Remembering a Football Legend: Former Basic High Alumnus and Dallas Cowboys Lineman, Gone at 66

Don Smerek, a former Dallas Cowboys defensive star, died last week after a fight with cancer. He was 66.

Smerek played college football at Nevada. After going undrafted, Smerek eventually signed with the Cowboys in 1981. The defensive lineman went on to spend seven seasons with the franchise, playing in 69 games.

Former Cowboys defensive lineman Don Smerek dies from cancer at age 66 |  Daily Mail Online

He finished his career in Dallas with 14.5 sacks.

“He was a great teammate, a great person,” Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Cowboys standout Randy White said. “He was just solid as a football player and I can always count on him. He would come in on third downs and rush the passer and the thing about Don as a football player, he was 100 percent.”

Former Cowboys DL Don Smerek dies at 66 - NBC Sports

White also recalled how he would often go fishing with Smerek.

“A great teammate playing football and we became really great friends off the field. He used to be my fishing partner and we used to go fishing and all the things that go along with that.”

Don Smerek

Former Cowboys defensive lineman Don Smerek is dead at 66. Getty Images
football, helmet
Smerek is remembered as “a great teammate.” Getty Images

Smerek is a Nevada native and moved to Texas after he retired from the NFL. Smerek’s sister Debbie Nye spoke about her brother’s “magnetic personality.”

Don Smerek - Hino Medical Center on Vimeo

“His teammates are lifelong friends, even going back to high school, college and NFL,” Nye said via The Dallas Morning News. “There’s still all of those people, were pretty much by his side. He was a larger-than-life individual, a very magnetic personality.”

The family will honor Smerek’s life in a private memorial service that is expected to take place later this month in Henderson, Nevada. Smerek is survived by his wife, Tandi, his three brothers, his sister, as well as several nieces and nephews.

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