Education
He attended San Jose State College during the "Speed City" era, coached by Lloyd (Bud) Winter and graduating in sociology.
He attended San Jose State College during the "Speed City" era, coached by Lloyd (Bud) Winter and graduating in sociology.
At the 1968 Amateur Athletic Union Championships, Ronnie Ray Smith equaled the 100 m world record in the semifinal, repeating the same time of 9.9 which was run by Jim Hines in the same race and Charles Greene in the other semifinal of the same competition. That evening of June 20, 1968 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California has been dubbed by track and field historians as the "Night of Speed." Since Smith was still 19 years old at the time, that mark also became the World Junior Record, which lasted for exactly 8 years. Before arriving at San Jose State, Smith ran at Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, finishing third in the 220 yard dash at the CIF California State Meet in 1966.
After retiring from competitions Smith worked as the Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Department.
He was inducted into the San Jose State Sports Hall of Fame. Smith died in a hospice facility in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2013, three days after his 64th birthday.
He was 64. His funeral was featured on the TLC reality Television show Best Funeral Ever.
In honor and memory of his 1968 gold medal performance, his casket "ran" a 100yd race and received a gold medal in a mock Olympic-style funeral.