By Vicki Hall
Calgary Herald
Antoine (Shaky) Smithson earned his nickname on the mean streets of Baltimore.
“I was six years old and was always really small,” the newest Calgary Stampeder was saying Saturday morning after practice at McMahon Stadium. “I was always playing with the older kids. Like when I was six, I was playing with 10 to 12 year olds.
“And I was fast and shifty.”
So Smithson’s older cousins bestowed him with the handle “Shaky” as they watched in wonder as the diminutive one repeatedly escaped grave bodily harm in collisions with kids double his size.
It sticks to this day.
No doubt the five-foot-11, 202-pounder with the flowing locks will become a fan favourite in these parts — provided, of course, the receiver/return specialist sticks in Calgary beyond training camp.
Clearly, the Utah State product can fly on returns as evidenced by his body of work on a glorious Saturday morning in the sun.
“I just know it’s a good fit for my style of play as a returner,” said the 25-year-old. “I like the space on the field, and I felt at home coming to Calgary.”
Smithson thought he had found a home with the Green Bay Packers, but shoulder and ankle injuries left him sidelined for the entire 2011 and 2012 seasons.
“As a player, you want to be out there on the field to help your team,” he said. “And when you’ve got a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers that can get you the ball, it’s frustrating (to sit). You can run a route, and he’s going to get you the ball.
“So it’s frustrating, but at the same time, it comes with the game.”
Smithson learned to roll with whatever the game may bring in college when he assumed custody of his little brother Anthony in Logan, Utah, population: 49,010.
Talk about culture shock.
“Going to school in Utah, it’s Mormons,” Smithson said. “And they’re very family-oriented . . .
“So it was a big transition, but I was built for it.”
Both of Smithson’s parents are still in the picture (mom Lori is a hotel housekeeper, dad Tony worked for a curtain manufacturer) but a geographical switch was necessary, according to Antoine, to steer Anthony onto the right path.
“It wasn’t what they were doing,” Smithson said of his mom and dad. “It was what Baltimore was doing. Just getting him out of that environment was helping my family and helping myself . . .
“The violence in Baltimore — it was very tough growing up.”
These days, Smithson is proud of the young man Anthony has become at 19.
“He had a 4.0 GPA, led his team to a state championship, and signed up to the Navy out of high school,” he said. “And just now he resigned from the Navy and is going off to junior college in California.
“It helped both of us, and look at where I’m at now. I’m in a situation where I’m playing professionally and he’s doing good, so it worked out for the best.”
New to the Canadian game, Smithson plans to put the lessons from the streets of Baltimore to use in a bid to win a roster spot.
“It sure helps you on the field with those big boys coming at you. You don’t get too scared, because you saw everything growing up.”
Looking back, Smithson shakes his head over the carnage.
“I played basketball four years from freshman to senior year,” he said. “Six of my basketball teammates got killed in the Baltimore streets.
“It’s tough, but at the same time, if I hadn’t gone through that, I don’t think I would be in Canada right now. Because I would be too scared to come over here.
“But I’m scared of nothin’.”