Happy Friday everyone!
Fact Friday #89 is upon us. And there’s just no way I could let this opportunity to pay homage to arguably the best player to don a Carolina Panthers uniform simply pass by. No one from Charlotte and certainly no true Panthers fan will find controversy with that statement.
Referred to as Agent 89 due to his jersey number, Stevonne Latrall "Steve" Smith Sr. (born May 12, 1979) is a former American football wide receiver who played sixteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Utah, and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft. Following a tumultuous split from the Panthers, he also played for the Baltimore Ravens the last three seasons of his career.
Smith, a five-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro, emerged as one of the NFL's most productive wide receivers of the 21st century, leading the league in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns in 2005. He played for the Panthers for 14 seasons before signing with the Ravens in March 2014, and is the Panthers' all-time leader in total touchdowns (67), receptions (836) and receiving yards (12,197). In 2011, he became the 35th player in NFL history to amass 10,000 receiving yards. In 2016, Smith became the 14th player in NFL history to amass 1,000 career receptions. At the time of his retirement, he ranked 7th on the NFL's all-time list in all-purpose yards (19,180), 7th in receiving yards (14,731), 12th in receptions (1,031) and 25th in touchdown receptions (81).
Panthers franchise records:
As of 2017's NFL off-season, Steve Smith held at least 72 Panthers records, including:
- Receptions, career (836), season (103 in 2005), game (14 on 2005-11-20 @CHI), playoffs (51), playoff season (27 in 2005), playoff game (12 on 2006-01-15 @CHI)
- Receiving yards, career (12,197), season (1,563 in 2005), game (201 on 2005-10-30 MIN), playoffs (856), playoff season (404 in 2003), game (218 on 2006-01-15 @CHI)
- Yards per reception, career (14.6)
- Receiving touchdowns, career (67), game (3, twice; with Muhsin Muhammad x2), playoffs (8), playoff season (3 in 2003 and 2005), playoff game (2 on 2006-01-15 @CHI; with Kelvin Benjamin)
- Receiving yards per game, career (67.0), season (101.5 in 2008), playoffs (95.1), playoff season (111.7 in 2005)
- Total touchdowns, career (75), playoffs (10), playoff season (5 in 2005), playoff game (2 on 2006-01-08 @NYG and 2006-01-15 @CHI; with three other players)
- Yards from scrimmage: career (12,584), playoffs (901), playoff season (411 in 2003), playoff game (244 on 2006-01-15 @CHI)
- All-Purpose yards: career (16,607), season (1,994 in 2001), game (313 on 2002-12-08 CIN), playoffs (1,015), playoff season (467 in 2003), playoff game (243 on 2006-01-15 @CHI), rookie season (1,994), rookie game (269 on 2001-11-11 @STL)
- Kickoff return yards, game (252 on 2001-11-11 @STL)
- Kickoff return touchdowns, season: 2 (2001; with Michael Bates)
- Punt returns: career (178), season (55 in 2002), game (9 on 2002-09-15 DET), playoff game (3 on 2004-01-03 DAL; with Ted Ginn Jr.)
- Punt return yards: career (1,652), game (153 on 2002-12-08 CIN), playoffs (73), playoff season (58 in 2005), and playoff game (59 on 2006-01-22 @SEA)
- Yards per punt return: game (51.0 on 2002-12-08 CIN), playoffs (10.43), playoff game (4.33 on 2004-01-03 DAL)
- Punt return touchdowns: career (4), season and game (2 on 2002-12-08 CIN), and only Panther with a postseason punt return TD (2006-01-22 @SEA)
- Total return yards: career (4,023), season (1,795 in 2001), game (206 on 2001-10-14 NOR)
- Games with 100+ receiving yards: career (46), season (10 in 2005), playoffs (3)
- Games with 1+ TD scored: career (71), season (12 in 2005), playoffs (8)
- Games with 2+ TD scored: career (11; with DeAngelo Williams), season (5 in 2005; with Muhsin Muhammad and DeAngelo Williams), playoffs (2)
- Games with 3+ TD scored: career (3; with DeAngelo Williams)
- Seasons with 1,000+ receiving yards: 7
We will never, ever forget the passion and fire that “Smitty” brought to the game for the Panthers, truly embodying the “Keep Pounding” mantra. And for that reason, we dedicate this 89th Fact Friday to a LEGEND.
Until next week!
Chris.
Email me at chris@704Shop.com if you have interesting Charlotte facts you’d like to share or just to provide feedback!
Information taken from:
Additional commentary added.
“We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and the future.” – Frederick Douglass