J. D. Smith obit

 

Ex-49ers running back J.D. Smith dies

He was not on the list.

J.D. Smith, a two-time Pro Bowl running back who retired as the 49ers’ second-leading career rusher and is still sixth on the list, died April 1 at his home in Oakland. He was 83.

Mr. Smith, a native of Greenville, S.C., was nicknamed “Cinderella Man” for his unlikely path to the NFL.

“If they had ESPN back then, he would have made a really good story,” said Christian Duncan, Mr. Smith’s grandson.

A 15th-round draft pick by the Bears out of North Carolina AT&T State, Mr. Smith served a year in the U.S. Army before beginning his career with Chicago in 1956. The Bears used him sparingly and eventually released him. He then signed with San Francisco.

He played defense in 1957, but moved in 1958 to offense. The move paid off when, in 1959, the 6-foot-1, 205-pounder earned his first Pro Bowl selection by rushing for 1,036 yards (second best in the league to Jim Brown’s 1,329 for Cleveland) and a team-record-tying 10 TDs.

He also won the team’s Len Eshmont Award for inspirational and courageous play.

“He was very humble, I never heard about football from him,” Duncan said. “I think I learned about it by going with him to alumni games. And he had a basement full of old NFL memorabilia and one of the things is the Len Eshmont Award. It was then that I realized that granddad was pretty serious about football.”

Mr. Smith’s other Pro Bowl season was 1962, when he gained 907 yards and scored six times.

Mr. Smith’s last season with the 49ers was 1964. He played two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys before retiring after the 1966 season.

Fifty years later, he’s still fifth in 49ers history for rushing TDs (37, tied with Steve Young) and 100-yard games (12, tied with Hugh McElhenny) and is sixth in yards (4,370) and carries (1,007).

Mr. Smith is survived by his daughter, Patricia, sons Lonnie and David, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. The family will hold a private memorial at Kezar Stadium.

The family has asked that donations be made to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health Sports and Health Research program.

Smith was selected by the Chicago Bears in the fifteenth round (179th overall) of the 1955 NFL Draft. He spend the year out of football serving his military service in the Korean War.

He returned in 1956, but the team had a surplus of running backs (Rick Casares, Bobby Watkins, John Hoffman, J.C. Caroline and Perry Jeter), so he was moved to the defensive side. He was used as a kick off returner, linebacker and safety, before being waived after the sixth game of the season.

In 1956, he was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco 49ers and played the remaining 5 games of the season as a reserve defensive back. The next year, he played at left cornerback, registering 2 interceptions and finishing third in the league with a 26.3-yard average in kickoff returns.

 

In 1958, while he served as a kickoff returner, he was eased into the running back position until the eleventh game of the season when he ran for 113 yards on seven carries, including and 80-yard touchdown. He was dubbed the "Cinderella Workhorse" by 49ers historian Donn Sinn, for his inauspicious route into prominence.

In 1959, Hugh McElhenny was moved to flanker and Smith was named the starter at left halfback alongside Joe Perry. He finished second in the NFL (behind Jim Brown) with 1,036 rushing yards, becoming the second player in franchise history to have a 1,000-yard rushing season (Perry was the first one) and tied a team record with 10 rushing touchdowns. In the following years he played halfback and fullback, leading the team in rushing for 5 consecutive seasons. He also was a part of the 'Alphabet Backfield', that included Y. A. Tittle, R.C. Owens and C.R. Roberts. In 1964, he was a backup and rushed for 55 yards on 13 carries.

On September 6, 1965, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a fifth round draft choice (#69-Mel Phillips). At the time he ranked second all-time on the 49ers career rushing list with 4,370 yards.

In 1965, he was acquired by the Dallas Cowboys to be a backup fullback for Don Perkins. On September 5, 1967, he was released after the team decided to keep rookie running back Craig Baynham.