Burt Reynolds his spleen and injured his other knee in a bad car accident. These injuries hampered his abilities on the field, and after being beaten in coverage for the game-winning touchdown in a 7-0 loss to North Carolina State on October 12, 1957, he decided to give up football. Ending his college football career, Reynolds thought of becoming a police officer; however, his father suggested he finish college and become a parole officer. To keep up with his studies, he began taking classes at Palm Beach Junior College (PBJC) in neighboring Lake Park. In his first term at PBJC, he was
Burt Reynolds list of the ten most popular box office stars in the US, at number four. He would stay on that list until 1984. He made a sports comedy with Robert Aldrich, "The Longest Yard" (1974) which was popular. Aldrich later said "I think that on occasion he's a much better actor than he's given credit for. Not always: sometimes he acts like a caricature of himself." Reynolds then appeared in two big budget fiascos: "At Long Last Love" (1975), a musical for Peter Bogdanovich, and "Lucky Lady" (1975) with Gene Hackman and Liza Minnelli. More popular was another light hearted