Commentary: Remembering Craig Smith

(Listen daily for the RP Commentary on the All New Hits 98 & LTD Radio) 

The football world was rocked on Sunday with the news of the passing of longtime scout and personnel man Craig Smith.

The Winnipeg product passed away at age 69 in Regina with his wife Cathy by his side.

Craig’s bio shows that he was a 2-time Grey Cup champion (Lions & Riders) and spent nearly 20 years working in the CFL with BC, Winnipeg and Saskatchewan. But a guy’s resume doesn’t tell you the personal stories.

“Smitty” and I spent many hours together on football fields across the continent and he was the first one to jump on my radio show when we were broadcasting from the sidelines, or later as our Director of Scouting on The RP Show. His analysis was elite.

One day when he sat down on the set of the RP Show, I said to Craig, “We’re going to make you a star!” He winked at me and said, “I’m already a star.”

He had a friendly, warm personality but he had an edge too. During one CFL Draft our head coach pushed the scouting staff aside and starting making selections based off of YouTube videos he’d called up on his laptop at the draft table. Smitty slammed his book closed and yelled, “What the hell did I scout all year for?”

In a diner in Fort MacMurray, AB the morning of a preseason game in 2015, Smitty sat down beside me and I warned him that new club rules prohibited any team personnel from talking to me (a story for another time).

Craig snorted, “I don’t give a F what the new rules are! If I want to sit down with you, I will!”

Smitty had a mind like a steel trap and never forgot a football player, or hockey player. He probably could’ve scouted hockey at a high level too, if he wanted.

Being that my Dad was a career scout as well, he and Craig always told me that one day they’d like to get together for a coffee and swap stories and scouting concepts.

But my Dad left us in 2018 and Smitty did yesterday. They never did get together for that coffee.

All I can say to you today out of that is, please don’t wait for “one day”.

That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary

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