Pittsburgh Sports World Reeling With Death Of "Smokin'" Jim Frazier

Word spread suddenly that James Frazier III, lovingly known as “Smokin’” Jim Frazier had died. Frazier, 66, was secretive about many things, including his age; however, the Monroeville native and Gateway High School alumni was never bashful in supporting his friends.

Frazier played football at Gateway before attending what was then California State College to study retail management and accounting. The 6’1”, 195 running back averaged 12 yards per catch and a staggering nearly six yards per carry from the wingback position his sophomore year in 1980, on his way to becoming a Tri-Captain. By 1982, Number 22 lined up opposite future Green Bay Packer wide receiver Perry Kemp before a knee injury and subsequent surgery sidelined his gridiron career.

For more than 38 years, Frazier had been a scout of professional football talent and was extremely excited when the National Football League draft came to Pittsburgh earlier this year.

Jack Teitz, President of the Robert “Tick” Cloherty Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, called his friend, “A really great guy. He loved his family and friends, his boxing programs, his podcasts and partners.”

Teitz continued, “Jim knew an awful lot about almost everything sports related that occurred during the past 50 years and he wanted to share this knowledge with everyone.”

Frazier served as Senior Regional VP for the Western Region of the PA Sports Hall of Fame and he was involved with annual induction and awards ceremonies, as well as the Dan McCann Coaches Corner Luncheons. He also devoted a significant amount of time and energy to the annual City League Induction Ceremony.

Frazier was also a talented talk show host and sportswriter; it was his 2005 feature on Pittsburgh boxer Paul Spafora that earned Frazier a coveted Golden Quill Award for journalistic excellence. He was omnipresent with Al Levine, “The Talking Machine” and his 1,000 episodes of Pittsburgh Sportsline, often featuring friend Chip Haynor.

In recent years, Frazier was a co-host of several of Ralph Williams’ sports podcasts. Most notably, Frazier, Claudio Reilsono and Luther Dupree Jr. helmed “Sports Corner” on Saturday afternoons on 1250 The Answer.

Reilsono was devastated by the news. “I've known Jim since November of 2003. We hit it off right off the bat as he did with everyone. We did many TV shows, podcasts and radio shows together. Every time you left Jim's presence you felt better. He made you laugh. He made you feel better about yourself. We had a ton of fun together. A lot of special moments. I'm saddened that I won't have any more moments to add to that catalog of Joy. I always told Jim one of my biggest regrets is that my parents never got to meet him. Well today I looked at a picture of my parents, and I said ‘Mom Pop go meet. Jim.’ I know they did. I'll always love and appreciate Jim Frazier.”

Dupree, who oftentimes had a fun jab with Frazier on the radio, added, “I will miss him so much. One of the greatest men that I have met. Always reliable and had the biggest heart. He was one of my daughter's godfather. She is crushed.He would always check on her and joke with her. He was always there when you needed him. We lost a real angel.”

Sandahl Taylor posted on social media: “Smoking Jim Fraiser wasn’t just my son’s godfather. He was my friend, my supporter, and someone who believed in me through so many chapters of my life — from my modeling career, to bingo, to every dream I chased along the way. He was there. He encouraged me. He celebrated me. He believed in me. And today, during my Mrs. America journey, I received the heartbreaking news that he was gone. Jim also battled heart health issues, and that makes this loss hit even deeper. His life is one of the reasons I continue to fight so passionately for the work I do through Connecting Hearts, Changing Lives. Heart health isn't just a platform to me. It's personal.”

The son of James and Dorothy Frazier, James Frazier III was “Smokin’” because of the proximity of his name to that of Philadelphia boxing legend Joe Frazier. It’s interesting to note that Jim Frazier’s favorite sport was not football, but boxing.

“Smokin’” grew up in a middle-class home with three siblings, Scott, Eric and Pamela. His father, James Jr. worked at Edgewater Steel Company in Oakmont for 42 years and is still sports fan. “He probably never missed a day of work,” his son said about his father earlier this year. Smokin’s mother, Dorothy, who he spoke of often, passed away in 2023 at 83.

Fraizer joked that his father didn’t overspend; however, he did have season tickets to the Pittsburgh Steelers when they played at Pitt Stadium in Oakland. “Kids could get in for a dollar,” he remembered. “I haven’t missed a home game since I was four years old.”

They were among the 53,365 in attendance when Gayle Sayers ran a kickoff back 103 yards for a touchdown for the Chicago Bears on September 17, 1967. It was the season opener for the “Pittsburgh Steeler Football Club, Inc.” However, “Smokin’” never saw the play.

“I missed it because when everybody stood up, I couldn't see and when they sat back down, he was in the end zone,” he said. “I learned to stand on the benches. I didn’t miss anything else.” The Steelers won the game, 41-13. The Steelers only won four games in 1967.

That began a lifelong love of football. At three, young Jim knew “just about every player in the National Football League.” He could pick Fran Tarkenton out of a lineup. Wide receiver Roy Jefferson was his favorite Steeler.

Frazier’s father would never let him work in the grueling steel mill; however, he did drive a forklift at Edgewater for a short time. “All the other kids were getting dirty and slimy and I’m driving around in a forklift,” he said with his trademark laugh. “I loved it. The money was crazy back then.”

After college, Frazier worked at Mellon Bank and IBM as a telecommunications coordinator. He was on the ground floor bringing video conferencing for meetings to Pittsburgh.

He first dabbled with media, working with Eddie Jeffreis on WAMO radio back in the late 1990’s.

However, in the early 2000’s he was among the casualties of a huge corporate layoff. “I was working 16 hours a day, getting paid for 8. I was just dedicated and then I said I would never go back to work for corporate America again. I have been making a living in sports ever since.” He worked with the Steelers’ scouting department from 2000 to 2017.

For local sports show junkies, “Smokin’” Jim has been a staple. In the mid 2000’s, he started working on shows like “Pittsburgh Sports World” with Dupree Jr. and Reilsono on Pittsburgh’s Public Access Channel 21, PCTV, as well as “Pittsburgh’s Ring Talk” and “Boxing Authorities” that was on the WBC network.

Beginning in 2010, Levine and Frazier gave Bethel Park public access television for their first live sports talk show. “I would never turn down an opportunity,” he said. Levine thought he’d be gone after three weeks; however, they have been together ever since.

Frazier has worked promoting boxing matches in Pittsburgh with Mike Tyson. He counted Spadafora and Rankin’s Monty Meza Clay as two of his favorite Steel City boxers.

Along the way, he befriended Bill Neal and became active with his Achieving Greatness program and annual banquets, and he worked with Draft Nation.

Frazier’s family is finalizing his final arrangements.