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| Position | Nose tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | April 8, 1957 Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 295 lb (134 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Waltham | ||||||||
| College | Boston College | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1979: 2nd round, 32nd overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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Frederic Charles Smerlas (born April 8, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was a nose tackle for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). A five-time Pro Bowl selection with the Buffalo Bills, he also played for the San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots.
Smerlas, of Greek-American descent, graduated from Waltham High School in 1975, where he was a star football player and wrestler. [1] He became a defensive lineman for Boston College before embarking on an NFL career. [2] Smerlas' 1990 autobiography, By a Nose, recounts his 11 years with the Bills and their climb from cellar-dwellers to Super Bowl contenders.
Smerlas currently resides in Massachusetts and is a part-time co-host during football season on sports radio WEEI-FM, NBC Sports Boston - The New England Tailgate Show, as well as a contributor to western New York radio station WHAM (AM) in Rochester.
In 2018, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Smerlas to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018. [3]
Two Time, Two sport All American in Wrestling and Football in High School; Two time New England heavyweight wrestling champ.
During Smerlas' playing career, he was the only player in the NFL who was of Greek descent. [4]
Smerlas, along with friend and colleague Steve DeOssie, opened an award-winning steakhouse at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island, in March 2007 called Fred & Steve's Steakhouse. [5]
Now in his 60s, Smerlas was a five-time NFL Pro Bowl selection during a 14-year career as a nose tackle with the Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots. No pushover between the lines, he was then the only Greek player in the NFL, with a 6'3, 270-pound body filled out by dolmades, bougatsa and baklava.
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