Lyle Smith
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Steptoe, Washington | March 17, 1916
Died | July 26, 2017 Boise, Idaho | (aged 101)
Playing career | |
Football | |
1936–1938 | Idaho[1] |
Basketball | |
1936–1939 | Idaho |
Position(s) | Center (football) Guard (basketball) |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
Football | |
1946 | Boise JC (assistant) |
1947–1950 | Boise JC |
1952–1967 | Boise JC |
Basketball | |
1946–1947 | Boise JC |
Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
1968–1981 | Boise State |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 156–26–6 (football) 24–9 (basketball) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
Football 1 NJCAA National (1958) 13 Intermountain Collegiate (1947–1950, 1952–1954, 1956–1958, 1961, 1965–1966) | |
Lyle Smith | |
---|---|
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1942–1945, 1950–1952 |
Rank | Lieutenant [2] |
Unit | Training |
Battles/wars | World War II, Korean War |
Lyle Hilton Smith (March 17, 1916 – July 26, 2017)[3] was an American football and basketball player, coach, and college athletics administrator.[4]
He served as the head football coach at Boise Junior College—now Boise State University—from 1947 to 1967 (except for military duty),[2][5] compiling a record of 156–26–6 (.846). Smith was also the head basketball coach at BJC for one season in 1946–47, tallying a mark of 24–9, and the school athletic director from 1968 to 1981. Boise was a junior college program during Smith's coaching career; it moved up to four-year status in the NAIA in 1968, NCAA Division II in 1970, Division I-AA in 1978, and Division I-A in 1996.
Early life and playing career
Born in Steptoe, Washington, to Burrell F. and Addie (Humphrey) Smith,[4][6] Smith's father and older brothers were ranchers.[7][8] Raised on the Palouse in Steptoe and Moscow, Idaho, Smith graduated from Moscow High School in 1934, after leading the Bears to consecutive state titles in basketball.[9][10] He initially attended the University of Idaho's Southern Branch in Pocatello[11]—now Idaho State University— for a year and then returned to his hometown to attend the University of Idaho, where he was a two-sport athlete for the Vandals, a center on the football team under head coach Ted Bank,[12] and a guard on the basketball team, coached by Forrest Twogood.[13][14] His teammates at Idaho included future coaches Steve Belko[14][15][16] and Tony Knap.[17][18]
During Smith's senior football season of 1938, the team went 6–3–1,[1] the Vandals' best record in over a decade; Idaho's last winning season in football for a quarter century[19] and the best until 1971. Idaho was 2–2–1 in Northern Division play in the Pacific Coast Conference and undefeated in the four non-conference games, including a 16–0 shutout in the season finale in Salt Lake City over undefeated Utah, winner of its conference.[20][21] The Vandals broke to an early 3–0–1 start and there was early talk of the Rose Bowl in the national press.[22] Smith received a bachelor's degree in education in 1939 and embarked on a teaching career.[23]
Military service and coaching career
Smith taught and coached for a year at Firth High School in southeastern Idaho,[24][25] then married fellow 1939 UI graduate Maria Raphael[26] of Weiser in 1940 and returned to Moscow to work in private employment in auto sales.[24] He became head coach at Moscow High School in the spring of 1941,[27] when Babe Brown crossed town to coach the Vandal freshmen.[28] Smith entered the U.S. Navy in June 1942 during World War II.[29]
Smith served primarily as a physical training instructor, and returned to Moscow and completed his master's degree in education in 1946.[4] He was to return to the high school as head coach, but resigned in August[30] to accept an offer to be an assistant football coach at Boise Junior College, and became its head coach the following year. Riding a 31-game winning streak in 1950, the team moved into a new 10,000-seat stadium. With the outbreak of the Korean War, Smith missed all but the first three games of the 1950 season[5] and the entire 1951 season due to military duty.[2] He returned in 1952 and was a leading candidate for the vacant job at his alma mater Idaho in 1954, but withdrew his name from consideration, content at Boise.[31][32] Boise won thirteen conference titles in football under Smith and the NJCAA National Football Championship in 1958.[4]
Administrative career and honors
Smith stepped down as head coach and became the school's first full-time athletic director in November 1967; the Broncos began competition as a four-year school in 1968.[33] He hired former Vandal teammate Tony Knap as head coach in December,[34] and Knap's successor Jim Criner in 1976.[35] Smith continued as head baseball coach through the 1973 season, then was succeeded by Ross Vaughn, a Ph.D. candidate in biomechanics and assistant coach at Washington State.[36][37][38]
Smith retired at age 65 in July 1981, succeeded by Mike Mullally of Cal State-Fullerton.[39][40] After just months on the job, Mullally resigned under pressure after a backlash at his new priority seating policy.[41][42] He was replaced in March 1982 by assistant Gene Bleymaier,[42] who stayed for nearly three decades. Smith was a key advisor during Bleymaier's first years as director.[43][44]
At the final regular season home game before his retirement as athletic director, the playing field at Bronco Stadium was dedicated in Smith's honor on November 8, 1980.[45][46] Boise State won the game over Nevada to secure the conference title and one of the four Division I-AA playoff berths in December. BSU won the opening-round semifinal over Grambling in Boise on "Lyle Smith Field" and the national title in Sacramento over defending champion Eastern Kentucky.[47] Smith turned 100 in March 2016,[48] and died in July 2017 at age 101.[49]
Head coaching record
Football
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boise Junior College Broncos (Intermtn CAC) (1947–1950) | |||||||||
1947 | Boise JC | 9–0 | 1st | ||||||
1948 | Boise JC | 9–0 | 1st | ||||||
1949 | Boise JC | 10–0 | 1st | ||||||
1950 | Boise JC | 9–1 | 1st | ||||||
Boise Junior College Broncos (Intermtn CAC) (1952–1967) | |||||||||
1952 | Boise JC | 8–1 | 1st | ||||||
1953 | Boise JC | 8–1 | 1st | ||||||
1954 | Boise JC | 9–1–1 | 1st | ||||||
1955 | Boise JC | 7–2 | |||||||
1956 | Boise JC | 8–0–1 | 1st | ||||||
1957 | Boise JC | 9–1 | 1st | ||||||
1958 | Boise JC | 10–0 | 1st | ||||||
1959 | Boise JC | 7–2–1 | |||||||
1960 | Boise JC | 8–2 | |||||||
1961 | Boise JC | 9–1 | 1st | ||||||
1962 | Boise JC | 5–2–2 | |||||||
1963 | Boise JC | 5–3–1 | |||||||
1964 | Boise JC | 8–2 | |||||||
1965 | Boise JC | 9–2 | 1st | ||||||
1966 | Boise JC | 9–1 | 1st | ||||||
1967 | Boise JC | 6–4 | |||||||
Boise JC: | 156–26–6 | ||||||||
Total: | 156–26–6 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth |
References
- ^ a b "Football". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1939. p. 300.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ a b c "Boise coach returns to head grid post". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. August 8, 1952. p. 11.
- ^ http://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/college/mountain-west/boise-state-university/boise-state-football/article165329967.html
- ^ a b c d "Lyle H. Smith collection". Special Collections. Boise State University. Archived from the original on June 10, 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b Ourada, Patricia K. (1994). "The Broncos: A History of Boise State University, 1932-1994". p. 97. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
- ^ "Burrell Smith dead at 78". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. (obituary). April 26, 1958. p. 6.
- ^ Hedberg, Kathy (July 3, 1994). "Brothers, ranchers". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1C.
- ^ "Justin Smith, 87, longtime Idaho County rancher". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. (obituary). December 4, 1996. p. 6A.
- ^ "Nampa favored to win 2d title". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. March 10, 1951. p. 8.
- ^ idhsaa.org Archived 2012-10-01 at the Wayback Machine – Basketball – Idaho high school state champions – through 2011
- ^ "Branch eleven to engage Colorado". American Falls Press. Idaho. November 11, 1934. p. 8.
- ^ "Football: Lyle Smith". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1939. p. 309.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Two Vandal cagers fitted for glasses". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. December 31, 1938. p. 12.
- ^ a b "Basketball". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1939. p. 315.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Belko and Smith lead Vandal five". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. March 23, 1938. p. 11.
- ^ "Football: 1937 player photos". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1938. p. 179.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Idaho Vandals work for game". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. November 4, 1936. p. 15.
- ^ "Football: 1938 team photo". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1939. p. 300.
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: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Johnson, Bob (February 1, 1965). "Dee Andros named Oregon State grid coach". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 15.
- ^ "Idaho machine rolls over Utah". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. November 25, 1938. p. 11.
- ^ "Idaho results: (1935-1939)". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
- ^ "Idaho in Rose Bowl? It surely can happen". Milwaukee Journal. UPI. October 21, 1938. p. 9.
- ^ "Seniors". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1939. p. 78.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ a b "Idaho man conducts at Hollywood Bowl". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. July 9, 1940. p. 3.
- ^ "Merle Stoddard will be coach". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. August 29, 1940. p. 14.
- ^ "Seniors". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1939. p. 77.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Moscow High School gets bear cub for mascot". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. August 31, 1941. p. 2B.
- ^ "Babe Brown to coach freshman at university". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. March 25, 1941. p. 8.
- ^ "Lyle Smith receives notification from navy". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. June 12, 1942. p. 15.
- ^ "Lyle Smith resigns as Moscow coach". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. August 14, 1946. p. 8.
- ^ "Idaho plans thorough search for grid coach; Curfman out". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. December 22, 1953. p. 12.
- ^ "Boise football coach out of Idaho picture". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. February 6, 1954. p. 8.
- ^ "Smith appointed athletic director". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. November 8, 1967. p. 16.
- ^ "Lions lose assistant coach". Leader-Post. Regina, Saskatchewan. Canadian Press. December 15, 1967. p. 31.
- ^ "Boise St. hires UCLA grid assistant". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. February 14, 1976. p. 4B.
- ^ Prentice, George (April 24, 2013). "Ross Vaughn: Boise State's boy of summer heads for home". Boise Weekly. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- ^ Squires, Sherry (May 22, 2014). "New scholarship to honor Ross Vaughn". Boise State University. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- ^ "Ross E. Vaughn" (PDF). Boise State University. (faculty). Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- ^ "Mullally new A.D.?". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. May 12, 1981. p. 27.
- ^ "Boise names director". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. May 13, 1981. p. C3.
- ^ "Boise's A.D. quits over ticket furor". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. March 2, 1982. p. 19.
- ^ a b "Boise sacks AD over ticket flap". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. UPI. March 2, 1982. p. D3.
- ^ "Boise AD out". Spokane Chronicle. Washington. March 2, 1982. p. 14.
- ^ Cripe, Chadd (September 8, 2011). "Quiet exit: Gene Bleymaier closes career as Boise State athletic director". Retrieved August 29, 2012.
- ^ Boise State Broncos game day program – 1980-11-08 – Dedication of Lyle Smith Field – p. 8
- ^ "If Reno beats Boise State, there will be a mad scramble for Big Sky title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. November 7, 1980. p. 3B.
- ^ "Boise State results: (1980-1984)". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
- ^ Katz, Michael (2016-03-17). "Legendary Boise State Coach Lyle Smith Celebrates 100th Birthday". MagicValley.com. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
- ^ http://www.ktvb.com/sports/lyle-smith-father-of-bronco-football-dies-at-101/459640475
External links
- 1916 births
- 2017 deaths
- American centenarians
- American football centers
- Guards (basketball)
- Boise State Broncos athletic directors
- Boise State Broncos football coaches
- Boise State Broncos men's basketball coaches
- Idaho Vandals football players
- Idaho Vandals men's basketball players
- American naval personnel of World War II
- American military personnel of the Korean War
- People from Moscow, Idaho
- People from Whitman County, Washington
- Players of American football from Idaho
- Military personnel from Idaho