A Chicle a day through the end of May

[jefferyepayne]

Card #33 in the Chicle set is Ernie Smith. It is the ninth of 12 short prints in the 1935 National Chicle set.

Ernest Frederick "Ernie" Smith was born in Spearfish, SD in 1909. He was a tackle and placekicker at the University of Southern California and helped his team win back to back National Championships in 1931 and 1932. Smith was named Consensus All-American in 1932, the first Trojan to garner this honor. He was also a member of the Spirit of Troy marching band as a trombone player.

Smith did not go directly to the NFL. Instead he spent two years coaching the USC freshman team, selling insurance, and playing semi-pro ball with the Southern California Maroons of the Pacific coast Pro Football league (PCPFL). Curly Lambeau convinced Smith to play for the Packers and he did so from 1935 - 1937 and 1939. During this time, he was a member of two NFL Championship Teams (1936 and 1939) as a tackle and place kicker. He was first team All-Pro in 1936, second team All-Pro in 1937, and made the Pro Bowl in 1939. Ernie Smith held the NFL Championship record for longest field goal (42 yards) for 12 years until Lou Groza broke it in 1951.

After playing in a few exhibition games in 1940, Smith abruptly retired from football to pursue other interests. He was a Major in the United States Air Force between 1940 and 1945, and became an insurance underwriter thereafter. He worked with the Boy Scouts, was on the Rose Bowl Committee, an officer of the Southern California Symphony, and president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Football Foundation.

Smith is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and USC Athletic Hall of Fame.

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jeff