John "Clipper" Smith

Who was John "Clipper" Smith?

John Philip "Little Clipper" Smith was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football as a guard at the University of Notre Dame under Knute Rockne. Smith was a consensus All-American in 1927. He later served as the head coach at North Carolina State University from 1931 to 1933 and at Duquesne University from 1936 to 1938, compiling a career record of 28–24–5. Smith was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1975. He died on May 11, 1973 in West Hartford, Connecticut just before a National Football Foundation awards dinner that was to have honored him.