Ex-USC coach Smith dies at 68
Larry Smith, the emotional coach who led USC to the Rose Bowl three times and won 143 games with Tulane, Arizona, USC and Missouri, died Monday after a long bout with chronic lymphatic leukemia. He was 68.
Mr. Smith died in a Tucson hospital, the University of Arizona confirmed.
His 24-year head coaching career began at Tulane, included seven years at Arizona and ended in 2000 at Missouri. Mr. Smith was 143-126-7 and his teams were 3-6-1 in bowl games.
"It's a sad day for Wildcats past, present and future," Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood said. "Larry was part of a great tradition at UA."
Mr. Smith coached USC for six years, finishing 44-25-3, before he was fired on New Year's Day of 1993, his departure hastened by a 24-7 loss in the Freedom Bowl to unranked Fresno State.
Mr. Smith moved from Arizona to USC in 1987 and took the Trojans to the Rose Bowl in each of his first three seasons, losing twice before beating Michigan and his mentor, Bo Schembechler, in Schembechler's final game as Wolverines coach after the 1989 season.
Mr. Smith worked under Schembechler for six years at Miami of Ohio and Michigan.
"He was a remarkable football coach. He was one of these guys that just made up his mind something was going to get done, and it did," said Corky Simpson, retired sports columnist for the Tucson Citizen.
Mr. Smith, then an assistant at Arizona, landed his first head coaching job at Tulane.
Mr. Smith returned to Arizona in 1980 as its head coach, just as the Wildcats began serving a lengthy NCAA probation. He righted the program and ended the 1986 season with a 9-3 record.
Mr. Smith and his wife, Cheryl, kept their home in Tucson, where they spent their offseasons, then moved back full time when he retired after being fired at Missouri. Their two children and several grandchildren live in Tucson or the Phoenix area.
Source: www.pe.com
