Today, I wanna talk about a guy named Bubba Smith. I first heard this name in a movie, an old one called “Police Academy.” So, I got curious and did some digging.
First off, I searched for “Bubba Smith” online. Turns out, this dude was a massive football player, 6 foot 7 and around 265 pounds! He played for teams like the Baltimore Colts, Oakland Raiders, and Houston Oilers. This guy was a big deal in the NFL, even making it to the Pro Bowl twice back in the early 70s. But here’s where it gets interesting for me.
After hanging up his football cleats, Bubba Smith became an actor. He’s best known for playing Moses Hightower in the “Police Academy” movies. I watched a few clips, and man, he was a natural! I think he was in six of those movies. That got me thinking about how he made the jump from sports to acting. The information on the internet said his transition was “seamless”. I guess being that big and having that presence just worked on the big screen.
Then I found out about his memoirs, “BIG BUBBA”. The people who wrote about his books said it has all sorts of stories he never shared before. I thought that was cool, so I put it on my reading list. Seems like he had quite the life, growing up in Texas and all. From what I read, people who played against him in football found him pretty intimidating, which makes sense given his size. And later, I found out that he also appeared in the TV series “Good Times” as a bodyguard.
So that’s what I learned about Bubba Smith today. He was a football legend, a movie star, and it sounds like he had a ton of stories to tell. He had a big size and made a big impact. It’s pretty inspiring to see someone succeed in two totally different careers. I definitely want to check out those “Police Academy” movies again and maybe dig into his book when I have some free time.
