Bubba Smith Charles Aaron " Bubba " Smith ( February 28 , 1945 – August 3 , 2011 ) was an American professional football player who became an actor after his retirement from the sport . He first came into prominence at Michigan State University , where he twice earned All - America n honors as a defensive end on the Spartans football team . He had a major role in a 10 – 10 draw with Notre Dame in 1966 that was billed as " The Game of the Century . " He was one of only three players to have his jersey number retired by the program . He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988 . He played nine years in the National Football League ( NFL ) with the Baltimore Colts ( 1967 – 1971 ) , Oakland Raiders ( 1973 – 1974 ) and Houston Oilers ( 1975 – 1976 ) . The first selection of the 1967 NFL Draft , he was the Colts ' starting left defensive end for five seasons who played in Super Bowl s III and V , the latter with the winning side . He was named to two Pro Bowl s and was a First - Team All - Pro in 1971 . Despite being 6 feet 7 inches ( 2 . 01 meters ) tall and weighing 265 pounds ( 120 . 20 kilograms ) , his tremendous speed and quickness usually caused him to draw two blockers . During his acting career , he mainly specialized in comedic roles in film s , television advertisement s and program s . For about a decade following his retirement from football , he appeared in various commercials for Miller Lite . His best - known role was as Moses Hightower in the first six " Police Academy " movies . Early life . Smith was born on February 28 , 1945 in Orange , Texas , and raised in nearby Beaumont . His father was Willie Ray Smith Sr . , a football coach who accumulated 235 victories in a career spent at three high school s in the Beaumont area . It was at Charlton - Pollard High School in Beaumont where the son got to play for the father . The younger Smith developed into one of the state ' s best - ever high school football players . Football career . College . Smith originally had hopes of playing college football at the University of Texas . Even though Longhorns head coach Darrell Royal was willing to offer him an athletic scholarship , he was prohibited from doing so because of the prevalent racial segregation throughout the Southern United States . At the time , Texas was a member of the Southwest Conference ( SWC ) , which finally integrated in 1967 . The university ' s football program did not do likewise until three years later in 1970 . The situation motivated Smith to become a much better player . Smith played college football at Michigan State University . He was awarded with All - America honors in 1965 and 1966 . Smith was a popular athlete at Michigan State , with the popular fan chant of " Kill , Bubba , Kill . " His final game at Michigan State was a 10 – 10 draw with Notre Dame at Spartan Stadium on November 19 , 1966 . It was hyped as " The Game of the Century " because both teams were undefeated , untied and ranked atop the national polls entering the contest ( Notre Dame was # 1 at 8 – 0 – 0 , Michigan State # 2 at 9 – 0 – 0 ) . Early in the first quarter , Smith tackled Fighting Irish starting quarterback Terry Hanratty , who suffered a separated left shoulder on the play . Hanratty was replaced for the remainder of the match by Coley O ' Brien . Smith , who admitted that Hanratty ' s injury actually backfired on the Spartans , stated , " That didn ' t help us any . It just let them put in that O ' Brien who ' s slippery and faster and gave us more trouble . The other guy just sits there and waits , and that ' s what we wanted . " Michigan State finished second behind Notre Dame in the voting for the National Championship . In 1988 , Smith was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame . Michigan State retired his number 95 jersey on September 23 , 2006 , prior to the Spartans ' home game against Notre Dame , amid repeated cheers of his old slogan from the student section . This game also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the " Game of the Century . " Professional . Smith spent nine seasons in the NFL as a defensive end . He was the first overall selection in the 1967 NFL draft , chosen by the Baltimore Colts . The Colts won Super Bowl V at the end of the 1970 season , earning Smith his only Super Bowl ring . However , in interviews , Smith stated that he would never wear the ring , out of a sense of disapointment that he and his teammates were unable to win Super Bowl III . He was injured in the 1972 preseason when he ran into a solid steel pole the NFL was using at the time to mark yardage and missed the season . He was traded to the Oakland Raiders after the 1972 season , and finished his career with the Houston Oilers . He was selected All - Pro one year , All - Conference two years , and went to two Pro Bowl s . Acting career . After leaving professional football , Smith began his acting career in small movie and television roles in the late 1970s and early 1980s . He is perhaps best known for his role as Moses Hightower in the " Police Academy " movie series , a role he reprised in all but one of the " Police Academy " sequels . Bubba appeared in the 1982 TV film " " . He was Arnold the driver in the 1983 movie " Stroker Ace " that cast stars such as Burt Reynolds , Ned Beatty , Jim Nabors , and Loni Anderson . He was a supporting character in the 1981 - 1982 flop " Open All Night " . He appeared in two episodes of the hit television series " Married . . . with Children " , once as the character " Spare Tire " Dixon and in a later episode as himself . He was the longtime spokesman of Baltimore - area law firm Cohen , Snyder , Eisenberg & Katzenberg . Smith starred in the short - lived television series " Blue Thunder " , partnering with Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive star Dick Butkus , with whom he frequently costarred in advertisements for Miller Lite beer . Smith also appeared in " Tales of the Gold Monkey " , in the episode called " God Save the Queen " , along with fellow actor James Avery . He appeared on " Good Times " as Claude , a bodyguard / thug working for Marion " Sweet Daddy " Williams . He also appeared on an episode of " The Odd Couple " ; when asked by Oscar Madison what his most embarrassing moment was , he replied , " When my mother named me ' Bubba ' " . Smith appeared in a 1982 Episode of " Taxi " ( Season 4 Episode 19 ) where Smith ' s character played a football player trying to get back into the NFL after being cut . He inspired Tony , played by Tony Danza to train hard enough to earn his license back as a boxer . He also appeared on " Macgyver " ( Season 7 , Episode 10 ) . Bubba also played a character named " Bones " in the October 22 , 1993 episode of " Family Matters " where he played an enforcer to get his boss ' s money from Eddie Winslow . At the end he teams up with Steve Urkel to play the accordion . Personal life . Smith ' s younger brother Tody Smith played for the University of Southern California and for the Dallas Cowboys , Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills . Death . Smith was found dead in his Los Angeles home by his caretaker on August 3 , 2011 . He died from acute drug intoxication and heart disease . Phentermine , a weight - loss drug , was found in his system . His heart weighed more than twice that of an average human heart . He was 66 years old .