 He played for NFL championship teams in Detroit in 1952 and 1953 and was selected as a first-team All Pro after the 1952 season.He also played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for the Buffalo Bills (1948), Brooklyn Dodgers (1948), and Chicago Hornets (1949).Smith played college football for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (1943, 1945), the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks (1944), and the Iowa Hawkeyes (1946–1947).