Dafford Smith, whose venerable coaching career spanned nearly a half-century and whose name adorns the football scoreboard at Fairview — one of the many communities and schools he impacted as both a respected coach and teacher — died on Sunday.

Coach Smith, who is enshrined in the Cullman County Sports Hall of Fame, was 88. Funeral services will be announced later.

His accomplished coaching résumé began in 1956 when he coached pee-wee football while attending St. Bernard College. After graduation, he spent the next 14 years as the head football coach of the Cullman Junior High Pioneers. During his tenure atop the program, the Pioneers won 51 consecutive games and players from those teams went on to help the Bearcats win the state championship in 1962.

Smith coached the baseball program at Cullman as well for two seasons, claiming the Tennessee Valley Conference title both years.

He then became West Point’s varsity football coach for four seasons (1973-76) and garnered a 25-12-1 record. The Warriors also won two county championships and reeled off a 13-game winning streak under the coach.

But Smith left coaching soon after to pursue his law degree at the Birmingham School of Law. Upon graduating, however, he returned to the gridiron once more — this time, helping Cullman head coach Dale Cook as an assistant. He coached the defensive line and linebackers for the 1985 squad that finished the regular season 10-0.

“I thought it was nice that 1962 was the first time Cullman went undefeated — and I coached those players in junior high school,” Smith told The Times in 2007. “Then, the second time they finished undefeated was in 1985 when I came back.”

Fairview hired Smith to lead its football program in 1986 — and what a hire it turned out to be.

Smith led the Purple and Gold to a 64-55 record, six playoff appearances, three postseason victories and two region crowns in 12 seasons. He also mentored current Fairview head coach George Redding, who played quarterback for the Aggies under Smith.

When the Aggies returned to Dafford Smith Stadium to play a home contest for the first time in nearly three seasons in 2016 — the venue had been shuttered due to structural concerns — Smith enjoyed a tour around the field in front of yet another jam-packed crowd.

Perhaps fittingly, Fairview earned a 21-17 victory.

“Being here brings back a lot of memories,” Smith told The Times in 2016. “It makes me sad knowing it’s been vacant for years, but you can’t dwell on the past. There are great days ahead and this has brought out the best in this community.”

Much like Smith brought out the best in his teams.

He later capped his presence on the sidelines with a three-year stint (2004-06) as the varsity football coach at St. Bernard, playing an instrumental role in keeping the program afloat for a few more years.

Said then-St. Bernard athletic director Michael Adkins: “Coach Smith brought his name and reputation to the school, and that helped the program increase its numbers up to 33 players one season and the high 20s the other two years.”

Smith finished his football coaching career with a 98-88-1 record. His overall record, which includes basketball, baseball and softball, was 752-247-2.