Noland Smith
Encyclopedia
Noland "Super Gnat" Smith (born October 20, 1943 in Jackson, Mississippi
) is a former American football
wide receiver
/return specialist
for the Kansas City Chiefs
(1967–1969) in the American Football League
and San Francisco 49ers
(1969) in the National Football League
.
at Tennessee A&I University (now Tennessee State University
) where he set numerous school records for punt returns. Smith holds the school records for career punt returns (100); punt return yardage in a game (243), and season (572); career punt return yardage (1,933); highest average per punt return for a season (19.0) and a career (19.3); and most punt return touchdowns during a season (4) and a career (9).
. In his rookie
season with the Chiefs in 1967, Smith led the American Football League in kickoff return yardage with 1360 yards. On December 17, 1967, Smith returned a kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown, still the longest kickoff return in Kansas City Chiefs history. Smith currently ranks 18th on the NFL's all-time kick return average List with 26.06 yards per return.
During his three seasons in the NFL with the Chiefs and 49ers, Smith was hardly ever used except for kick returns, with 63 punt returns for 635 yards and 1 touchdown
and 82 kickoff returns for 2,137 yards and 1 touchdown, but only three rushing
attempts for 6 yards, two pass receptions
for 57 yards.
.
He is now working at Megar Evers community center in Jackson, Mississippi on Edward
ave and also a part-time motivational speaker.
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
) is a former American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
/return specialist
Return specialist
A Return Specialist is a player on American football or Canadian football special teams who specializes in returning punts and kickoff returns. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most play other positions as well. The special teams counterpart of a return specialist is a...
for the Kansas City Chiefs
History of the Kansas City Chiefs
The following is a detailed history of the Kansas City Chiefs, a professional American football franchise that began play in 1960 as the Dallas Texans...
(1967–1969) in the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
and San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
(1969) in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
.
College career
Smith played college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Tennessee A&I University (now Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University is a land-grant university located in Nashville, Tennessee. TSU is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennessee.-History:...
) where he set numerous school records for punt returns. Smith holds the school records for career punt returns (100); punt return yardage in a game (243), and season (572); career punt return yardage (1,933); highest average per punt return for a season (19.0) and a career (19.3); and most punt return touchdowns during a season (4) and a career (9).
Professional career
Known as "Super Gnat" for his very small height and weight, probably the smallest-sized player in the AFL or NFL of his era, Smith was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth round of the 1967 AFL Draft1967 American Football League Draft
The 1968 American Football League Draft was part of the Common Draft in the first year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players.-AFL Player selections:-Round one:*1 Member of the American Football League All-Time Team....
. In his rookie
Rookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
season with the Chiefs in 1967, Smith led the American Football League in kickoff return yardage with 1360 yards. On December 17, 1967, Smith returned a kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown, still the longest kickoff return in Kansas City Chiefs history. Smith currently ranks 18th on the NFL's all-time kick return average List with 26.06 yards per return.
During his three seasons in the NFL with the Chiefs and 49ers, Smith was hardly ever used except for kick returns, with 63 punt returns for 635 yards and 1 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
and 82 kickoff returns for 2,137 yards and 1 touchdown, but only three rushing
Rush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
attempts for 6 yards, two pass receptions
Reception (American football)
In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...
for 57 yards.
After football
He appeared as "Superbug" in the 1970 movie MASHMASH (film)
MASH is a 1970 American satirical dark comedy film directed by Robert Altman and written by Ring Lardner, Jr., based on Richard Hooker's novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. It is the only feature film in the M*A*S*H franchise...
.
He is now working at Megar Evers community center in Jackson, Mississippi on Edward
ave and also a part-time motivational speaker.