Willie Smith 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...

 player. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

, Smith attended Dunbar High School, a segregated high school for African-American students. He was teammates during high school with Jim Pace

Jim Pace

James Edward Pace was an American running back in the National Football League. He was also an All-American halfback who played for the University of Michigan Wolverines teams from 1955 to 1957.-Youth:...

, and the two of them opted to attend the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 where they were teammates for the school's football team. Smith played college football

College 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...

 as a tackle

Tackle (American football)

Tackle is a playing position in American and Canadian football. Historically, in the one-platoon system a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, offensive tackle and defensive tackle are separate positions....

 for the Michigan Wolverines football

Michigan Wolverines football

The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...

 team from 1956 to 1958. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in the eighth round (94th overall pick) of the 1959 NFL Draft

1959 NFL Draft

The 1959 National Football League Draft was held on December 2, 1958 and January 21, 1959 .-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:...

, but he opted instead to play 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...

. Smith appeared in all 14 games for the 1960 Denver Broncos

1960 Denver Broncos season

The Denver Broncos finished the inaugural American Football League's 1960 season with a record of four wins, nine losses, and one tie, thus finishing last in the AFL's western division.-Regular season:-External links:*...

, mostly at the right guard

Guard (American football)

In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....

 position. In August 1961, the Broncos traded Smith to the Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 for Gene Prebola. He was the starting left guard for the 1961 Oakland Raiders, appearing in all 14 games. He was placed on waivers by the Raiders in late August 1962.