Ed “Smitty” Smith has led a life full of achievements in both his professional career and in the sport of wrestling. After graduating from Brighton High School in 1960, Ed volunteered to serve in the US Marine Corps for four years, which included two years of deployment to Okinawa and Cambodia. Upon returning home from overseas in 1964, he worked as a welder at Quincy Shipyard before entering the Boston Police Department’s Tactical Police Force in 1967. At the police academy, he achieved the highest academic standing and was the first candidate selected for enrollment in the newly commissioned Boston Police Association educational program at Boston State College. In 1973, he graduated from the program with a BS in education, majoring in physical education. Ed became the first physical education instructor at the Boston Police Academy and later served as director from 1987-1997, with over 3000 entrants trained. Upon his retirement after 30 years of public service, the Boston Police education building was named after him. 

At Boston State, Ed attended classes during the day and worked his tactical police force shift at night, all while parenting young children. His introduction to wrestling came from Boston State’s intramural wrestling program and he quickly took a liking to the sport, winning the intramural championship in the 168 pound weight class. The following year Ed “walked on” to the varsity wrestling team, ultimately becoming a four-year varsity starter and team captain. Commuting daily from his home in Wayland, Ed balanced a full-time collegiate course load, wrestling practices and matches, and his duties as a full-time Boston Police tactical officer. Due to time constraints, he often trained with the Wayland wrestling team, where he appreciated the mentorship of Wayland’s legendary Hall of Fame wrestling coach Rick Moyer. 

Smitty’s passion for wrestling propelled him as both a competitor in college and as an advocate for the sport’s growth and development. Ed volunteered his time in order to improve the structure of inner city intramural wrestling tournaments and he also became the president of the Urban National Development program. Through his efforts, the first ever Boston Wrestling Championship was held, with trophies supplied by the Boston Police Union, while the Outstanding Wrestler award honored deceased Officer Nick Iacoviello. Simultaneously, Ed also became involved with Boston Latin School and, impressed with the students’ behavior and discipline, felt a wrestling team would be a perfect fit for the school. Ed formed a club at the school, where he coached unpaid for five years and raised funds for equipment and uniforms. After five years as club status, wrestling finally became a varsity sport at Boston Latin and Ed coached there for 17 years. During his tenure, he earned a spot in the Boston Latin Hall of Fame and was honored with a “What’s Best About Boston” award from Mayor Menino in 1988. 

Ed’s involvement in wrestling reached far beyond Massachusetts. He competed in International Police Olympic Wrestling, winning the bronze medal in Sydney, Australia. Through the Boston Police Athletic program, he also organized and coached a college team that competed in the Tokyo University Wrestling Tournament. Along with these contributions, Ed became heavily involved in USA Wrestling, received his Silver Level Coaching Certification, and became the Mass State USA Director. He was credited for helping to increase the club membership throughout Massachusetts. 

Ed Smith's coaching career has spanned 56 years. Wherever Ed went, he always stayed connected to wrestling. After finding his replacement to take over the Boston Latin team, Ed began his “dream job” as Bob Anniballi’s assistant at Natick High School. In 1994, Ed was named Assistant Coach of the Year. He also coached at Sandwich High School and Bellingham High School. When he moved to Las Vegas in the late 90’s, he worked as an assistant coach for four years at Clark High School. Currently, Ed is a volunteer assistant coach at Shepherd Hill High School. 

Ed and his wife Susan currently reside in Putnam Connecticut. They have four children (Timothy, Steven, Debbie and Ashley), four grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.