John "Clipper" Smith

Not to be confused with Maurice J. "Clipper" Smith.

John Philip "Little Clipper" Smith (December 12, 1904 – May 11, 1973) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football as a guard at the University of Notre Dame under Knute Rockne. Smith was a consensus All-American in 1927. He later served as the head coach at North Carolina State University from 1931 to 1933 and at Duquesne University from 1936 to 1938, compiling a career record of 28–24–5. Smith was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1975. He died on May 11, 1973, in West Hartford, Connecticut just before a National Football Foundation awards dinner that was to have honored him.^[1]

John "Clipper" Smith

Smith in 1927
Biographical details
Born	(1904-12-12)December 12, 1904 Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Died	May 11, 1973(1973-05-11) (aged 68) West Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Playing career
1925–1927	Notre Dame
Position(s)	Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1928	Notre Dame (assistant)
1929	Trinity (CT) (assistant)
1930	Georgetown (assistant)
1931–1933	NC State
1934	Newark Academy (NJ)
1935	Duquesne (line)
1936–1938	Duquesne
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1936–1939	Duquesne
Head coaching record
Overall	28–24–5 (college)
Bowls	1–0
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
Consensus All-American (1927)
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1975 (profile)

Head coaching record

College

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs	AP#
NC State Wolfpack (Southern Conference) (1931–1933)
1931	NC State	3–6	2–4	T–17th
1932	NC State	6–1–2	3–1–1	7th
1933	NC State	1–5–3	0–4	10th
NC State:		10–12–5	5–9–1
Duquesne Dukes (Independent) (1936–1938)
1936	Duquesne	8–2			W Orange	14
1937	Duquesne	6–4
1938	Duquesne	4–6
Duquesne:		18–12
Total:		28–24–5
#Rankings from final AP Poll.