Dean Smith

Dean Smith was raised in Eliasville Texas and later lived in Breckenridge Texas where he raised horses and longhorn cattle He attended the University of Texas at Austin where he competed in track and football He won an Olympic gold medal for the 400meter relay in the 1952 Helsinki games and finished fourth in the 100 dash in the closest race in Olympic history He was the leadoff man on the University of Texas world record relay team 195455 and AAU national champion in the 100meter dash He played with the Los Angeles Rams during exhibition season and was traded to the Pittsburg Steelers at which time he decided to enter the movie business He also won amateur rodeo championships for bareback bronco riding and calf roping He was an honorary member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association was inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame 2006 the Texas Sports Hall of Fame 1985 Stuntmans Hall of Fame 1980 and the University of Texas Hall of Fame 1980 He was awarded the American Culture Award for Western Movies and Television 2000 the Golden Boot Award in 1998 the Ben Johnson Award in 1993 the AllAmerican Cowboy Award in 1997 and the Head of the Class Alvin Davis Award in 2002 In 2002 he organized the Dean Smith Celebrity Rodeo benefiting the Cowboy Cancer Crusade tribute to Ben Johnson the Dean Smith Celebrity Rodeo benefiting the John Wayne Cancer Institute honoring John Wayne and in 2006 the Dean Smith Celebrity Rodeo benefiting the John Wayne Cancer Institute honoring The Singing Cowboys in Abilene Texas the third weekend in October On April 8 2006 the John Wayne Cancer Institute honored him with the Duke Award for his contributions to cancer research In 2023 Dean Smith died of cancer aged 91 in Breckenridge Texas