickers ever to score 1,000 career points.
The former Dallas Cowboy great showed his true competitive nature when he and professional dance partner, Cheryl Burke, won a ten week competition on the popular Dancing With the Stars television show, beating out actor and talk show host, Mario Lopez. Smith and Burke and Lopez and his professional dancing partner, Karina Smirnoff, performed three dances in the final of the competition. Both teams earned a total score of 89 out of a possible 90 from three professional dance judges. The difference in scoring was that Smith and Burke received more votes from fans at home.
The stars that performed in the competition put in 10 to 12 hours a day of practice for the show. They had to learn many dances they had never performed before.
Smith was praised by the judges on the show for being an example of an everyday man who learned to dance in 10 weeks. Some might say that he also showed that a big man can display grace.
Emmitt Smith has been involved in a variety of charities as well. He founded the Open Doors Foundation to support other organizations and faith-based programs that provide educational, financial, leadership, and empowerment to today’s youth. He was the United Way spokesman for the Cowboys in 1993 and 1994. He also founded Emmitt Smith charities to provide scholarships to youth in Pensacola, Florida. He as active in assisting victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Emmitt Smith is one athlete who has made a name for himself both in and out of football. Many believe he will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2010.
