Las Vegas Raiders revealed that former Los Angeles Raiders fullback Steve Smith passed away this Saturday. Smith was 57 years old. He was battling Lou Gehrig’s disease for a very long time. He was diagnosed with the unfortunate illness two decades ago.
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The career of Steve Smith
Steve Smith was considered as one of the toughest men who ever stepped foot on the football field. Playing at the fullback position, no one took more hits than him.
In the 1987 draft, Steve Smith was drafted by the Raiders in the third round. He was a star in college at Penn State. The Nittany Lions won their last national championship in the season of 1986 with the help of Smith. He covered nearly 500 all-purpose yards and bagged four touchdowns for Penn State.
“He’s the toughest fullback I’ve ever seen.”
Rest in peace to the great Steve Smith 🖤 pic.twitter.com/giM4IjGCTK
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 21, 2021
“He was always about making sure everybody else was fine,” Steve Smith’s best friend and a former Penn State receiver Troy Cromwell said, “He’s trying everything he can because he does it for everybody else. He’s always been there for everyone else. He’s still Superman in our eyes …”
Steve Smith played for nine seasons in the NFL. Seven years with the Los Angeles Raiders and his last two seasons were with the Seattle Seahawks. During his nine-year career, Smith was the lead blocker in the squad. Superman used to block NFL stars like Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson. He ran for a total of 1,627 yards and made nine touchdowns in total.
Steve Smith’s passing
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Steve Smith passed away peacefully on Saturday. He lived with the help of machines for over ten years. The Raiders call him an inspiration, “smiling every day while always working for a cure for” Smith never gave up and fought till his last breath. He held onto the hope that one day there will be a cure found for Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
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The Las Vegas Raiders and the fans send their thoughts and prayers to the widow of Steve Smith, Chie Smith, his children, Dante and Jazmin, and the newest addition to the Smith family, their grandson Little Steve. It saddened NFL fans around the world to witness the passing of one of the toughest men in football. We hope he is finally at peace.
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