Story Links
June 2, 2004
The University of Virginia lost a piece of history this week. Doyle Smith, a loved, legendary figure, lost his battle with Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 60.
I remember the first time I walked into Doyle Smith’s office. I was 27 and had just been hired by former athletic director Gene Corrigan to be the “Voice of the Cavaliers”. I was a bit scared but excited at the same time. This was a position I had always wanted and I knew in my heart to do a good job, I would need support, friends, and information. Good information. History. Virginia stuff that would make it seem as though I’d worked in Charlottesville for years. Since I had never been east of the Mississippi there was a lot of ground to cover regarding the Cavaliers. Doyle was always there.
The stacks of papers and press guides told me I was approaching a man of immense talent and intellect. Doyle knew it all. Numbers, rules, years of greatness. He was an encyclopedia of college information and his position with the University was as respected as any head coach. If you had a question, you simply called Doyle. Smith’s love of college lacrosse was punctuated with the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association’s Man of the Year award in 1984 and again in ’93. In October of 2000 he was inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame and in ’95 was one of the first 10 individuals selected to the Virginia Lacrosse Hall of Fame. It went beyond lacrosse, however.
Doyle Smith carried the University of Virginia in his heart and on his sleeve. He wore orange before orange was cool. He must have owned twenty UVA baseball and lacrosse caps. When the Cavaliers would win, I would always see Doyle give people the thumbs up. Doyle Smith savored Cavalier victories and walked with his head down when the ‘Hoos lost.
I don’t know that much about Parkinson’s…but what I saw happen to Doyle scares me. Throughout the disease and the war Smith waged, his body became weak and his speech was beginning to slur. When Doyle took his medication it seemed to put Parkinson’s on hold for a while. But as the years ticked by, it was very hard to carry on a conversation with him because Doyle was so hard to understand. The words were difficult to hear. That’s what hurt the most. Selfishly, I wanted to savor what he had to say. His wit and wisdom touched thousands of lives daily and I always knew I would walk away with something prophetic and enriching.
Smith was a leader. He was loyal. He was a prominent figure in the sports world. Doyle has a lacrosse award named after him. Heck…he wrote several lacrosse rules himself.
Doyle was honest. He was unselfish. No task was too large and no request was too small. Smith was a contributor. He had no ego. He was an authority. Doyle was full of wit and a dry sense of humor. As Rich Murray, Director of Media Relations at UVA told me, “His fingerprints are all over our office and will be for a very long time. He meant a lot to all of us in a lot of different ways.”
Doyle Smith was only 60 and left us much too soon.
Thumbs up to what he gave us.