Honoring A

Hometown Razorback
By Jackie Bacon
In mid-July, the Arkansas Razorback football media guide
was released for the 2014 season. The senior class elected to
replicate the cover of the 1964 Arkansas media guide in honor
of the proudest moment in Razorback football history. This year
marks the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Arkansas squad that was
the only undefeated team in the nation that season, boasting an
11-0 record and claiming the national championship given by the
Football Writers Association of America and The Helms Athletic
Foundation.
While all of Razorback nation honors and remembers the
accomplishments of the men on the 1964 squad, the story of one
player in particular on that team hits especially close to home.
Claude Smithey graduated from Searcy High School in 1962,
where he was a football standout. Claudes passion for the game
carried over after high school, and he went on to become a member
of the University of Arkansas football team from 1962-1966.
Claude was the third of four children. His older brother, Carl
Buddy Smithey, fondly remembers their times together growing
up. We went hunting and fishing all the time, Buddy said. I
didnt play football. I worked Claude out hauling hay and thats
what made him tough enough to play football.
There was no denying Claudes toughness. Buddy said it was
evident that Claude was a catalyst for the Searcy Lions, year in
and year out. When there was a tackle made back when he was in
high school, Claude either made it or he was in on it, Buddy said.

Many guys that are talented enough to play football at the

Division I level get a big ego, but not Claude. Philip Williams,
current president of the White County Razorback Club, fondly
reflected on how Claude carried himself during their high school
days.
I was only in eighth grade when Claude was a senior in high
school, but he took up for us younger kids, Phillip said. When
we sat in the gym bleachers, two or three of the other seniors would
pick on us little scrawny kids. Claude always came to our rescue
and would break that up. He would tell those guys to go on about
their business and leave us kids alone.
Though Smithey had a compassionate heart, he was a ferocious
force to be reckoned with when he put his football pads on.
Claude stood at approximately 61, 215 pounds and played both
offensive and defensive tackle throughout his career, which were
tough positions that must battle head-to-head with other linemen
each play.
His sophomore season as a Razorback, Claude got to enjoy
being a part of the only national championship team in Arkansas
football history. His junior season in 1965 came and went, as the
Razorbacks got another taste of success with a 10-1 record and
third place finish in the AP Poll.
The following semester, in spring 1966, Claude ran into a speed
bump in his football journey. During a spring practice, Claude was
involved in a hard tackle that left him with a cranial blood clot.

He was very tender and kind-hearted.

He loved everyone and he loved football.
Kim Gower
80 Your Hometown Magazine

Claudes sister, Mildred Miller, recalled the events that played out
following Claudes injury.
A doctor in Shreveport, Louisiana did his first surgery,
Mildred said. The doctor told Claude, Smithey, youre good
as new. Glen Campbell interviewed Claude on TV and said,
Claude, arent you afraid to go in and play football after what
youve just been through? He told Glen, No, my doctor said Im
okay, gave me a clean bill of health and Im ready to go back and
play football.
Claudes mother required more convincing. She was worried
about Claudes well-being and the responsibility he owed to his
wife Charlene and infant daughter, Kim. Mildred said that Claude
had a heart of gold and cared deeply about his family, but saw
nothing wrong with returning to football because his doctors gave
him the green light.
After he recovered from the concussion and resulting surgery,
Mildred recalled that Claude had to console their mother and
assure her that he was making the right decision. Momma didnt
want to see him go back and play. He took her face in his big ole
hands and he said, Momma, if I die on that football field, Ill die
happy. He said, How many men do you know that can say that
they would be happy dying doing what they loved?
For college athletes, the thought of having to miss out on their
senior year of competition is comparable to a bad nightmare.
Claude was no different; he could not imagine missing out on the
final year of his football career, so he proceeded to play that fall.
The beginning of the season went great for the Razorbacks, as
they began 5-1 after the first six weeks of play. Next came Texas
A&M. Claude played in the second, third and fourth quarters and
the gamed ended in a 34-0 Razorback win. Undoubtedly, what
happened following the game took everyone by surprise. He
walked off the field with the team happy, they showed it on TV,
Mildred said. Then whenever he got in the dressing room, he
grabbed his head and collapsed. That was the end of it.
Claude was rushed to the hospital. Later on, the coaches
reviewed the films of the game and no matter how many times
they searched the coverage, they could not detect when or how
Claude had been injured.
Claude remained in a coma for three weeks and never regained
consciousness. The diagnosis was a cerebral hemorrhage, which
occurs when there is bleeding into the brain tissue.

Claude is pictured on the top row, number 72.

SearcyLiving.com 81

 Kim Smithey Gower receiving a 50th Anniversary ring from Frank Broyles and Jeff Long.
On Tuesday, before the final game of the season against Texas
Tech, Claudes Razorback teammates were called together prior to
practice and given the news that their beloved friend had passed
away. As you can imagine, Arkansas didnt fully have its heart
in the game that weekend and ended up falling in a 21-16 loss
to Texas Tech. Football dulled in comparison to the events of the
previous weeks.
Though the loss of Claude Smithey was hard to swallow, he left
behind a wonderful legacy and a precious daughter, Kimberly Ann.
All these years later, Kim Smithey Gower has heard nothing but
positive thoughts surrounding the life of her father.
Like many others, the first description that came to mind for Kim
was that her father had the persona of a gentle giant. He was very
tender and kind-hearted, Kim said. He loved everyone and he
loved football.
There is no doubt in the mind of Claudes family that he would
have avoided his final year of football had he been able to foretell
the events that would take place. Claude was a family man with a
large heart who planned to use his passion for football to make a
difference in the lives of others.
He wouldnt have risked it on account of his daughter, but they
gave him the okay to go back to play and he was tickled to death,
Mildred said. What he wanted to do was graduate and coach. He
intended to coach. He had a love for football that ran deep.

82 Your Hometown Magazine

The local Razorback Club has had plans to pay homage to

Claude in the makings for years. President Philip Williams decided
that this was the year to take action. Phillip held a vote and club
members unanimously decided to rename their chapter in honor of
Claude Smithey.
On Saturday, September 27, the White County Razorback Club
hosted a watch party of the Arkansas vs. Texas A&M game for its
club members at First Community Bank on Beebe Capps in Searcy.
To kick off the watch party, Phillip presented Kim and her family
with a plaque and framed proclamation that declared the renaming
of the club after her father. From that day forward, the club is to
be known as the Claude Smithey White County Razorback Club.
The Claude Smithey White County Razorback Club is one of
23 Razorback Clubs throughout Arkansas and the surrounding
states that uphold the mission of the Razorback Foundation. These
non-profit clubs hold regular meetings throughout the year that
feature University of Arkansas coaches and administrators, host
fundraisers to support the Foundation and foster camaraderie
among the Razorback Nation well beyond Northwest Arkansas.
To get plugged into the Claude Smithey White County Razorback
Club, visit their Facebook page or follow the directions on the
Razorback Foundation website to become a member-http://www.
razorbackfoundation.com