Gaylon Smith

Gaylon Wesley Smith (July 15, 1916 – March 10, 1958) was an American professional football player who was a back and defensive end for five seasons with the Cleveland Rams of the National Football League (NFL) and one season for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). Before entering professional football, Smith starred as a halfback playing college football for the Southwestern Lynx (now Rhodes Lynx) and led the country in scoring in 1938. He was selected by the Rams in the second round of the 1939 NFL draft and played for the Cleveland team until deciding to retire from the sport in 1943. After taking a job as a personnel director and playing on a regional basketball and baseball teams based in the Cleveland area, Smith joined the U.S. Navy in 1944 during World War II. He was discharged two years later and signed with the Browns, then a new team in the AAFC. Smith was a second-string player with the Browns but substituted for an injured Marion Motley late in the season as the team won the AAFC championship game. Smith retired after the 1946 season but stayed in Ohio to raise his family and work as a manufacturer's representative. He died in 1958 at the age of 41.