11/11/2024
The Roswell High School Athletic Hall of Fame sends condolences to the family of Hall of Fame Coach Richard Smith who passed away Friday, November 8th.
In 1961 Coach Smith moved to Roswell and began his twenty-eight year career at Roswell High School. He was best known as the head coach for the Varsity Boys Basketball teams, holding that position for twenty-two years. During his time at RHS, he also was head coach for the Varsity Girls Basketball teams for six years, head coach for the Track and Cross-Country teams for fifteen years and an Assistant Football Coach for six years.
His teams’ career record in basketball was 384 wins and 186 losses. In 1971, he coached the Roswell High Varsity Boys Basketball team to a Class A State Championship and was named 1971 Class A Coach of the Year by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association. During his tenure at RHS, his basketball teams also won nine Sub-Region Championships, two Region Championships and six Holiday Invitational Tournaments. His 1973 RHS Cross-Country team won the Region and finished third in the Class A State Finals. He coached the 1974 Roswell Track team to a second-place Class A finish at State. In the 1960’s, he helped start the Roswell Booster Club and had the first football program printed. He was the first summer Recreation Director for the City of Roswell, running a varied program for two summers in 1965 and 1966.
