Gene Smith (pitcher)
| Gene Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: April 23, 1916 Ansley, Louisiana | |
| Died: May 25, 2011 (aged 95) Richmond Heights, Missouri | |
Batted: Both Threw: Right | |
| Negro league baseball debut | |
| 1940, for the St. Louis–New Orleans Stars | |
| Last appearance | |
| 1948, for the Cleveland Buckeyes | |
| Teams | |
|
Eugene F. Smith (April 23, 1916 – May 25, 2011) was an American pitcher who played for several Negro league baseball teams between 1938 and 1951. Listed at 6' 1", 185 lb., Smith was a switch hitter and threw right-handed. Smith was known as a hard-throwing pitcher during a solid career that saw him play for nine different Negro league clubs. In addition, he pitched for teams in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Minor League Baseball, taking a three-year break to serve in the US Army during World War II (1943–1945).[1][2]
Early life
[edit]He was born in Ansley, Louisiana. His younger brother, Quincy Smith, also played in the Negro leagues.[3]
Negro league career
[edit]Smith entered the Negro leagues in 1938 with the Atlanta Black Crackers, playing for them one year before joining the Ethiopian Clowns (1939), St. Louis–New Orleans Stars (1940–1941), Kansas City Monarchs (1941) and New York Black Yankees (1942). Following military discharge, he played for the Pittsburgh Crawfords (1946), Homestead Grays (1946–1947), Cleveland Buckeyes (1946–1950) and Chicago American Giants (1951).[4]
In 1938, while pitching for the Black Crackers, Smith threw two no-hitters in one day, and in 1941 with the Stars hurled another against the Black Yankees. He also started Games 3 and 6 of the 1947 Negro World Series against the New York Cubans.[1][5]
Minor leagues
[edit]Smith ended his career in 1953, dividing his playing time with the Statesboro Pilots of the Georgia State League and the Fond du Lac Panthers of the Wisconsin State League.[6]
Death
[edit]Smith was a long resident of Richmond Heights, Missouri, where he died at the age of 95, following a congestive heart failure.[5]
Sources
[edit]- ^ a b Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues.
- ^ Baseball in Wartime – Negro Leagues
- ^ The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues – James A. Riley. Publisher: Chelsea House, 1996. Format: Paperback, 124pp. Language: English. ISBN 0-7910-2592-6.
- ^ Negro League Baseball Players Association website – Gene Smith entry Archived 2011-08-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Alt.Obituaries.com – Gene Smith, 95; pitched in Negro Leagues".
- ^ Baseball Reference Minor Leagues – Gene Smith career
External References
[edit]- Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors) and Seamheads
- Gene Smith at Find a Grave
- 1916 births
- 2011 deaths
- Atlanta Black Crackers players
- Chicago American Giants players
- Cleveland Buckeyes players
- Homestead Grays players
- Kansas City Monarchs players
- St. Louis–New Orleans Stars players
- New York Black Yankees players
- Pittsburgh Crawfords players
- Ethiopian Clowns players
- Fond du Lac Panthers players
- Statesboro Pilots players
- African-American baseball players
- United States Army personnel of World War II
- Baseball players from Louisiana
- People from Jackson Parish, Louisiana
- 21st-century African-American sportsmen