Lee Roy Smith (Photo/Larry Slater)
Two wrestling greats from the storied Smith family of Oklahoma -- Lee Roy Smith and Pat Smith -- are among the honorees welcomed into the Del City High School Alumni Hall of Fame, The Oklahomana reported Saturday.
Lee Roy Smith, the Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla., attended Del City High from 1974-76, where he won two Oklahoma state wrestling championships. He went on to Oklahoma State, earning an NCAA title, then serving as an assistant wrestling coach for the Cowboys from 1984-87. Smith later earned the Edward Gallagher Award -- named in honor of the legendary Oklahoma State wrestling coach, and presented annually to an Oklahoma State alumnus who, according to the press statement, "exemplifies the spirit and leadership eminent in the tradition of champions" -- from his college alma mater in 2007.
Pat Smith may be best known as the first college wrestler to have earned four NCAA Division I wrestling titles (1990, 1991, 1992 and 1994). While at Oklahoma State, Pat Smith compiled a 121-5-2 record, including a school record for consecutive matches without a loss (98). After graduating, Smith served as an assistant wrestling coach at his college alma mater for 11 years. In 2007, Smith moved to Little Rock to open the Arkansas Wrestling Academy to help start wrestling in the state. Just this past summer, Pat Smith was welcomed into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.
In addition to Lee Roy and Pat Smith, other members of the class of 2015 included retired judge Gary Paul Snow (class of 1961), and the late David E. Howard III, a 1970 Del City High graduate who rose through the ranks of the U.S. Army. The four were honored in an academic awards assembly at the school on Nov. 13.
Pat and Lee Roy Smith join their brother John Smith in the Del City High School Alumni Hall of Fame. The Oklahoma State head wrestling coach, NCAA and Olympic mat champ, and 1983 Del City High grad was welcomed into their high school's hall of fame in the inaugural class of 2004.
According to the Del City High School Alumni Hall of Fame website, "In order to provide the student body at Del City High School with: respect for the public education they are receiving, confidence in themselves, and the reasons for dedication to commit themselves to their dreams, we the former Del City High School graduates from the past fifty years, shall endeavor to provide examples of former students who have achieved respect, fulfilled dreams, experienced and struggled with life, performed well, met or surpassed expectations and deserve recognition."