Jerry Smith (tight end)
| No. 87 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | July 19, 1943 Eugene, Oregon, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | October 15, 1986 (aged 43) Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 208 lb (94 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | San Lorenzo (Ashland, California) | ||||||||
| College | Arizona State | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1965: 9th round, 118th overall pick | ||||||||
| AFL draft | 1965: 18th round, 141st overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Gerald Thomas Smith (July 19, 1943 – October 15, 1986) was an American professional football player who was a tight end for the National Football League (NFL)'s Washington Redskins for 13 seasons, from 1965 through 1977. By the time he retired, he held the NFL record for most career touchdowns by a tight end. Smith publicly announced he had AIDS in August 1986, being the first professional athlete to do so. He died two months later. A 2014 documentary from the NFL Network's A Football Life series profiles his career, as well as his "double life as a closeted gay man and a star athlete."