By Rubin E. Grant
During Homewood’s 1974 state championship football season, Patriots co-captain Murray Legg always felt a little taller when he walked onto the field for the coin toss before games.
Legg’s valiant posture was because of Homewood’s other co-captain, Randy Smith.
“I was honored to be a co-captain with Randy,” Legg said. “It was an honor to walk on the field before each game beside him.”
Legg was “on the field” with Smith one last time Jan. 2 when Smith’s memorial service was held at Homewood’s Waldrop Stadium.
Randall “Randy” Versie Smith, 63, died Dec. 28 at UAB Hospital, following a fall at his home in Vestavia Hills the day after Christmas.
Smith was a former Birmingham police officer who was accidentally shot in the head and permanently disabled while on duty in 1995. According to the medical examiner, the injury he suffered 25 years earlier was likely a contributing factor in his death.
The shooting occurred March 22, 1995, when Smith and other officers were dispatched to a domestic dispute in Ensley. While responding to the call, officer Smith rescued a toddler, but a fellow responding officer accidentally shot Smith. Smith was unable to return to duty and retired from the force in 1996.
Smith served in the army for six years before joining the Birmingham Police Department in 1988. He worked as an officer for eight years before being shot in the head. He spent weeks in a coma after hours of surgery. The shooting left him deaf in one ear and blind in one eye, and he experienced difficulties with speech.
Legg grew up with Smith, and they were teammates on sports teams and friends throughout the years.
“I first met Randy when I was 10 years old, playing Little League baseball at West Homewood Park,” Legg recalled. “He was a competitor and a fighter. I’m not talking a fist fighter, but just a tough, tough competitor.
“But he was also one of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet. He was a wonderful teammate and friend.”
Former Homewood football coach Alvin Bresler, who led the Patriots to that 1974 championship, complimented Smith’s longtime friend and fellow police officer Jim Henderson for helping plan Smith’s funeral service.
“Jim Henderson and the Birmingham Police Department did a beautiful job with the ceremony celebrating Randy Smith’s life,” Bresler said. “It was well attended by a lot of players who played with him at Homewood.
“We paid tribute to a great person. He not only played offensive line but inside linebacker on our 1974 championship team. He was about 6-foot-1, 185 pounds. He was not just strong, but a tough cat. You could see it by how he took things on.”
A Loyal Friend
Bresler remembered Smith for just loving life.
“Randy loved to kid, but he didn’t just dish it out, he could take it,” Bresler said. “When his accident happened 25 years ago, it didn’t change him. He had a strong will to live and he had to overcome a very tough situation.”
In his obituary, Smith’s family wrote: “Randy’s spirit, optimism, and love for others remained unharmed. Randy was very involved with his family and loved spending time with his children and grandchildren. A true hero, he also enjoyed investing his time and giving back to others by visiting patients at the Lakeshore Foundation and the Alabama Head Injury Foundation sharing his story of hope and survival.”
That didn’t surprise Legg.
“Randy was always a giver,” Legg said. “He was loyal to his friends and family. I know he loved his family and dearly loved his children. After his accident, he never complained and never said, ‘Why me?’ He took life as it came and made the best of it that he could.”
Smith was a recipient of the city of Homewood’s Quality of Life award and was appointed grand marshal of the We Love Homewood Parade in 2008.
“The last three years, several of us got together with Randy for lunch and you could tell how he tried to stay positive after all he had gone through and was going through,” Bresler said. “He had a way of making you feel good.”
About 10 years ago, the Homewood High School athletic department established the Randy Smith Courage Award Scholarship to be given during its Senior Awards Day.
“It’s voted on by the coaches,” Bresler said. “I haven’t presented it yet, but this year I want to be the presenter as a tribute to Randy.”
