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Mississippi’s Greatest Athletes: Brookhaven’s Ralph ‘Catfish’ Smith
Ralph “Catfish” Smith, one of the great offensive and defensive ends in Ole Miss history, was first a star at Brookhaven High School, where he was teammates with fellow Hall of Famer Lance Alworth. Smith earned 15 athletic letters at Brookhaven, including football, basketball, baseball and track.
Ralph “Catfish” Smith
Photo courtesy of Mississippi’s Greatest Athletes Book
With Smith and Alworth leading the way, Brookhaven won Big Eight Conference football titles in 1955 and 1957 and Smith made not only All-State, but All-South and All- American. At Ole Miss, Smith was a two-way end on Ole Miss varsity teams that won 29 games, lost 3 and tied one, and played in two Sugar Bowls and a Cotton Bowl. He led Ole Miss in both receiving on offense and hits behind the line of scrimmage on defense in his senior season.
At Ole Miss, Smith was a two-way end on Ole Miss varsity teams that won 29 games, lost 3 and tied one, and played in two Sugar Bowls and a Cotton Bowl. He led Ole Miss in both receiving on offense and hits behind the line of scrimmage on defense in his senior season.
He played tight end and defensive end for three different teams in the NFL and was part of NFL Eastern Conference championship teams with Philadelphia in 1965 and Cleveland in 1968. He finished his career with the Atlanta Falcons in 1969.
Fellow Hall of Famer Jimmie McDowell nicknamed Smith “Catfish,” likening Smith to Vernon “Catfish” Smith, who had earlier starred at Georgia.
Courtesy of Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum director Rick Cleveland, author of Mississippi’s Greatest Athletes. Cleveland can be reached at rcleveland@msfame.com.
| Sat, Aug 31 |  | vs Furman | W, 76-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | vs Middle Tennessee | W, 52-3 |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | @ Wake Forest | W, 40-6 |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | vs Georgia Southern | W, 52-13 |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Kentucky | L, 20-17 |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | @ South Carolina | W, 27-3 |
| Sat, Oct 12 |  | vs LSU | L, 29-26 (2 OT) |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | vs Oklahoma | W, 26-14 |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | @ Arkansas | W, 63-35 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Georgia | W, 28-10 |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | @ Florida | L, 24-17 |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | vs Mississippi State | W, 26-14 |
| Thu, Jan 2 |  | vs Duke (Gator Bowl) | W, 52-20 |
| Mon, Nov 4 |  | vs Long Island University | W, 90-60 |
| Fri, Nov 8 |  | vs Grambling | W, 66-64 |
| Tue, Nov 12 |  | vs South Alabama | W, 64-54 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Colorado State | W, 84-69 |
| Thu, Nov 21 |  | vs Oral Roberts | L, 100-68 |
| Thu, Nov 28 |  | vs BYU | W, 96-85 OT |
| Fri, Nov 29 |  | vs 13 Purdue | L, 80-78 |
| Tue, Dec 3 |  | @ Louisville | W, 86-63 |
| Sat, Dec 7 |  | vs Lindenwood | W, 86-53 |
| Sat, Dec 14 |  | vs Southern Miss | W, 77-46 |
| Tue, Dec 17 |  | vs Southern | W, 74-61 |
| Sat, Dec 21 |  | vs Queens University | W, 80-62 |
| Sat, Dec 28 |  | @ Memphis | L, 87-70 |
| Sat, Jan 4 |  | vs Georgia | 11:00 AM SECN |
| Wed, Jan 8 |  | @ 23 Arkansas | 6:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Jan 11 |  | vs LSU | 5:00 PM SECN |
| Tue, Jan 14 |  | @ 5 Alabama | 6:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Jan 18 |  | @ 17 Mississippi State | 5:00 PM TBA |
| Wed, Jan 22 |  | vs 13 Texas A&M | 8:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Jan 25 |  | @ Missouri | 5:00 PM SECN |
| Wed, Jan 29 |  | vs Texas | 8:00 PM ESPN2 |
| Sat, Feb 1 |  | vs 2 Auburn | 3:00 PM TBA |
| Tue, Feb 4 |  | vs 10 Kentucky | 6:00 PM ESPN |
| Sat, Feb 8 | | @ LSU | 7:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 12 |  | @ South Carolina | 6:00 PM SECN |
| Sat, Feb 15 | | vs 17 Mississippi State | 5:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Feb 22 |  | @ Vanderbilt | 2:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 26 | | @ 2 Auburn | 6:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 1 |  | vs 12 Oklahoma | 1:00 PM TBA |
| Wed, Mar 5 |  | vs 1 Tennessee | 8:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 8 |  | @ 6 Florida | 5:00 PM SECN |
Jimmy Hall
May 22, 2015 at 1:35 am
Hi Catfish. I enjoyed playing with you because you enjoyed football an d life so much. As Coach KInard said, ” Let the Rough Side Drag!’
Ralph Smith
May 24, 2015 at 3:41 pm
Good to hear from you Jimmy. I well remember Coach Kinard and that statement. We probably still could :). We really bad some good teams, coaches and have all stayed close for all these years. Rick Cleveland did an awesome job on this book and I’m honored to be included. I feel like my teammates are just like family so let’s stay in touch. “Catfish”