www.bceagles.comTHE OFFICIAL FAN CLUB OF BOSTON COLLEGE FOOTBALLSalutes the newest members <strong>of</strong> theVarsity Club <strong>Hall</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Fame</strong>!Charlie Smith ‘66Ron Stone ‘93Bill To<strong>of</strong> ’69Scholars, Athletes & GentlemenPr01st Vrrr2nd Vr1Trrer 3riFor more information on joining the Gridiron Club, contact18BOB BP -- File name: B72040_BC_32pg_Txt.pdf Made on Sep 16, 2008 at 7:02:58 PM, Page 18 <strong>of</strong> 36 pages. Trim is 8.5 x 11.0 --
2008 INDUCTEEBOB BP -- File name: B72040_BC_32pg_Txt.pdf Made on Sep 16, 2008 at 7:02:58 PM, Page 19 <strong>of</strong> 36 pages. Trim is 8.5 x 11.0 --CHARLIE SMITH ‘66Football“The perfect college experience.”That’s how Charlie Smith describes hisfootball days. Captain <strong>of</strong> the 1965 team andmainstay <strong>of</strong> three Boston College squads thatposted a combined record <strong>of</strong> 18-10, Charlieplayed in an era when the game rules wereevolving back to two-platoon football.“During the time I was at BC we wentfrom almost no substitution to free substitution.In my sophomore year everybody playedboth ways. By the time I was a senior, itbecame the way it is now. It was fun for us asplayers – you’d have Larry Marzetti, our quarterback,throwing one <strong>of</strong> the biggest touchdownpasses in BC history, then for the nexttwo years he was one <strong>of</strong> our best defensivebacks,” said Charlie.“I don’t know which way is better. It’sprobably more fun for the fans now, when youhave the players best suited to play a singleposition. But I got to play through all threephases <strong>of</strong> the transition.”That pass from Marzetti to Bill Cronin wasthe original Hail Mary, every bit as big and dramaticas Doug Flutie’s heave against Miami 20seasons later. The final play <strong>of</strong> the 1964 seasonopener, it gave the Eagles a 21-14 victory overSyracuse, which did not lose again until theOrange Bowl.Unfortunately, BC dropped its next twogames to powerful opponents, 19-13 at Armyand 16-14 at Tennessee. Blatant Southern <strong>of</strong>ficiatingbias defeated the Eagles in Knoxville, agame in which they held Tennessee to 110yards <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>fense. As Smith relates it, the refereesallowed the winning touchdown eventhough a clipping penalty had occurred. Theyclaimed that the ball carrier had alreadycrossed the goal line; films later showed thathe was still ten yards from the end zone.The final record in 1964 was 6-3, the sameas it was in Smith’s sophomore campaign <strong>of</strong>1963. Another win in either year would haveput the Eagles into serious consideration forone <strong>of</strong> the eight post-season games <strong>of</strong> thatblack-and-white television era. But it was notto be, and perhaps that makes it easy to overlookjust how good those Eagle teams <strong>of</strong> thesixties were.Charlie Smith personified everything in astudent athlete. Standing just over six feet tall,he played both <strong>of</strong>fensive and defensive end. Asa sophomore he went both ways but “loved tochase quarterbacks” from his defensive position.In junior year he also played both sides<strong>of</strong> the ball but more frequently as a defender.Then as a senior and captain, he led the teamin pass receiving with 18 catches. He got tw<strong>of</strong>ree-agent shots with the Boston Patriots andsurvived until the final roster cut.But figures and statistics never tell the realstory. As his high school team mate DickCremin states, you have to look back atCharlie’s early youth to understand the fullmeasure <strong>of</strong> his accomplishments.The second oldest <strong>of</strong> eight kids growing upin Owings Mills, Maryland, Charlie was nineyears <strong>of</strong> age when his father passed away. Hismother Ann somehow kept her husband’swholesale paper business running until theyounger kids were in school, then returned toher former employer, the Social SecurityAdministration. Money was always scarce, butthere was abundance, both <strong>of</strong> family solidarityin support <strong>of</strong> the remarkable Mrs. Smith and <strong>of</strong>love for Catholic education.Charlie attended the Little Flower grammarschool in nearby Woodstock. Three nunsstaffed the school and taught its eight grades.Along the way he met several <strong>of</strong> the Jesuitfathers from the theological center in thetown, and that sold Charlie on going to LoyolaHigh in Towson, some 15 miles distant.Charlie’s athletic career quickly blossomedat Loyola. He was twice an all-state pick infootball. The 750-student school won a pair <strong>of</strong>state titles under coach Tracy Mehr, who leftLoyola to join Jim Miller’s staff at BC afterSmith’s senior season.19The prospect <strong>of</strong> playing for his highschool coach at the college level helped sellCharlie on The Heights, although Cremin’senthusiastic recruiting was also a factor.“We had to have Charlie at BC. I knowhe was a class person and would be a greatasset,” said Cremin, who was a year ahead<strong>of</strong> Smith. “He didn’t have great speed, butthere was no stopping him on the line <strong>of</strong>scrimmage. He could get free at any timeand run any pass pattern. He excelled atdefensive end, but I think his greatest assetwas his blocking. He was a true all-aroundfootball player at BC, and there weren’t toomany <strong>of</strong> them anywhere.”Classmate Dick Capp, who played ontwo Green Bay Packer Super Bowl teams forVince Lombardi, most remembers Smith’sleadership both on and <strong>of</strong>f the field.“With Charlie, it was all work ethic. Hereminded me <strong>of</strong> Ray Nitschke on Green Bay,who had a lot <strong>of</strong> enthusiasm and would leadboth by example and by getting in your face.Charlie was a talker – he called himself‘Brassius Brad, the Mouth <strong>of</strong> the South’ –but I don’t remember him ever yelling atanyone. He was always very positive, andeverybody respected him and bought rightinto it.”Capp also remembers Charlie as a sharpdresser who wore Bostonian wingtip shoeson his summer construction job. That’strue, Charlie says, but a Banlon shirt andwingtips were the clothes he wore everyday, so why go out and spend good money onwork duds just because you’re going to beoperating a jackhammer?After graduation and his shot at pro football,Charlie picked up an MBA at LoyolaUniversity and went into the investmentbusiness. He started <strong>of</strong>f as a retail broker butfound his niche as a fund manager with T.Rowe Price in Baltimore. He is now retiredafter an eminently successful 26-year careerwith Price. Charlie and his wife Bitsy, theformer Elizabeth Kelly ’67, have establisheda family foundation that supports BC athleticsin memory <strong>of</strong> their granddaughterCarolyn Lombardi.Charlie was the only Eagle in his immediatefamily, but he and Bitsy have sent allfour <strong>of</strong> their children to the Heights: daughtersJacqueline (Lombardi) ’91; Marybeth(O’Malley) ’92; Kathleen (Spalla) ’93; andson Charlie ’97, a three-year football lettermanat defensive back.
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