Former Chargers linebacker Billy Ray Smith Jr. dies at 64, family announces
apnews.com • • sports
Key Points:
- Former San Diego Chargers linebacker and College Football Hall of Famer Billy Ray Smith Jr. has died at age 64 after battling dementia caused by CTE.
- Smith played 10 seasons with the Chargers, was a No. 5 overall pick in the 1983 NFL draft, and earned a spot on the Chargers’ 50th anniversary team.
- Following his NFL career, Smith worked as a sports director and radio co-host in San Diego, covering college and professional football.
- He was a two-time All-American at Arkansas and inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
- Smith’s father, Billy Ray Smith Sr., also had a notable NFL career from 1957 to 1970.
