Amassing more than 500 wins with 12 state titles in his 50-plus seasons, Mike Smith is retiring as Head Football Coach of the Hampton Crabbers.

No man in Virginia High School League his more victories than his 506, versus just 99 losses with two ties, or State Championships at a storied program that has captured 17 of them.

Smith has spent 57 seasons with the Crabbers, 51 at the helm. Back in September, he joined the late John McKissick (621 wins at Summerville High in South Carolina) and J.T. Curtis of John Curtis Christian in Louisiana as the only High School Football coaches in America with 500 victories. The milestone occurred with a 25-14 comeback triumph over Menchville.

Hampton High went 9-2 this past season, falling to Warhill 13-6 in the semifinals of the Region 4A playoffs. It marked the 46th time that the Crabbers have reached the postseason, a VHSL record.

A deeper dive of the numbers reveals Smith compiled a 79-32 mark in the postseason. Most astonishing is the fact that since his arrival in 1971, the Crabbers finished below the .500 mark only once and that was at 4-6 in 2018 when he didn't coach in every game. That's because Smith was forced to sit out until October because of a rule with the Virginia Retirement System that required a bonafide break in service following his retirement as Dean of Students at Hampton High.

During his tenure at Hampton, Smith coached 10 NFL players, names that include New Orleans Saints quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry, Houston Texans QB Tyrod Taylor, Chicago Bears WR Dazz Newsome and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dwight Stephenson, among others.

*** We spoke briefly with Mike Smith on the day he announced his retirement, December 23, 2021, and you can hear that conversation below. ***

Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a regular contributor to the ACC Sports Journal. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him from 10 AM to Noon on 757 Saturday Sports Talk on ESPN Radio 94.1.