Emmitt Smith celebrates his 51st birthday on Friday. Born in Pensacola, Florida, the son of Mary J. Smith and Emmitt James Smith Jr. attended Escambia High School. A prolific runner from an early age, Smith won a state football championship there before accepting a scholarship to the University of Florida. He played three years for the Gators and finished seventh for the Heisman Trophy as a junior before declaring for the 1990 NFL Draft and joining the Dallas Cowboys.
His record-setting career coincides with one of the most integral chapters in the franchise’s rich history, and Smith, in turn, is one of the club’s most decorated icons and beloved stars.
To commemorate Emmitt’s big day, Cowboys Wire has selected the ten games of Smith’s tenure with the team that best tell the story of No. 22.
1. October 7, 1990: Emmitt’s first 100-yard game
Emmitt Smith’s career as a Cowboy got a little stuck coming out of the gate. In Week 1 of 1990, the rookie logged exactly two yards on two carries in a home win over the San Diego Chargers. A week later, 11 yards on six attempts. Smith’s frustration on the sidelines was evident.
But then again, the Cowboys hadn’t even really wanted Smith to begin with. In April’s draft, Dallas had been eyeing Baylor linebacker James Francis. The Bengals got him instead. Their Plan B was Houston linebacker Lamar Lathon. The front office tried to do a deal with the Oilers to move up for him, but Houston declined… and took Lathon for themselves. The Cowboys settled for the running back from Florida they thought was too small and too slow to truly be an effective pro rusher.
But Smith knew he’d be a superstar; the famed to-do list he once wrote announcing his goal of eventually being the all-time rushing champ was proof. And one by one, he was convincing his new Dallas teammates, too.
Offensive guard Crawford Ker had been Smith’s roommate in the early days.
“I told everyone that I was sharing a room with the man who would make Cowboy fans forget about Tony Dorsett,” Ker once said. “Emmitt just wanted a chance to play and show what he could do.”
That chance came in Week 5 against Tampa Bay. Finally getting a clear-cut lion’s share of the carries over Tommie Agee and Alonzo Highsmith, Smith was a one-man wrecking ball. He rolled up 121 yards on 23 attempts, and while the tape of his first pro touchdown shows quintessential Emmitt, it’s a 16-yard run with three minutes left in regulation that’s worth finding on YouTube. A mix of quick jukes, off-balance jump cuts, and pure power once he hits his stride, it’s the run that gave Smith his first 100-yard outing… and gave the rest of the league a taste of what was to come.
The Cowboys’ 14-10 win that day kickstarted Smith’s rookie campaign in earnest, a season that ended with a Pro Bowl nod and Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.