| Hilton Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1907-02-27)February 27, 1907 Giddings, Texas, U.S. | |
| Died: November 18, 1983(1983-11-18) (aged 76) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Negro leagues debut | |
| 1932, for the Monroe Monarchs | |
| Last Negro leagues appearance | |
| 1948, for the Kansas City Monarchs | |
| Negro leagues[a] statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 70–38 |
| Earned run average | 2.92 |
| Strikeouts | 594 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2001 |
| Election method | Veterans Committee |
Hilton Lee Smith (February 27, 1907[b] – November 18, 1983) was an American right-handedpitcher inNegro league baseball. He pitched alongsideSatchel Paige for theKansas City Monarchs and theBismarck Club between 1932 and 1948. He was inducted into theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in2001.
Born inGiddings, Texas, Smith began his career in black baseball's equivalent of the minor leagues with theAustin Black Senators inAustin, Texas. Smith made the dean's list as a student atPrairie View A&M College in 1928 and 1929. He was an outfielder in his first college season and a pitcher in his second year.[2]
His big league debut was with theMonroe Monarchs ofMonroe, Louisiana in 1932. In 1934, Smith wed Louise Humphrey. They had two children.[3]
From 1935 to 1936, Smith pitched for theBismarck semi-professional team organized byNeil Churchill. In 1935, his teammates includedSatchel Paige,Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe,Quincy Trouppe,Barney Morris, andChet Brewer. In August, the team won the national semipro championship in Wichita, Kansas. In 1936, Paige, Radcliffe, and Brewer departed and Smith became the ace of the Bismarck team. They returned to the national championship, where Smith won four games, but Bismarck failed to repeat as champions.[4]
Smith joined the semi-pro Fulda Giants of rural Fulda, MN in 1949 after being recruited by manager Dick Reusse following Smith's tenure with the Kansas City Monarchs. Due to having a "dead arm" following his major league career, Smith played more first base than he pitched for the Fulda Giants.[5]
In late 1936, Smith signed with theKansas City Monarchs. From 1937 until his retirement in 1948, Smith was a star pitcher on the Monarchs. He possessed an outstandingcurveball, but was overshadowed by his more flamboyant teammateSatchel Paige. Often Paige would pitch the first three innings of a game, leaving Smith to pitch the remaining six. Also, unlike Paige, Smith was a very good hitter. Smith led the Negro American League in wins three times (1937–38, 1941). He also led the NAL with strikoutes four times (1937–39, 1941). He was tied withRay Brown as the second player in Negro league history to win the pitching Triple Crown, doing so in 1938 with 9 wins, 88 strikeouts, and a 1.92 ERA.
After retiring from baseball, Smith worked as a schoolteacher and later as a steel plant foreman. He also scouted for theChicago Cubs. Smith had a quiet, reserved temperament, but in his later years he stood up for Negro leaguers in their struggle to be inducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame. He died in 1983 inKansas City, Missouri. It was not until 2001 that he was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
andBaseball-Reference Black Baseball and Mexican League stats andSeamheads
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