Ira Smith | |
---|---|
Outfielder | |
Born: Chestertown, Maryland | August 4, 1967|
Bats: Right Throws: Right |
Ira Lamonte Smith (born August 4,1967) is an American former college and minor league baseball player from Chestertown,Maryland. While playing collegiately at University of Maryland Eastern Shore,Smith was the first player to win two NCAA batting titles as well as the first to win the award in consecutive seasons.
In 1989,Smith finished the season with a .488 batting average and was named team MVP. In 1990,Smith repeated the feat by batting .519,ranking the sixth all-time highest Division 1 batting average and again earning team MVP honors. [1] Ira's career batting average of .431 ranks as the 14th highest in Division 1 history.
In the 1990 MLB Draft the Los Angeles Dodgers selected Smith in the 37th round. [2] In 14 years playing Minor league and Independent league baseball,Smith had a career .292 batting average. [3] Despite several seasons in Triple-A,Smith did not appear in any games for a Major League Baseball team. In 1997,it was reported that the Detroit Tigers were grooming Smith to eventually become a coach or manager due to his relationship with Randy Smith,former General Manager of the San Diego Padres and then GM of the Tigers. [4]
In 2004,Smith was elected to the UMES Athletics Hall of Fame [5] and in 2005 he was named to the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame. [6] In 2010,Smith was elected to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. [7] The NCAA announced in 2011 that Smith would be added to the ballot for the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. [8] [9]
Smith served as a bench coach for the Lincoln Saltdogs in 2004 and as the teams hitting coach in 2005. [10] In 2006,Smith left the Saltdogs and took a position as the hitting coach of the Joliet Jackhammers. [11]
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I,and in football,in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Princess Anne,Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. It is classified among "R2:Doctoral Universities –High research activity". It was established as Delaware Conference Academy. It has also been known as Princess Anne Academy and other names during its evolution.
Arthur W. Perdue Stadium is a baseball stadium in Salisbury,Maryland. It is the home of the Baltimore Orioles Carolina League affiliate Delmarva Shorebirds. Named for the founder of Perdue Farms,Arthur Perdue,it features the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame. The stadium seats 5,200 fans and opened in 1996.
Bobby Lee Collins is an American college basketball coach and the former head men's basketball coach at Maryland Eastern Shore. Prior to Maryland Eastern Shore,Collins had been the head coach at Winston-Salem State University and Hampton University.
D'Arcy Raymond "Jake" Flowers was an American professional baseball player,coach and manager. A reserve infielder,primarily a second baseman and shortstop,he appeared in 583 Major League games over ten seasons between 1923 and 1934 for the St. Louis Cardinals,Brooklyn Robins and Dodgers,and Cincinnati Reds. The native of Cambridge,Maryland,attended Washington College,where he played football and basketball in addition to baseball. He batted and threw right-handed and was listed at 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and 170 pounds (77 kg).
Brian Mark Kowitz is an American former professional baseball player for the Atlanta Braves in 1995. He spent most of his career in the minor leagues.
The North Carolina A&T Aggies football program represents North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in college football. The Aggies play in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision as a member of CAA Football,the technically separate football league operated by the Aggies' full-time home of the Coastal Athletic Association.
Curt Smith is a Dutch former professional baseball player. He is also a member of the Dutch national team. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 39th round of the 2008 MLB Draft.
Wilburn Edward "Eddy" Furniss III is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. A standout college baseball player for Louisiana State University (LSU),Furniss has been inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame,the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame,and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. He is the 10th athlete,and 2nd baseball player,in LSU history to have his number retired.
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks are the fifteen sports teams representing the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne,Maryland in intercollegiate athletics. These include men and women's basketball,cross country,indoor track,outdoor track,and tennis;women's sports include bowling,softball,and volleyball;men's sports include baseball and golf. The Hawks are members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in most sports,with other memberships in the Eastern College Athletic Conference and Northeast Conference.
The North Carolina A&T Aggies baseball team represents the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in NCAA Division I college baseball. They compete in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Aggies play their home games at War Memorial Stadium,and are currently coached by Ben Hall.
The 2012 Delaware State Hornets baseball team represented Delaware State University in the sport of baseball during the 2012 college baseball season. The Hornets competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Northern Division of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). They played their home games on the university's Dover,Delaware campus. The team was coached by J. P. Blandin,who was in his twelfth season at Delaware State. The Hornets were looking to build upon their 26-29 record from the 2011 season.
The Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks baseball team,also known as the Eastern Shore Hawks,is the varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne,Maryland,United States. The team competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I and is a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC). Through the 2022 season,the Hawks had competed in the school's full-time home of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC),but after that season,the MEAC merged its baseball league into that of the NEC. Eastern Shore and the three other MEAC members that sponsored baseball became NEC associate members in that sport.
The 2014–15 Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks men's basketball team represented the University of Maryland Eastern Shore during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hawks,led by first year head coach Bobby Collins,played their home games at the Hytche Athletic Center and were members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 18–15,11–5 in MEAC play to finish in third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MEAC tournament to Hampton. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to High Point.
Nelson Elijah Townsend was an American college athletics administrator. Townsend served seven tenures as athletic director at four different universities:the University of Maryland Eastern Shore,Delaware State University (1979–1986),Florida A&M University and the University at Buffalo (1987–1998). He was the University at Buffalo's first African American athletic director. At both Delaware State and Buffalo,Townsend was responsible for leading the athletic department to achieve full NCAA Division I status,as both schools transitioned from lower levels of NCAA hierarchy. Townsend was inducted to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in 1995 and was inducted to both the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Halls of Fame in 2012.
John H. Bates was an American college basketball coach,known for his time at Coppin State University,where he coached the team to a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) championship and led the program's transition to NCAA Division I status.
The 2017–18 Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks men's basketball team represented the University of Maryland Eastern Shore during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hawks,led by fourth-year head coach Bobby Collins,played their home games at Hytche Athletic Center in Princess Anne,Maryland as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 7-25,3-13 in MEAC play to finish in 12th place. As the No. 12 seed in the MEAC tournament,they lost to Norfolk State in the first round.
Brian Hollamon is an American college baseball coach and former shortstop. He was the head baseball coach of the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks.
The 2018–19 Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks men's basketball team represented the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at the Hytche Athletic Center in Princess Anne,Maryland,and were led by interim head coach Clifford Reed. The Hawks finished the season 7–25,5–11 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for eighth place. As the No. 8 seed in the MEAC tournament,they lost in the first round to South Carolina State.
The 2019–20 Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks men's basketball team represented the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hawks,led by first-year head coach Jason Crafton,played their home games at the Hytche Athletic Center in Princess Anne,Maryland as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 5–27,4–12 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They lost in the first round of the MEAC tournament to Delaware State.
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