Background
Smallwood was born in San Luis Obispo, California on March 24, 1915.
Smallwood was born in San Luis Obispo, California on March 24, 1915.
He studied at Ventura High School and then Ventura Junior College, where he took up track and field From 1935 he attended the University of Southern California ( University of Southern California). At the time, the University of Southern California Trojans had a very strong track team under coach Dean Cromwell.
At the United States. Olympic Trials a week after the Amateur Athletic Union meet he placed second behind Williams, running an estimated 46.7. He qualified for the Summer Olympics in Berlin. En route to the Olympics Smallwood suffered an attack of appendicitis, which put his participation in the Games in doubt.
Eventually, he was able to run in the heats and the quarter-finals, advancing from both.
He had to withdraw before the semi-finals as his condition worsened. He underwent an emergency appendectomy in Berlin, but remained in weak health.
Complications, including pleurisy, nearly killed him in February 1937. Smallwood eventually recovered, and was named co-captain of the University of Southern California track team for the 1937-1938 season.
He died in Oxnard, California in April 1985.