- When Bruce Smith and football are mentioned in the same breath, almost everyone - even in Canada - thinks of the Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle Bruce Smith who starred for 19 years in the NFL.
- But there was another fierce looking 6'4" 280 pound black defensive tackle named Bruce Smith who played in the Canadian Football League and he was buried today after a short and painful battle with pancreatic cancer at age 63.
- I happen to know this because this Bruce Smith was my neighbour for a couple of years in the Annex in Toronto in the mid 1980s and my friend from that point in 1983 until now (albeit that we gradually saw less and less of each other over the passing years after I moved away from downtown Toronto and he got more involved in his religous and other work and with raising a family) and today I attended his funeral.
- We lived in the same townhouse compex just three doors apart and Bruce was one fierce lloking dude but when you got to know him you could not help but be impressed by his intelligence, charisma, warmth, drive and by his focused, effective aggression. I liked him from our first encounter in the parking lot behind the complex and the feeling was reciprocated in part I suppose because I was the only one of the half dozen or more witnesses in the complex willing to testify on his behalf in a situation of willfull police harrassment of Bruce by a group of cops who couldn't believe that a big black man like Smith was driving a large new mercecdes that he had not stolen.
- The other Bruce Smith is retired and doing all manner of things to make a buck to supplement his millions made as an NFL superstar including joining in a lawsuit against the NFL for some sort of negligence in regard to the numerous concussions suffered by NFL players.
- The Bruce Smith who was my friend made relative peanuts in the CFL for seven years including as captain of the Toronto Argonauts and leader of their famed Dirty Dozen defensive line but became a real estate superstar in Toronto, launched his own successful real estate firm, devoted countless hours to preaching the Christian gospel at the downtown business people's chapel at King and Bay, did other preaching and outreach work for disadvantaged and orphaned youth like he had once been himself, wrote a couple of children's books and was always in demand as a motivational speaker.
- In other words, this Bruce Smith deserved and enjoyed a good and principled life well lived and gave much back to his city of Toronto and to a great many people and was stricken by the cruelest of diseases and taken from us and from his wife and children much too soon.
- The very large crowd of people from all races at his funeral today is testimony to the quality of the man and the quality of his life.
- The following CP news report about Bruce provides more details about the man and his life and career.
- RIP, Friend!
The Canadian Press
Fri Jan 04 2013 17:53:00
Former CFL lineman and Grey Cup champion Bruce Smith dies at age 63
TORONTO — He was a rugged defensive lineman who earned a Grey Cup ring with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before becoming a captain on the Toronto Argonauts famed “Dirty Dozen�� defence.
On Friday, former defensive tackle Bruce Smith died. He was 63.
Smith had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and recently was admitted into a Toronto hospital.
Smith played his college football at Colorado before beginning his CFL career with Hamilton in 1972. The native of Huntsville, Texas, was a member of the Ticats’ squad that defeated Saskatchewan 13-10 at Ivor Wynne Stadium in the Grey Cup game that season.
But Smith readily admitted he came to Canada with a chip on his shoulder as a result of the racism he had faced earlier on in his life, and that hampered him early in his CFL career.
After the ’72 season, Smith spent time with Edmonton and Ottawa before arriving in Toronto. He spent four seasons with the Argos (1976-79) before leaving football and retiring.
Although Toronto posted losing records in each of the four years Smith was there, he and fellow teammates Granville (Granny) Liggins and Ecomet Burley helped anchor the team’s “Dirty Dozen�� defence, a unit that, despite the squad’s losing ways, was still one of the CFL’s best.
Smith dressed in 44 regular-season games with Toronto.
“The key to our defensive success was (assistant coach) Lamar Leachman,�� Smith recalled in a 1996 story on the Argos’ website. “He was a coach ahead of his time, and he certainly made me the best player that I could become.��
Despite the losing seasons, Smith always had fond memories of his time in an Argos uniform.
“It was some fun times; I remember that the Argos were a hot ticket,�� he said. “I liked living in Canada and the people here.
“Canada was much more an area of tolerance. People here just tend to get along.��
That wasn’t always the case when Smith was growing up in and experienced racism.
“I grew up in a totally segregated situation,�� said Smith. “(In Canada), people treat you on your own merits.��
After football, Smith settled in Toronto and became a salesperson with Canada Trust. He was a top seller in five of his six years there before ultimately establishing his own real estate firm, Bruce Smith Realty, in 1987.
Smith was also a man of faith, serving as the chaplain for King Bay Chaplaincy and Upper Canada College’s Chaplain Service. He spent a lot of time as a public speaker and was a children’s book author.
“They used to call me the grizzly bear, but now I’m the panda bear,�� Smith said with a chuckle.
Smith is survived by his wife, Shirley, and children Courtne and Coby.
- But there was another fierce looking 6'4" 280 pound black defensive tackle named Bruce Smith who played in the Canadian Football League and he was buried today after a short and painful battle with pancreatic cancer at age 63.
- I happen to know this because this Bruce Smith was my neighbour for a couple of years in the Annex in Toronto in the mid 1980s and my friend from that point in 1983 until now (albeit that we gradually saw less and less of each other over the passing years after I moved away from downtown Toronto and he got more involved in his religous and other work and with raising a family) and today I attended his funeral.
- We lived in the same townhouse compex just three doors apart and Bruce was one fierce lloking dude but when you got to know him you could not help but be impressed by his intelligence, charisma, warmth, drive and by his focused, effective aggression. I liked him from our first encounter in the parking lot behind the complex and the feeling was reciprocated in part I suppose because I was the only one of the half dozen or more witnesses in the complex willing to testify on his behalf in a situation of willfull police harrassment of Bruce by a group of cops who couldn't believe that a big black man like Smith was driving a large new mercecdes that he had not stolen.
- The other Bruce Smith is retired and doing all manner of things to make a buck to supplement his millions made as an NFL superstar including joining in a lawsuit against the NFL for some sort of negligence in regard to the numerous concussions suffered by NFL players.
- The Bruce Smith who was my friend made relative peanuts in the CFL for seven years including as captain of the Toronto Argonauts and leader of their famed Dirty Dozen defensive line but became a real estate superstar in Toronto, launched his own successful real estate firm, devoted countless hours to preaching the Christian gospel at the downtown business people's chapel at King and Bay, did other preaching and outreach work for disadvantaged and orphaned youth like he had once been himself, wrote a couple of children's books and was always in demand as a motivational speaker.
- In other words, this Bruce Smith deserved and enjoyed a good and principled life well lived and gave much back to his city of Toronto and to a great many people and was stricken by the cruelest of diseases and taken from us and from his wife and children much too soon.
- The very large crowd of people from all races at his funeral today is testimony to the quality of the man and the quality of his life.
- The following CP news report about Bruce provides more details about the man and his life and career.
- RIP, Friend!
The Canadian Press
Fri Jan 04 2013 17:53:00
Former CFL lineman and Grey Cup champion Bruce Smith dies at age 63
TORONTO — He was a rugged defensive lineman who earned a Grey Cup ring with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before becoming a captain on the Toronto Argonauts famed “Dirty Dozen�� defence.
On Friday, former defensive tackle Bruce Smith died. He was 63.
Smith had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and recently was admitted into a Toronto hospital.
Smith played his college football at Colorado before beginning his CFL career with Hamilton in 1972. The native of Huntsville, Texas, was a member of the Ticats’ squad that defeated Saskatchewan 13-10 at Ivor Wynne Stadium in the Grey Cup game that season.
But Smith readily admitted he came to Canada with a chip on his shoulder as a result of the racism he had faced earlier on in his life, and that hampered him early in his CFL career.
After the ’72 season, Smith spent time with Edmonton and Ottawa before arriving in Toronto. He spent four seasons with the Argos (1976-79) before leaving football and retiring.
Although Toronto posted losing records in each of the four years Smith was there, he and fellow teammates Granville (Granny) Liggins and Ecomet Burley helped anchor the team’s “Dirty Dozen�� defence, a unit that, despite the squad’s losing ways, was still one of the CFL’s best.
Smith dressed in 44 regular-season games with Toronto.
“The key to our defensive success was (assistant coach) Lamar Leachman,�� Smith recalled in a 1996 story on the Argos’ website. “He was a coach ahead of his time, and he certainly made me the best player that I could become.��
Despite the losing seasons, Smith always had fond memories of his time in an Argos uniform.
“It was some fun times; I remember that the Argos were a hot ticket,�� he said. “I liked living in Canada and the people here.
“Canada was much more an area of tolerance. People here just tend to get along.��
That wasn’t always the case when Smith was growing up in and experienced racism.
“I grew up in a totally segregated situation,�� said Smith. “(In Canada), people treat you on your own merits.��
After football, Smith settled in Toronto and became a salesperson with Canada Trust. He was a top seller in five of his six years there before ultimately establishing his own real estate firm, Bruce Smith Realty, in 1987.
Smith was also a man of faith, serving as the chaplain for King Bay Chaplaincy and Upper Canada College’s Chaplain Service. He spent a lot of time as a public speaker and was a children’s book author.
“They used to call me the grizzly bear, but now I’m the panda bear,�� Smith said with a chuckle.
Smith is survived by his wife, Shirley, and children Courtne and Coby.
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