Leukemia's Offense too much for Larry Smith's Defense

Larry Smith, who led Southern California to the Rose Bowl three times and won 143 games with Tulane, Arizona, USC and Missouri, died at the age of 68, after a long bout with chronic lymphatic leukemia. Smith began his football life playing at Bowling Green State after transferring from West Point. His first coaching job was at Miami of Ohio under the tutelage of mentor Bo Schembechler.

At Arizona, Smith's number one goal for his players was to have fun, although his emotions often overshadowed that:

"Larry was part of a great tradition at University of Arizona and helped so many young student-athletes be successful playing football and later in life. His love for college football was as big as the emotion that he wore on his sleeve," Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood said.

Considering the sleeves on his normal coaching attire, that is a lot of emotion.

[ESPN]