Emmitt James Smith III was born on May 15,1969 and is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys.
66 Facts About Emmitt Smith
2.
Emmitt Smith played three years of college football for the Florida Gators, where he set numerous school rushing records.
3.
Emmitt Smith holds the record for career rushing touchdowns with 164.
4.
Emmitt Smith is the only running back to ever win a Super Bowl championship, the NFL Most Valuable Player award, the NFL rushing crown, and the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award all in the same season.
5.
Emmitt Smith is one of four running backs to lead the NFL in rushing three or more consecutive seasons, joining Steve Van Buren, Jim Brown and Earl Campbell.
6.
Emmitt Smith led the league in rushing and won the Super Bowl in the same year three times when to that point it had never been done.
7.
Emmitt Smith is one of only two non-kickers in NFL history to score more than 1,000 career points.
8.
Emmitt Smith was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
9.
Emmitt Smith played thirteen seasons with the Cowboys and two with the Arizona Cardinals.
10.
Emmitt Smith attended Escambia High School in Pensacola, where he played high school football and ran track for the Escambia Gators.
11.
Emmitt Smith rushed for over 100 yards in 45 of the 49 games he started for Escambia and finished with a 7.8 yards per carry average.
12.
Emmitt Smith accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he played for coach Galen Hall's Gators for three seasons.
13.
Emmitt Smith did not start the first two games of his college career in the fall of 1987, but made the most of his opportunities in a second-week rout of Tulsa in which he gained 109 yards on just ten carries, including a 66-yard touchdown run.
14.
Emmitt Smith went on to break the 1,000-yard barrier in the seventh game of his freshman season, the fastest any running back had ever broken that barrier to begin his college career.
15.
Emmitt Smith returned to the lineup in mid-November and Florida won two of its final three games, highlighted by a victory in the 1988 All-American Bowl in which he ran 55-yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage and was named the game's MVP.
16.
Emmitt Smith rushed for 988 yards on the year at 110 yards per game, the lowest totals of his college career.
17.
Emmitt Smith stayed healthy throughout his junior season in 1989 and found success again.
18.
Emmitt Smith finished the campaign with Florida records for rushing yards in a season, rushing yards in a single game, longest rushing play, career rushing yards, career rushing yards per game and career rushing touchdowns, among many others.
19.
Emmitt Smith returned to the university during the NFL off-season and completed his bachelor's degree in 1996.
20.
Emmitt Smith was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1999, the Gator Football Ring of Honor and the College Football Hall of Fame As part of a series of articles written for The Gainesville Sun in 2006, he was recognized as the No 3 all-time player among the top 100 from the first 100 years of the Gators football program.
21.
Emmitt Smith clinched the first of four rushing titles, after tallying 160 yards against the Atlanta Falcons in the season finale.
22.
Emmitt Smith became the first player to win the league's rushing title and the Super Bowl in the same season.
23.
Emmitt Smith received the league MVP and the Super Bowl XXVIII MVP award.
24.
The next season saw Emmitt Smith led the league with 21 rushing touchdowns, a new career-high despite battling a hamstring pull late in the season.
25.
In 1995, Emmitt Smith became the first player in league history to rush for 1,400 rushing yards or more in five consecutive seasons and set the NFL record with 25 rushing touchdowns.
26.
Emmitt Smith broke two of Tony Dorsett's Dallas franchise rushing records, the first for most consecutive initial games of a season with 100+ rushing yards and the second for single-season rushing yards.
27.
On March 26,2003, Emmitt Smith signed a two-year contract as a free agent with the Arizona Cardinals, who were not only looking for Emmitt Smith to improve their team, but helped them promote it with their local fan base.
28.
Emmitt Smith became the oldest player in NFL history ever to throw his first touchdown pass, throwing a 21-yard touchdown strike on a halfback option play, the only passing attempt of his career.
29.
Emmitt Smith had 1,193 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns and averaged 3.2 yards per carry in his 2-year time in Arizona.
30.
Emmitt Smith had 212 receiving yards, no receiving touchdowns and averaged 7.3 yards per reception in his 2-year time with the Arizona Cardinals.
31.
Emmitt Smith was not re-signed by the Cardinals and signed a one-day contract for one dollar with the Dallas Cowboys, after which he immediately retired with the team he had played with for most of his career.
32.
Emmitt Smith currently holds the NFL record in career rushing yards with 18,355, breaking the previous record held by Walter Payton, on October 27,2002.
33.
Emmitt Smith leads all running backs with 164 career rushing touchdowns, and his 175 total touchdowns ranks him second only to Jerry Rice's 208.
34.
Emmitt Smith is the NFL's all-time leader in rushing attempts with 4,409, the only player to post three seasons with 19 or more touchdowns, and the record-holder for most games in a season with a touchdown and most games in a season with a rushing touchdown, set in 1995.
35.
Emmitt Smith accumulated several NFL postseason records, including rushing touchdowns, consecutive games with a rushing touchdown, and 100-yard rushing games.
36.
Emmitt Smith received the Super Bowl MVP award for Super Bowl XXVIII, becoming the only Cowboys running back ever to win the award.
37.
Emmitt Smith is one of only five NFL players who have amassed over 10,000 career-rushing yards and 400 career receptions.
38.
Emmitt Smith didn't look especially fast or powerful or blindingly deceptive, yet he couldn't be stopped.
39.
Emmitt Smith was a reliable receiver and an excellent blocker in pass protection.
40.
In September 2005, Emmitt Smith signed on to serve as a studio analyst on the NFL Network show, NFL Total Access.
41.
On September 19,2005, at halftime of the Cowboys-Redskins game, Emmitt Smith was inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor with his long-time teammates Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin.
42.
On July 23,2006, Emmitt Smith was a judge at the Miss Universe 2006 pageant.
43.
Emmitt Smith was praised for "making dancing look manly" and for his "natural charm," and Burke was given credit for coaching Emmitt Smith while still allowing him to improvise some moves.
44.
On March 12,2007, Emmitt Smith joined ESPN as a studio analyst for their NFL pre-game coverage alongside Chris Berman, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, and Chris Mortensen.
45.
Emmitt Smith's contract was not renewed for the 2009 season.
46.
Emmitt Smith was criticized by some in the media and sports blogs as being inarticulate.
47.
Emmitt Smith was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010, in his first year of eligibility.
48.
On February 7,2010, Emmitt Smith flipped the coin at the start of Super Bowl XLIV between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints.
49.
In June 2010, Emmitt Smith returned to his high school alma mater, Escambia High School in Pensacola, Florida, for a taping of ESPN's show Homecoming with Rick Reilly.
50.
In 2005, Emmitt Smith made his first move toward becoming a real estate developer: He teamed with another Cowboy legend, Roger Staubach, the founder and CEO of Staubach Co.
51.
Emmitt Smith has a letter of intent to develop a 65-acre site in a densely populated yet underserved area near northwest Fort Worth, and he is currently negotiating for rights to another potential project in southeastern Fort Worth.
52.
Early in his own playing career, Emmitt Smith approached the former Cowboy quarterback with an interest in learning more about real estate.
53.
Skeptical at first, Staubach told Emmitt Smith to spend some time at his company's offices during the spring and summer if he was sincere.
54.
Emmitt Smith did just that, spending the off-season at Staubach Co.
55.
In 2014, Emmitt Smith's company began a nationwide expansion, including into New York City.
56.
Emmitt Smith co-founded EEmmitt Smith Legacy, a Baltimore-based company that specializes in commercial real estate development and investment management.
57.
Emmitt Smith serves as its Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer.
58.
Emmitt Smith participated in the 2011 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, defeating David Williams in the first round and losing in the second round to Andrew Robl.
59.
Emmitt Smith returned to Dancing with the Stars in its fifteenth season as one of the "All-Stars" contestants.
60.
Emmitt Smith had Cheryl Burke as his professional dance partner.
61.
In 2016, Emmitt Smith took the position of co-owner alongside founder and president Ben Davis of The Gents Place, an ultra-premium men's grooming and lifestyle club founded in Frisco, Texas.
62.
Emmitt Smith has grown to include lifestyle clubs in Dallas and Southlake, as well as Leawood, Kansas.
63.
In 2019, Emmitt Smith appeared on an episode of Deal or No Deal to support a contestant who idolizes him.
64.
Emmitt Smith was initiated as a member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity at the University of Florida.
65.
Emmitt Smith returned to the university during the NFL offseason to complete his coursework, and graduated with his bachelor's degree in public recreation in May 1996.
66.
Emmitt Smith married former Miss Virginia USA Patricia Southall on April 22,2000.