28 Facts About Bubba Smith

Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith was an American professional football defensive end and actor.

Bubba Smith played college football for Michigan State University, where he twice earned All-American honors on the Spartans football team.

Bubba Smith is one of only six players to have his jersey number retired by the program.

Bubba Smith was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988.

Bubba Smith was the Colts' starting left defensive end for five seasons, playing in Super Bowls III and V Bubba Smith was named to two Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro in 1971.

Bubba Smith was posthumously diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurological condition generally related to head trauma.

Bubba Smith is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease.

Bubba Smith was born on February 28,1945, in Orange, Texas, to Willie Ray Bubba Smith Sr.

Bubba Smith had the opportunity to play for his father at Charlton-Pollard High School in Beaumont.

Bubba Smith developed into one of the state's best-ever high school football players.

Bubba Smith originally had hopes of playing college football at the University of Texas.

The situation at UT motivated Bubba Smith to become a much better player at Michigan State University, where he was an All-American in both 1965 and 1966.

Early in the first quarter, Bubba Smith tackled Notre Dame starting quarterback Terry Hanratty, who sustained a separated left shoulder.

In 1988, Bubba Smith was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Bubba Smith was the No 1 overall pick in the 1967 NFL draft, taken by the Baltimore Colts with a selection originally held by the expansion New Orleans Saints, which had been traded for quarterback Gary Cuozzo.

Bubba Smith spent nine seasons in the NFL as a defensive end and played in the Super Bowl twice in his first five seasons.

However, in interviews, Bubba Smith stated that he would never wear the ring, out of a sense of disappointment that he and his teammates were unable to win Super Bowl III.

Bubba Smith was injured at Tampa Stadium in the 1972 preseason, when he ran into a solid steel pole the NFL was using at the time to mark yardage and missed the season.

Bubba Smith filed a lawsuit against the Tampa Sports Authority and the NFL for $2.5 million.

Bubba Smith contended the referees mishandled the markers, creating "an undue hazard".

Bubba Smith was traded from the Colts to the Oakland Raiders for Raymond Chester on July 16,1973.

Bubba Smith was selected All-Pro one year, All-Conference two years, and went to two Pro Bowls.

Bubba Smith is perhaps best known for his role as Moses Hightower in the Police Academy movie series, a role he reprised in all but one of the Police Academy sequels.

Bubba Smith played as the chauffeur for Ned Beatty's character, Clyde Torkle, in the movie Stroker Ace starring Burt Reynolds.

Bubba Smith was found dead in his Los Angeles home by his caretaker on August 3,2011.

Bubba Smith died from acute drug intoxication and heart disease.

Bubba Smith's heart weighed more than twice that of an average similar male.

Bubba Smith is the 90th former NFL player found to have had CTE by the researchers at the Boston University brain bank; they have examined 94 former pro players.