Emmitt Smith {{{Caption}}} Date of birth May 15, 1969 Place of birth Pensacola, Florida Date of death Position(s) RB College Florida NFL Draft 1990 / Round 1 AFL Draft ] / Round {{{AFLDraftedRound}}} Pro Bowls 8 Awards Honors NFL 1990s All-Decade Team Retired #s Records NFL Career Rushing Yards Statistics Pro Football Reference Statistics NFL.com Statistics DatabaseFootball Statistics ESPN Statistics Sports Illustrated Team(s) 1990-2002 2003-2004 Dallas Cowboys Arizona Cardinals Pro Football Hall of Fame, ] Emmitt James Smith III (Born May 15, 1969 in Pensacola, Florida) is a retired American football player, one of the most prolific running backs to ever play professional football, and is only the seventh player in NFL history to carry the title of all-time rushing leader, and is the current holder of the title. He passed his childhood hero Walter Payton in a game against Seattle in 2002. In high school, Smith amassed 8804 rushing yards and scored 106 touchdowns. He starred at the University of Florida, where he set 58 school records, including the single game rushing record in his very first start. He left Florida after his junior year with 3928 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns.
He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1990 and subsequently became an integral part of their three Super Bowl championship teams in four years following the 1992-93 and 1995 seasons. Smith led the NFL in rushing four times(1991-1993, 1995), rushing touchdowns 3 times(1992, 1994, 1995), and was the league's MVP in 1993, was the MVP of Super Bowl XXVIII, and made eight Pro Bowls. (Among running backs selected to the Pro Bowl, he's behind only Barry Sanders, who has 10, and the late Walter Payton, who has 9.)
Smith is one of only three players in Cowboys history with three career 100-point seasons, and he is the only non-kicker to accomplish the feat. The century mark became a big number in Smith's career, having rushed for 100 yards in 155-of-326 games dating back to high school (45-of-49 at Escambia High School, 25-of-34 at Florida, 81-of-202 at Dallas, including playoffs, and two-of-25 at Arizona). His 45 100-yard games in high school is still the national record, and in NFL annals, Smith's 78 100-yard rushing games makes him the NFL's all-time leader - just ahead of Walter Payton (77) and Barry Sanders (76). Included in Smith's league record 78 regular season 100-yard rushing games are 18 days with over 150 yards, which is the fourth highest total of 150-yard games in NFL history.
On February 27, 2003, Smith volunteered to be released by the Cowboys, rather than put owner Jerry Jones in the awkward position of cutting him to fit under the league's salary cap. He signed a two-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals on March 26. After finishing 2003 as a reserve, Smith began the 2004 season as the Cardinals starting running back and accounted for 937 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 267 carries. His 267 carries marked his highest total since 2000 and his nine touchdowns were his highest total since scoring 11 times in 1999. He also caught 15 passes for 105 yards for Arizona. On October 3rd, he posted his best game as a Cardinal against New Orleans, totaling 127 rushing yards on 21 carries (6.0 avg.), including a 29-yard scoring jaunt (his longest as a Cardinal). Smith also became the oldest player in NFL history ever to complete his first career touchdown pass, tossing a 21-yard scoring strike to fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo in a game against New Orleans. The Saints game also marked his 77th career regular season 100-yard rushing game, tying Payton for the most in NFL history. On October 24th, Smith broke Payton's record for career 100-yard rushing games when he totaled 106 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries against Seattle. Then in November, he totaled 67 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries against the N.Y. Giants to become the only player in NFL history to eclipse the 18,000 career rushing yard mark.
In 2005, Smith signed a new contract with Dallas for one-day and no money so he could retire as a Cowboy. On February 3, 2005, at a press conference in Jacksonville, Florida three days before Super Bowl XXXIX, he announced his retirement after fifteen seasons in the NFL.
