Bruce Smith Popular Books
Bruce Smith Biography & Facts
Bruce Bernard Smith (born June 18, 1963) is an American former football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Virginia Tech, where he was a twice All-American, and was selected first overall by the Bills in the 1985 NFL draft. Considered one of the greatest defensive ends of all time, Smith is the NFL's all-time career leader in quarterback sacks with 200. Smith also received 11 Pro Bowl selections and eight first-team All-Pro honors, while appearing in four consecutive Super Bowls with the Bills. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009. High school and college careers Smith is a native of Norfolk, Virginia, where he graduated from Booker T. Washington High School. Following an all-state high school career, Smith accepted an athletic scholarship to Virginia Tech. Known as "the Sack Man" as a Hokie, Smith finished his college career in 1984 as the most honored player in Hokie history. Foreshadowing his future success in pursuing quarterbacks in the NFL, he had a career total of 71 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, for losses totaling 504 yards. Smith had 46 career sacks, including an NCAA-leading 22 during a junior season in 1983 that saw him named First-team All-America by the AFCA (Coaches) and Newspaper Enterprise Association. In 1984, Smith capped off his tenure in Blacksburg with the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's top lineman, and a consensus selection to the All-America Team. His accomplishments at Virginia Tech earned him a spot in the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame. Professional football career Buffalo Bills Following this stellar collegiate career, Smith was drafted by both the Buffalo Bills with the first pick of the 1985 NFL draft and by the United States Football League Baltimore Stars in the 1985 USFL Territorial Draft, and he decided to sign with the Bills. In his rookie year, he had just 6.5 sacks while starting thirteen games. After a rookie season in which his poor training habits limited his effectiveness, inspiration from teammate Darryl Talley and finding love with a college counselor whom he eventually married inspired him to improve his game. He quickly became known as a sack specialist, with fifteen in 1986. He had his first Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection the following year while having twelve sacks in twelve games. He recorded a touchdown that season in the December 13 game against the Indianapolis Colts on a fumble recovery in the end zone. It was his first and only touchdown in his career. He continued his run in 1988 with eleven sacks in twelve games. This was the first season for Smith in the playoffs and he would make the most of it with three sacks in two postseason games, although the Bills lost in the AFC title game to the Cincinnati Bengals. In March 1989, as a restricted free agent, Smith signed an offer-sheet with the Denver Broncos for $7.5 million over five years. Smith had excelled as their defensive leader, but the Bills were concerned about him with his substance abuse problem (since he had been suspended four games the previous year for it) and thus had him followed by undercover detectives in November, which stuck with him months later. Faced with the choice between Smith and two draft choices from Denver, the Bills picked Smith. Now, as the highest-paid defensive player in the league, Smith would stay with the Bills for a considerable amount of time. He responded by playing in all sixteen games of the season and recording thirteen sacks to make his third straight Pro Bowl. He broke the record for sacks by a Bill all-time during the year (51), and he would continue to raise the total for years to come. Some conjecture that his 171 sacks in Buffalo set a standard that "may be unreachable" for future Bills. He recorded half a sack in the divisional round playoff game that year, which the Bills lost to the Cleveland Browns 34–30. The next year, his defensive performance helped bring the Bills to Super Bowl XXV when he set a personal high in sacks with nineteen (three short of the then record for sacks in a season). He did not have a sack in either of the first two playoff games for the Bills, but Smith saved his efforts for Super Bowl XXV against the New York Giants. He sacked Jeff Hostetler in the end zone in the second quarter, becoming only the fifth player to record a Super Bowl safety (which gave the Bills a 12–3 lead in the second quarter). Later, Smith forced New York to turn the ball over on downs by tackling running back Ottis Anderson for a two-yard loss on a fourth-down conversion attempt. Only a failed last-second field goal attempt that narrowly went wide right kept the team from its first NFL championship. In 1991, though Smith's knee problems forced him out for most of the season, the Bills once again reached the Super Bowl. In 1992, in much better health, Smith was again a first-team All-Pro and was voted to the Pro Bowl while recording a team-leading fourteen sacks, and he repeated his sack total the following year. He led the league in forced fumbles twice with five (1994, 1996). By 1996, though the Bills' run of Super Bowl appearances had ended, Smith was still putting up prolific numbers, with ninety tackles and fourteen sacks. In 1997, Smith had 65 tackles and fourteen sacks and by 1998, although he was getting older, he still had a respectable fifty tackles and ten sacks. In the final postseason game of his career, he recorded a best in sacks with 2.5 in the wild card round game for the Bills against the Tennessee Titans, although they lost 22–16 on a last-second controversial play. Smith, along with Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas, was dumped from the Bills roster in an emergency salary cap measure after the 1999 season. Washington Redskins Smith signed with the Washington Redskins as a free agent. Although he was now playing in mostly passing situations, he posted 58 tackles and ten sacks in his first season. He pressed onward in pursuit of Reggie White's all-time sacks record (198, achieved in 15 seasons), which he passed in Week 14 of the 2003 NFL season by sacking New York Giants quarterback Jesse Palmer in a 20–7 win at Giants Stadium. Smith finished his career with 200 career sacks, the only person ever to reach that mark. Smith had hinted in interviews that 2003 would be his final season, but never completely ruled out continuing to play. However, on February 24, 2004, the Redskins released Smith, saving $6.5 million in salary cap space. NFL career accomplishments Smith was a first-ballot inductee to the NFL Hall of Fame. In his 19 NFL seasons, Smith played in 279 games, amassing a record 200 sacks, two interceptions, 46 forced fumbles, and 15 fumble recoveries, one of which he returned for a 33-yard touchdown. Of his 19 seasons in the NFL, 13 of them were seasons where he had at least ten sacks, a test.... Discover the Bruce Smith popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Bruce Smith books.
Best Seller Bruce Smith Books of 2024
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Dear Me
Peter UstinovSir Peter Ustinov's beautifully crafted autobiography is told with exquisite wit and insight. From his birth in April 1921, it spans his extraordinary career as actor, playwright, ...
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Tales from the New York Jets Sideline
Mark CannizzaroIdeal for fans of the Mark of a Lion series and Bill Parcells Pro football chronicle of the New York Jets Covers the successes and losses of the JetsFor over 55 seasons, the New Y...
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Shared Notes
Martin HayesMartin Hayes spent his childhood on a farm in County Clare, in a household steeped in musical tradition. After a freespirited youth, he headed to the United States where he built a...
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The Triumvirate
George BehePresenting the true stories of three core individuals in Titanic’s history Captain Edward J. Smith, shipbuilder Thomas Andrews, and White Star Line chairman Joseph Bruce Ismay
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Why Patti Smith Matters
Caryn Rose»Eine liebevolle Würdigung von Patti Smiths wahrhaftigem Genie und ihrem großen Beitrag zur globalen Kultur der letzten fünfzig Jahre.« Shirley Manson, GarbageWhy Patti Smith Matte...
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My World in Motion
Jo WhileyJo Whiley is someone millions of us recognise but very few of us know. Jo's a mother, sister, DJ, wife and musicindustry insider who throughout her career and in an age of fleetin...
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Apocalypse
Nathan Bruce SmithIn the near future, former Mormon missionary and excon Peter Novak is approached out of the blue by his uncle Jethro Black, who comes bearing news: the Apocalypse is here. An...
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Tales from the New York Giants Sideline
Paul Schwartz, Wellington Mara & John MaraFew sports franchises can match the long, stories history, rich tradition, and legion of passionate, loyal fans of the New York Giants. In this newlyupdated edition of Tales from t...
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The Silver River
Jim MoginieA moving and inspiring memoir of families lost and rediscovered, by a founding member of legendary band Midnight Oil.For fifty years, songwriter, guitarist and keyboard player Jim ...
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Kick Out the Jams
Dave MarshSelected writings on three decades of popular music from one of the most influential critics of his generation.Spanning three decades worth of astute, acerbic, and overall astoundi...
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Legends of the Buffalo Bills
Randy SchultzLegends of the Buffalo Bills, first published in 2003, is not only a story about a National Football League team. It is also the story of the city it occupies and its fans. Origina...
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A Genius for Failure
Paul O'KeeffeHaydon's first attempt at suicide ended when the low calibre bullet fired from his pistol fractured his skull but failed to penetrate his brain. His second attempt also failed: a...
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Messing Up the Paintwork
Ebury Publishing‘If it’s me and your granny on bongos, it’s The Fall.’As legendary frontman of postpunk outfit The Fall, Mark E. Smith was known as much for his mercurial temperament as his except...
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Voices from the Titanic
Geoff TibballsThis is the graphic, firsthand story of the maiden voyage and disastrous sinking of the RMS Titanic, told by the survivors themselves. The story of the sinking of the great liner h...
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The Best American Poetry 2020
David LehmanThe 2020 edition of contemporary American poetry returns, guest edited by Paisley Rekdal, the awardwinning poet and author of Nightingale, proving that this is “a ‘best’ anthology ...
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Peacemaker
Garth EnnisPEACEMAKER GIBT ALLES! … um endlich anerkannt zu werden und ein paar Freunde zu finden. Was nicht ganz einfach ist, wenn man von Grund auf ein Arsch ist – ein sympathischer viellei...
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Every Chart Topper Tells a Story
Sharon DavisThe glorious sixties were a decade for the young and rebellious, of cultural freedom and of sexual liberation. The British music scene had never been so adventurous, taking even th...
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Skydancer
Geoffrey ArcherProject Skydancer was the brainchild of the Ministry of Defence. Beautiful and terrifying in its simplicity, DS29 had designed new warheads for Polaris missiles, warheads that with...
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Bruce v. Smith
Supreme Court of KansasThe opinion of the court was delivered by The plaintiffs Herbert D. Bruce and Carol Bruce, his wife, bring this action to recover damages to a couch which was ...
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Tales from the Minnesota Gophers
Ray Christensen & Dave MonaIn Tales from the Minnesota Gophers Sideline, Ray Christensen tells nearly 200 tales from all 11 men’s sports at the University of Minnesota. The emphasis is largely on the last ha...
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Hayley Westenra
Darren Henley & Hayley WestenraHayley's first performance as 'Little Star' in a Christmas play was perfectly pitched, beautifully sung and enthusiastically received. She was six years old. Now, at the tender age...
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Paul Weller - The Changing Man
Paolo HewittPaolo Hewitt has known Paul Weller since they were both teenagers in the depths of Woking, through his ascent to fame with The Jam, the halcyon years of The Style Council and for a...
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Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 11
Maxim JakubowskiThis superb annual anthology of the year’s most outstanding short crime fiction published in the UK is now well into its second decade. Jakubowski has succeeded, once again, in une...
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Underworld
Don DeLilloFinalist for the Pulitzer Prize Finalist for the National Book Award Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award Winner of the Howell’s Medal of the American Academy of Art...
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Teenage Revolution
Alan DaviesWhen Alan Davies was growing up he seemed to drive his family mad. 'What are we going to do with you?' they would ask as if he might know the answer.Perhaps it was because he came...
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Billy Bragg
Andrew Collins'Love me or hate me. It's a great read’ Billy Bragg He was a punk. He was a soldier. He was a flagwaver for the Labour Party and the miners. He is Billy Bragg, passionate protest ...
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Bruce A. Smathers v. Chesterfield Smith
Supreme Court of FloridaWe have before us a challenge to a proposed constitutional amendment which was adopted by joint resolution of the 1976 Florida Legislature for submission to the people of the state...
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Shiny and New
Dylan Jones'A wholly successful endeavour carried along by waves of infectious enthusiasm' Mojo'Fascinating' New StatesmanThe '80s were about big ideas writ large new money, new style, gende...
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Worldmakers
Gardner DozoisWhen mankind moves out to the stars, the colonists of the future will remake the worlds they inhabit in their image. Included here are twenty stories from the most imaginative writ...
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Missing, Presumed Dead
Mark TedeschiIt was the double murder case that gripped Australia, and former Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi KC is finally able to share all the astonishing details.Shortlisted for the 202...
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Robots
Chuck KlostermanOriginally collected in Chuck Klosterman IV and now available both as a standalone essay and in the ebook collection Chuck Klosterman on Film and Television, this essay is about I,...
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Microbe Hunters - Figures from the Heroic Age of Medicine
Paul de KruifThis popscience volume is Paul de Kruif’s classic account of microscopic discoveries, and it presents a history of the most important figures in medicine.Microbe Hunters is separat...
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Raspberry Pi Insider Guide
Bruce SmithRaspberry Pi Insider Guide: Everything you need for the Model B/B+ and moreTaking You from beginner to Expert!The most uptodate Raspberry Pi guide available.Everything you need to ...
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Bruce Wade Smith v. State Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals of TexasUpon a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, Bruce Wade Smith, appellant, was convicted by a jury of murdering his father. The jury also assessed appellants punishment at life ...
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The Life and Times of Bruce Smith
Bruce K SmithThe story of survival and courage. Written by a Vietnam veteran who served three tours of duty. Follow a journey of love, loss, and endurance from the threat of jail, to an armed c...