Randolph Smith (December 12, 1948 – June 4, 2009) was an American professional basketball player who set the NBA record for consecutive games played. From 1972 to 1982, Smith played in every regular season game, en route to a then-record of 906 straight games (since broken by A.C. Green).[1] In college, he was a Division II All-American basketball player, soccer player and track athlete. He was born in Bellport, New York.
Smith was an outstanding all-around athlete at Buffalo State College, earning All-American honors in three sports: basketball, soccer and track. At Bellport High School on Long Island, Smith was a standout on the soccer and basketball teams, and also set a state high jump record of 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m). However, it was on the basketball court that Smith shone brightest, teaming with Durie Burns to lead the Bengals to three straight conference championships, including a trip to the Final Four of the NCAA Division II Tournament in 1970, where Smith earned All-Tournament honors.
Professional career
Buffalo Braves / San Diego Clippers (1971–1979)
Smith surprised everyone in training camp, and he made the final roster cuts. Despite standing only 6-foot-3, he was assigned to play forward. He averaged 13.4 points per game in his rookie season. Smith continued to improve beyond expectation, drawing on his tremendous speed, quickness and leaping ability. His style of play, along with contemporaries like Julius Erving, marked by fast breaks and "above the rim" ball movements influenced the offensive style of the NBA in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Playing alongside league scoring champion Bob McAdoo, Smith averaged 21.8 points per game in the 1975–76 season, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team.
The highlight of Smith's career was the 1978 NBA All-Star Game, where he came off the bench to lead all scorers with 27 points, and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.[1]
Smith played for seven years for the Braves until the franchise became the San Diego Clippers in 1978. That first year with the Clippers, Smith had his fourth consecutive season averaging over 20 points per game.
Cleveland Cavaliers (1979–1981)
In 1979, Smith was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he was named team captain and played for two years.
The next season, Smith moved back to San Diego for another season.
On November 3, 1982, Smith played in his 845th consecutive NBA game, breaking Johnny Kerr's iron man record.[2] The game was a 130–111 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in which Smith started and scored 14 points. Smith's iron man streak ended at 906 games when he played his last game with the Clippers on March 13, 1983. He had requested to be waived to play for a contender late in the 1982–83 NBA season and he missed a game while waiting to clear waivers. The record was later surpassed by A.C. Green in 1997.[3][4]
Atlanta Hawks (1983)
Smith was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, where he played 15 games before retiring.
NASL
In early 1975 at age 26, while nearing the height of his basketball career, Smith turned many heads at a tryout for the expansion Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League. The Rowdies' management had hoped to sign the two-time college soccer All-American for the outdoor season as one of their "required" American players; however, his contract with the Braves would not allow him to play professional soccer at the time.[5] A year later while in between basketball contracts, the Rowdies gave him another look,[6][7] but it wasn't meant to be. After a third and final tryout in 1977, Rowdies coach Eddie Firmani felt that the combination of playing pro basketball and not playing any soccer for so long had diminished Smith's soccer skills too much.[8][9]
Executive and coaching career
After retiring as a player, Smith was an NBA league executive whose duties included assisting former players in need, and he was a coach in the Continental Basketball Association before working at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, where he worked in marketing.[1]
Post-playing career
Smith was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame on Long Island in the Basketball Category with the Class of 1990. He was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
