Lee Roy Smith
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | July 27, 1958 Del City, Oklahoma, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Events | Freestyle and Folkstyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Oklahoma State | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lee Roy Smith III (born July 27, 1958) is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler. He represented the United States in freestyle wrestling at the 1983 World Championships at 62 kg, where he won a silver medal. As a collegiate wrestler, he was a four-time Big 8 Conference champion, three-time NCAA Division I All-American, and the 142-pound 1980 NCAA Division I champion, competing for Oklahoma State.
Wrestling career
[edit]High School
[edit]Smith attended Del City High School in Del City, Oklahoma. As a high school wrestler, he won two Oklahoma state championships.[1] He also won two Junior National freestyle wrestling championships.[2]
College
[edit]He attended Oklahoma State University, where he was a four-time Big 8 Conference champion, a three-time NCAA Division I All-American, and the 142-pound NCAA Division I champion in 1980.[3] Smith was also the first Oklahoma State Cowboy wrestler to earn over 100 career wins.[4]
Senior level
[edit]Following his collegiate career, Smith wrestled on the freestyle Senior level circuit. He represented the United States at the 1983 World Championships in freestyle wrestling at 62 kg, where he won a silver medal.[5] He won the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at his weight class, only to later lose his spot in a protracted court battle. Smith was also a qualifier at the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials.[6]
Honors
[edit]In 2022, Smith was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.[7]
In 2026, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.[8]
Family
[edit]Lee Roy is the older brother of John Smith, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time World Champion in freestyle wrestling, and Pat Smith, the first four-time NCAA Division I national champion in collegiate wrestling history.[9] Smith's nephews Mark Perry and Chris Perry are also NCAA Division I wrestling national champions, and his other nephew J. T. Realmuto, is an MLB All-Star catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies.[10][11]
References
[edit]- ↑ Palmer, Mark. (December 1, 2015). Lee Roy, Pat Smith now in Del City High Hall of Fame. InterMat. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ↑ Player Bio: Lee Roy Smith. thesundevils.com. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ↑ Lee Roy Smith. nwhof.org. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ↑ Engel, Adam. (August 14, 2022). Smith, McQuarters, to be inducted into Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. ocolly.com. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ↑ (September 9, 2004). Lee Roy Smith named Executive Director of National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. USA Wrestling. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ↑ (April 17, 2013). Player Bio: Lee Roy Smith - Arizona State University Official Athletic Site. thesundevils.com. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ↑ Former Oklahoma State wrestler Lee Roy Smith III named to Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. Yahoo Sports. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ↑ Lee Roy Smith III. nwhof.org. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
- ↑ (January 31, 2021). John Smith, Pat Smith, Smith Family Etched In Stone Podcast Launches Monday. okstate.com. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ↑ "Realmuto seeking to wear gold of his own". MLB.com. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
- ↑ Finn, Mike (November 1, 2022). "Phillies catcher Realmuto still credits his wrestling roots". WIN Magazine. Retrieved October 12, 2025.