Cedric Smith Cedric Crawford " Pat " Smith ( March 12 , 1895 – April 23 , 1969 ) was an American football fullback who played for the University of Michigan ( 1915 – 1916 ) , the Great Lakes Naval Training Station , and the Buffalo All - Americans ( 1920 – 1921 , 1923 ) . He was either the second or third leading scorer in the inaugural season of the NFL ( then known as the American Professional Football Association ) . Early years . Born in Minneapolis , Minnesota , Smith moved with his family to Bay City , Michigan , where he attended high school . University of Michigan . In 1914 , Smith enrolled at the University of Michigan and played on the Michigan Wolverines freshman football team . Smith was a standout on the freshman team , being compared with Michigan State star George " Carp " Julian : " Smith weighs 190 . He rips up the line in about the same manner as the Aggie terror . " As a sophomore in 1915 , Smith started five games at fullback . As a junior in 1916 , he started seven games at fullback . Michigan ' s legendary coach , Fielding H . Yost , said of Smith : " Pat was a brilliant player . . . fast , brainy and an excellent punter and passer . I would call him an all - around star . He was unfortunate in being injured on a number of occasions , but the following Saturday he was usually ready to put on another stellar performance . " After the 1916 season , Smith ' s teammates selected him as captain of the 1917 Michigan football team . Smith was also a member of the Michigan track and field team in 1916 , 1917 and 1919 . He won the Big Ten Conference shot put title in 1919 . World War I . After submarines sank seven U . S . merchant ships and the publication of the Zimmerman telegram , the United States declared war on Germany on April 6 , 1917 . Even before the formal declaration of war , Smith enlisted with the Ann Arbor naval reserves and by the end of April 1917 , he was reported to be " somewhere in the east " serving his country . In honor of Captain Smith ' s actions , the Michigan football team voted to preserve his status as captain of the 1917 team , even though he spent the fall at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station . For the first time in the history of football at Michigan , the team had no active captain . At the Great Lakes Naval Training Station , Smith was assigned to play on the unit ' s football team with other leading football players who were enlisted in the Navy . Smith was the captain and fullback for the Great Lakes team , a squad that beat the University of Iowa 14 - 7 . For Thanksgiving , a special all - star match was played at Stagg Field in Chicago between players who were serving in the Army and Navy . Smith was the leader of the Navy team that defeated the Army 27 - 0 . Newspaper accounts of the game report that Smith played a " brilliant game , " as he " smashed his way over for two touchdowns . " With most of college football ' s top performers in the military service , Walter Camp did not select an All - American team in 1917 . Instead , he selected an All - America Service team and named Smith as the fullback on that team . After the war , Smith returned to Michigan where he received his degree in 1919 . Professional football . Smith played professional football for Masillon Tigers in 1919 and for the Buffalo All - Americans in the fledgling National Football League ( then known as the American Professional Football Association ) from 1920 – 1921 and 1923 . In 1920 , the first season of the NFL ' s existence , Smith led Buffalo with four touchdowns . Though individual records from the 1920 NFL season are difficult to verify , sources indicate that Smith ' s 24 points placed him as either the second or third leading scorer in the league . In 1921 , Buffalo ' s backfield included Smith at fullback , Elmer Oliphant at halfback , Ockie Anderson , and Tommy Hughitt at quarterback . With what was said to be the best backfield in the league , Buffalo finished in first place in 1921 , compiling a 9 - 1 - 2 record and outscoring opponents 211 - 29 . In November 1921 , Buffalo played a game at Chicago ' s Cub Park in front of a large crowd , including " scores of Michigan men " who yelled for former Wolverine favorites , Smith and Hughitt . Smith played in only one NFL game after the 1921 season , a single game for Buffalo in 1923 . Later years . In 1943 , Smith was working at Ford Motor Company ' s Rouge plant in Detroit . At the time , the United Press reported on the assemblage of football greats who were then working at the plant , including Smith , Jim Thorpe , Harry Newman , Chuck Bernard , Jack Blott and Stan Fay . Smith died in 1969 at age 74 .