Hall of Fame
Floyd Smaller Jr. is a 1965 graduate who was a four-year letterman in football and track and field. He was a top-flight, two-sport athlete during his collegiate career, especially in track and field where he excelled as a javelin thrower and long jumper. During his senior season, he gathered All-Southwestern Athletic Conference recognition for his first-place javelin toss and second-place long jump finish at the conference championships in Houston, Texas. He also was an All-Southwestern Athletic Conference performer as a quarterback and defensive back in football. Upon graduation, he turned away offers to play professional football and accepted a teaching and coaching position at Dermott High School in southeast Arkansas. It was the beginning of a very long coaching career that was highlighted with championships and honors. After his coaching tenure in Arkansas, he returned to his home state of Minnesota and built some outstanding high school athletic programs over a 25-year span. He was the first African-American in Minnesota to coach a state championship team in any sport. During a 19-year coaching period at St. Paul Central High School, his girls and boys track teams won five state titles and 17 city championships. As a result of his accomplishments, he has a street named in his honor as Floyd G. Smaller, Jr. Avenue in Minneapolis. He is a member of the Minnesota State Hall of Fame High School League and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association’s National Hall of Fame.
