The college football world mourns some tragic losses recently. Players from Texas A&M and the University of Utah passed away this week. They were close friends of one of our Mizzou Football players. The loss of any life is a tragedy, but it strikes especially close to home when people you relate so closely with are affected. The entire Mizzou family sends our thoughts and prayers to the friends and families of those lost, as well as the entire Texas A&M and University of Utah families.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Missouri Athletics Communications
Date: Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Follow us on Twitter:@MUTigersdotcom
Contact: David Reiter / (573) 884-2437
Email:reiterd@missouri.edu
Mizzou Mourns Passing of Former Tiger Coaching Great Harry Smith
Smith helped Mizzou Football to one of its most successful periods in program history
Columbia, Mo. – Harry Smith, a former University of Missouri Football Coach, staff member and longtime contributor to the program died on Tuesday. He was 94.
A native of Russellville, Mo., Smith spent two stints as an assistant coach at the University of Missouri, beginning his coaching career in 1941 and helping the Tigers to the Big Six Conference championship and a berth into the Sugar Bowl. At the time that Jan. 1, 1942, Sugar Bowl contest vs. Fordham (L, 2-0) was just the second bowl berth in program history and helped continue a period of great success for the Tigers on the gridiron.
“We are saddened to learn of the passing of Coach Harry Smith and wish to send our deepest condolences to his entire family,” Director of Athletics Mike Alden said. “Coach Smith was a visible fixture around Coach Pinkel’s football program over the past decade and was someone that embodied the spirit of Mizzou, not only through his coaching under Coach Don Faurot and Coach Dan Devine, but with his work on campus, and most importantly, through his mentorship of his student-athletes. The University of Missouri mourns the loss of a great man and college football Hall of Famer today, and our thoughts go out to his family, their friends and the many student-athletes he impacted along the way.”
Smith returned to Columbia in 1952 to once again work for Faurot and was a key coaching figure on Dan Devine’s staffs from 1958-66, helping Mizzou accumulate a 64-23-7 overall record and the school’s first-ever bowl victory. The Tigers capped a Big Eight Championship season in 1960 with a 21-14 win over No. 4 Navy in the Orange Bowl. That Tiger team was the school’s first to be ranked No. 1 nationally and finished No. 4 in the final UPI poll.
With Smith on the sidelines Mizzou enjoyed a 97-63-10 overall mark and he was later inducted into the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.
“I’m very sad to learn of Coach Smith’s passing. I’m really proud that I personally had a chance to get to know him over the years, what a great life he lived. He had an unbelievable impact on so many people in and out of football, just a tremendous influence on all of the people he touched. I think being able to have Coach Smith be part of our program has been one of the highlights of my time at Mizzou, it’s been really special to be around him and to talk to all of his players and to see how much he meant to them. Mizzou lost one of its greats today, and I lost a good friend, we’re going to miss him dearly.”
Nicknamed “Blackjack” for the cast he wore on his hand during the 1939 season, Smith earned All-America recognition following the 1938 and 1939 seasons. He also played on two Rose Bowl squads before being named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.
Coach Pinkel Statement
“I’m very sad to learn of Coach Smith’s passing. I’m really proud that I personally had a chance to get to know him over the years, what a great life he lived. He had an unbelievable impact on so many people in and out of football, just a tremendous influence on all of the people he touched. I think being able to have Coach Smith be part of our program has been one of the highlights of my time at Mizzou, it’s been really special to be around him and to talk to all of his players and to see how much he meant to them. Mizzou lost one of its greats today, and I lost a good friend, we’re going to miss him dearly.”
Your favorite Mizzou Football players and coaches will be at Memorial Stadium signing autographs on August 4, 2013. The occasion? The 11th annual Football Fan Day, held by the Mizzou Department of Athletics. Tiger fans will be able to meet players and coaches and get one item signed per fan. The gates open at 3:45 pm, and the coaches and players will be signing until 5:15 pm. Admission to the event is free.
Due to construction to Memorial Stadium, parking and entry will be different than in years past. Fans should enter through Gate 3W or the Southwest field level gate. For more parking information, reference this parking map:
The entire press release is below. For updates, follow @mizzoufootball on Twitter, and send your photos from Fan Day to coachpinkel@gmail.com and we’ll post the best ones!
Our main priority on the Mizzou Football Team is to develop our student-athletes into “whole men” and focus especially hard on prioritizing constant dedication to academic excellence. News of our academic success came recently in wake of the NCAA’s recent APR scores. When we meet our goals and live up to our high academic standards, it’s always nice to be recognized. You can view the letter that NCAA President Mark Emmert sent congratulating our team below.
We will continue to strive for academic excellence as we maintain our position as a promoter and leader of academics in the Southeastern Conference. We will work and focus on school, just as we work and focus to improve on the field and overall as young men.
Evan Boehm, E.J. Gaines, Dorial Green-Beckham, James Franklin and Henry Josey were named to preseason watch lists for some of college football’s premier awards.
Boehm, a sophomore, is on the Rimington Trophy watch list. The Rimington Trophy has been given to the most outstanding collegiate center since 2000. The Rimington Trophy committee named 44 players to the 2013 watch list, and the SEC leads all conferences with nine candidates.
Gaines, a senior, is on the Bednarik Award watch list. The Bednarik award has been given to the college defensive player of the year since 1995. The 2013 watch list includes 75 student-athletes.
Green-Beckham, a sophomore, is on the Biletnikoff Award watch list. The Biletnikoff Award recognizes the most outstanding receiver in college football, and has been doing so since 1994. Green-Beckham led the Mizzou Tigers last season in receiving touchdowns.
Franklin, a senior, is one of 34 quarterbacks on the 2013 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award watch list. The award is given every year to the nation’s top quarterback.
Josey, a redshirt junior, is a preseason candidate for the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation’s premier running back. Josey was a Doak Walker Semifinalist in 2011 before his season was cut short due to injury. Josey is one of 63 running backs up for the award.
Additionally, junior tailback Marcus Murphy has been named to the Paul Hornung Award preseason watch list, presented by Texas Roadhouse. The award is presented to the nation’s most versatile player. Murphy, a Second Team All-American and First Team Al-SEC honoree last season, returned four kicks for touchdowns last season, a school record.
View all of the watch lists on the NCAA’s website.
The NCAA released the latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores in early June, and Mizzou Football had a score of 982–the best in the SEC.
Mizzou Football’s score places them in the top 10 percent of all Division 1 football teams.
The APR is a “team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete, each term,” according to the NCAA’s website.
A “perfect” APR team score is 1,000. Complete information on the APR report can be found on the NCAA’s website.