The football world is mourning a hard-hitting star who became one of the most recognizable faces of San Diego sports.
Billy Ray Smith Jr., the former Chargers linebacker and College Football Hall of Famer, has died at 64.
Smith died Wednesday, July 29, surrounded by family after a long struggle with dementia that his family said was caused by chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
The Chargers remembered Smith with a simple message that captured how deeply he was loved in San Diego:
to know Billy Ray was to love Billy Ray 💙 pic.twitter.com/sFx8gM8eUX
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) July 30, 2026
ABC 10News San Diego reports that Smith’s family described his final years as a long journey with dementia caused by CTE. The family said he faced the disease with courage and dignity and died peacefully with loved ones around him.
The statement also remembered far more than a football player. Smith was a husband, father, son, loyal friend, broadcaster, and longtime supporter of causes across the San Diego community.
He spent his entire 10-year NFL career with the Chargers after San Diego selected him fifth overall in the 1983 NFL Draft.
Smith quickly became one of the anchors of the defense. He was named the team’s defensive player of the year in 1985 and 1986, then earned team MVP honors in 1987.
By the time he retired after the 1992 season, Smith had recorded 26.5 sacks, 15 interceptions, 14 fumble recoveries, and 13 forced fumbles.
Fans later voted him onto the Chargers’ 50th Anniversary Team, securing his place among the franchise’s defining players.
His roots in football ran even deeper.
Smith starred at Arkansas, where he became a two-time unanimous All-American and served as team captain in 1982. The Razorbacks’ tribute highlighted the career that made him the fifth player chosen in the 1983 draft:
We are saddened by the passing of Billy Ray Smith Jr. He was a legendary Razorback, team captain in 1982, two-time All-American and the 5th overall pick in the NFL Draft in 1983. Our thoughts are with his loved ones. pic.twitter.com/8zPA1Ruqkc
— Arkansas Football 🐗 (@RazorbackFB) July 30, 2026
His college accomplishments earned him induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
Smith was also part of a remarkable family football legacy. His father, Billy Ray Smith Sr., played at Arkansas before a long NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Baltimore Colts.
After leaving the field, Smith built a second career in broadcasting.
He served as sports director at San Diego’s ABC affiliate, worked on football broadcasts, and became a fixture on local sports radio. For a generation of fans, his voice and personality were as familiar as his No. 54 jersey.
ABC 10News, where Smith worked and where his wife Kimberly Hunt is a longtime anchor, shared the family’s confirmation of his battle:
Billy Ray Smith Jr., a San Diego Chargers legend and ABC 10News personality, had dementia caused by chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE, his family confirmed following his passing.
— ABC 10News San Diego (@10News) July 31, 2026
CTE has become one of the most painful and difficult issues hanging over contact sports.
The National Institutes of Health says severe CTE is strongly associated with dementia and cognitive decline. The disease is linked to repeated head impacts, but it can only be definitively confirmed by examining the brain after death.
That distinction is important. Smith’s family attributed his dementia to CTE, while the medical standard for a definitive CTE diagnosis remains a postmortem examination.
The same NIH-backed research found that the most advanced stage of CTE was associated with dramatically higher odds of a dementia diagnosis. Researchers are still working toward reliable ways to detect the disease during life.
The study examined 614 brain donors with histories of repetitive head impacts. Researchers found that donors with stage IV CTE were about 4.5 times more likely to have received a dementia diagnosis than donors without CTE, while milder stages were not linked to the same increase.
Those findings, published in early 2026, gave researchers some of their clearest evidence yet that severe CTE itself is tied to serious cognitive and functional decline.
Those medical questions will continue, but Smith’s legacy is already secure.
He was an elite college defender, a first-round NFL star, a Chargers great, and a broadcaster who remained part of the community long after his playing days ended.
Smith is survived by his wife, Kimberly, and their daughter, Savannah.
Sixty-four is far too young.
Rest in peace, Billy Ray Smith Jr.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
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