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Hall of Fame

HOF-Lawrence Smith

Lawrence "Larry" W. Smith

  • Class
    1965
  • Induction
    2014
  • Sport(s)
    Football
Lawrence Smith came to Chowan in 1961, left in 1962, but eventually returned in 1964. The allure of playing college football for Jim Garrison was strong for Smith, a native of Richmond, Virginia.

Smith caught the attention of Garrison while a player at Highland Springs High School and enrolled at the then Junior College in 1961. In his first season as a Brave, Smith helped lead the team to an 8-1 overall record. After one season with the team, Smith decided to take up training in another one of his loves, boxing.  Smith left Chowan in 1962 and for two years he trained on the amateur boxing circuit. He participated in the 1964 Olympic trials and fought in the National Golden Gloves Circuit in Louisville, Kentucky. But it was Garrison's long arm that reached out to Smith and in 1964 he returned to the small college on the Meherrin River to play football.

In January of 1965 Smith was a finalist in the National Golden Gloves in Kansas City. Over the course of seven years Smith fought in the National Golden Gloves twice.

After graduation from Chowan in 1965, Smith received a full football scholarship to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He played two seasons of football at BYU, but eventually graduated from San Diego State University.

After living and working in California for some time, Smith moved back to his native Richmond and started his own business. In a 26 year period he grew his business from one store to over 100 locations in the Richmond and Tidewater, Virginia areas.  Smith retired in 2000 and now enjoys spending time traveling with his best friend and wife, Susan.

Smith has served stints as President of the Chowan Alumni Association, President of the Braves Club, and the Chowan Board of Visitors. In 2004 Smith earned the Chowan Distinguished Alumni Award. He also served on the Chowan Division II Committee to help serve as a consultant to the University's transition to NCAA DII. Smith also serves as a guest lecturer in the Chowan University School of Business.
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