H.A. Smith (1982) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

H.A. Smith

Induction:
1982

Houston Allen (Bear) Smith is recognized as one of the finest assistant football coaches to have ever been at the University of Southern Mississippi. He served as line coach for Coach Pie Vann from 1949 to 1954.
   Smith is remembered as a man that loved the game of football and passed that love of the game along to the players he coached. He was a coach that loved to teach the game, and liked nothing better than to get down in the trenches and show his players how it was done.
   A native of Hazelhurst, Mississippi, where he was a magnificent high school performer, Smith starred at Copiah-Lincoln Junior College and Ole Miss prior to World War II. During the war he served in the United States Marines and fought in Okinawa and China.
   He returned to Ole Miss after the war, where as a give and take performer, Smith was a solid end for Coach Red Drew’s Rebels, teaming up with Ray Poole.
   His play at Ole Miss merited consideration by professional football and he immediately made his presence felt. He played a couple of seasons for Coach George (Papa Bear) Halas and the Chicago Bears.
   Smith joined Vann’s staff in time for the 1949 season, Vann’s first, and along with Clyde (Heifer) Stuart the three formed one of the finest combos in college football.
   Smith, who was 6-2, 240-pounds, took a lot of pride in his end corps and coached two of the school’s best, Hall of Famers, Jackson Brumfield and Dick Caldwell.
   He also handled all of the scouting for the Southern Miss team and it would not be unusual to see him watching films till all hours of the night, studying the tendencies of opponents. In fact Smith and Stuart were some of the first believers that you needed to study the game and study the opponents as you began your preparation for a game.
   While end coach at Southern Miss, Smith was involved in some of the best teams ever. The teams that he coached on had a record of 43-21, including a 10-2 record and a berth in the Sun Bowl in 1952 and a 9-2 record in 1953 and another berth in the Sun Bowl.
   Three of the five teams that Smith coached on were the highest scoring teams in school history. The 1952 team scored 402 points and averaged 36.5 points per game, while the 1951 teams scored 306 points (27.8 average) and the 1949 team scored 299 points (29.9 average).
   That 1952 team of which Smith was a part of also is the most productive offense in school history, rolling up 4,575 yards that year.
   Smith was a coach that was loved by his players and they were ready to put it on the line for him each and every game. But Smith was also a coach that loved his players and through his efforts most were successful on field and in life.