Phenomenal Smith

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

13 innings, compiling a record of 25–30 with a 3.79 ERA and 206 strikeouts. [1] The next year, he appeared in 35 games as a pitcher, 32 as a starter, pitched 31 complete games and 314 innings for the Orioles. He compiled a record of 14–19 with a 3.61 ERA. [1]

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh

Smith, c. 1888, with Philadelphia Phenomenal Smith.jpg
Smith, c. 1888, with Philadelphia

In early October 1888, the Philadelphia Athletics purchased Smith from the Baltimore Orioles for $1000 or $1500. He pitched three games for the Athletics at the end of the 1888 season, compiling a 2–1 record and a 2.86 ERA. In the first half of the 1889 season, he went 2–3 with a 4.40 ERA for the Athletics. [1] In early June 1889, Smith was released by the Athletics. [1] He finished the 1889 season playing for Hartford in the Atlantic Association. [3]

Smith played in the National League in 1890 for the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Alleghenys. He compiled a 9–15 record and a 4.06 ERA in 29 games as pitcher. [1]

At the start of the 1891 season, Smith was released by Pittsburgh and re-signed by the Phillies. Smith appeared in three games as pitcher for the 1891 Phillies and compiled a 1–1 record with a 4.26 ERA. He appeared in his last major league game on June 15, 1891, at age 26. [1]

Minor leagues

Although his major league career ended in July 1891, Smith continued to play and manage in the minor leagues for another 15 years. [3] His minor league career included stints with at least 12 different clubs, including the Milwaukee Brewers (1891), Green Bay Bays (1892), Reading Actives (1893), Pottsville Colts (1894–1895), Millville (1895), Pawtucket Phenoms (1896–1897), Fall River Indians (1898), Newark Colts (1898), Hartford Cooperatives (1898), Portland Phenoms (1899), and Norfolk Phenoms (1900).

Smith was a player-manager for most of his minor league career, and he led Pottsville to the Pennsylvania League pennant in 1894 and Norfolk to a Virginia League pennant in 1900. [2]

While working as a minor league player-manager, Smith has been credited with discovering Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, Christy Mathewson. [8] Smith met and played against Matthewson in 1899 while Matthewson was still attending Bucknell and pitching for the Taunton Herrings. The 19-year-old Mathewson compiled a 2–13 record for Taunton in 1899, [9] but Smith saw potential. Smith signed Matthewson to play for his Norfolk Phenoms team for $90 a month, and under Smith's guidance, Matthewson compiled a 21–2 record and 0.74 ERA in 1900 and was promoted to the major leagues before the end of the season. [2] [10]

Smith spent the last five years of his baseball career as a player-manager for the Manchester, New Hampshire baseball club from 1901 to 1905. [3] At age 36, he won the 1901 New England League batting title with a .363 batting average in 284 at bats. [2] [3] Smith remained in Manchester for the rest of his life. [2]

Family and later years

John Smith was married twice. The first time he married Margaret Cowan in 1884. They had two daughters, Isabel Smith Warnick, and Elsie Smith Macfarland. Margaret Cowan was from Scotland but her parents were born in Ireland. [11] John was married to Hannah M. Smith in approximately 1900. [12] They had at least ten children: Anna (born c. 1902), George (born c. 1903), John (born c. 1905), Charles (born c. 1907), Walter (born 1909), Agnes (born c. 1911), Mary (born c. 1913), James (born c. 1916), Florence (born c. 1920), and Margaret (born c. 1922). [12] [13] [14]

After retiring from baseball, Smith became a member of the Manchester, New Hampshire police department. He served in that capacity from approximately 1904 to 1932. [2] [8] He also coached the basketball team at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, for seven seasons between 1909 and 1932. [2] In 1952, he died at a hospital in Manchester at age of 87. He was buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in Bedford, New Hampshire. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christy Mathewson</span> American baseball player (1880–1925)

Christopher Mathewson, nicknamed "Big Six", "the Christian Gentleman", "Matty", and "the Gentleman's Hurler", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Giants. He stood 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg). He was among the most dominant pitchers in baseball history, and ranks in the all-time top 10 in several key pitching categories, including wins, shutouts, and earned run average. In 1936, Mathewson was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its first five members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Johnson</span> American baseball player and manager (1887–1946)

Walter Perry Johnson, nicknamed "Barney" and "the Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Washington Senators from 1907 to 1927. He later served as manager of the Senators from 1929 through 1932 and of the Cleveland Indians from 1933 through 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mordecai Brown</span> American baseball player and manager (1876–1948)

Mordecai Peter Centennial Brown, nicknamed "Three Finger Brown" or "Miner", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher and manager during the first two decades of the 20th century. Due to a farm-machinery accident in his youth, Brown lost parts of two fingers on his right hand, and in the process gained a colorful nickname. He turned this handicap into an advantage by learning how to grip a baseball in a way that resulted in an exceptional curveball, which broke radically before reaching the plate. With this technique he became one of the elite pitchers of his era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Clarkson</span> American baseball player (1861–1909)

John Gibson Clarkson was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played from 1882 to 1894. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Clarkson played for the Worcester Ruby Legs (1882), Chicago White Stockings (1884–1887), Boston Beaneaters (1888–1892), and Cleveland Spiders (1892–1894). Clarkson pitched the first known immaculate inning in MLB history on June 4, 1889 vs the Philadelphia Quakers in the 3rd inning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Schmidt</span> American baseball player (born 1973)

Jason David Schmidt, is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. In his career, he has played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2007–2009), San Francisco Giants (2001–06), Pittsburgh Pirates (1996–2001) and Atlanta Braves (1995–96), by whom he had been drafted in the eighth round, 206th overall, of the 1991 draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amos Rusie</span> American baseball player (1871-1942)

Amos Wilson Rusie, nicknamed "the Hoosier Thunderbolt", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the late 19th century. He had a 10-season career in the National League (NL), which consisted of one season with the Indianapolis Hoosiers in 1889, eight with the New York Giants from 1890 to 1898, and one with the Cincinnati Reds in 1901.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cy Seymour</span> American baseball player (1872–1919)

James Bentley "Cy" Seymour was an American professional baseball center fielder and pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1896 to 1913 for the New York Giants, Baltimore Orioles (1901–1902), Cincinnati Reds (1902–1906) and Boston Braves (1913). He batted and threw left-handed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooks Dauss</span> American baseball player (1889-1963)

George August "Hooks" Dauss was an American professional baseball player from 1909 to 1926. He played 15 seasons of Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Detroit Tigers from 1912 to 1926. He was given the nickname "Hooks", because his curveball was hard to hit. He compiled a career record of 223–182 with a 3.30 earned run average (ERA). His best years were 1915 when he had a 24–13 record, 1919 with a 21–9 record, and 1923 with a 21–13 record. Dauss's 223 wins are still the most for a pitcher in Tigers franchise history, and he is one of only 13 pitchers to record at least 200 wins all with one team.

The following are the baseball events of the year 1911 throughout the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Kitson (baseball)</span> American baseball player (1869–1930)

Frank R. Kitson was an American baseball pitcher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lady Baldwin</span> American baseball player (1859–1937)

Charles B. "Lady" Baldwin was an American left-handed pitcher. He played six seasons in Major League Baseball with the Milwaukee Brewers (1884), Detroit Wolverines (1885–1888), Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1890), and Buffalo Bisons (1890).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Casey (baseball)</span> American baseball player (1862–1943)

Daniel Maurice Casey was an American professional baseball player whose career spanned from 1884 to 1894 and 1899. He played in Major League Baseball, principally as a pitcher, over parts of seven seasons for four major league clubs. He saw his most extensive playing time with the Philadelphia Quakers, appearing in 142 games for that team from 1886 to 1889. He also appeared in 46 games for the Syracuse Stars in 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slim Sallee</span> American baseball player

Harry Franklin "Slim" Sallee was a professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher over parts of fourteen seasons (1908–1921) with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds. For his career, he compiled a 174–143 record in 476 appearances, with a 2.56 earned run average and 836 strikeouts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dummy Taylor</span> American baseball player (1875–1958)

Luther Haden "Dummy" Taylor was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1900 to 1908 who was deaf. He played for the New York Giants and Cleveland Bronchos and was one of the key pitchers on the Giants' National League championship teams of 1904 and 1905.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Harshman</span> American baseball player (1927-2013)

John Elvin Harshman was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and Cleveland Indians between 1948 and 1960. He batted and threw left-handed.

The 1916 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The team finished tied for seventh and last place in the National League with the St. Louis Cardinals. Both teams finished with a record of 60–93, 33½ games behind the Brooklyn Robins

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Beatin</span> American baseball player (1866–1925)

Ebenezer Ambrose "Ed" Beatin was an American baseball player. He played five seasons in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for the Detroit Wolverines from 1887 to 1888 and the Cleveland Spiders from 1889 to 1891. A 20-game winner in both 1889 and 1890, Beatin was known for having the best "slow ball" in the game. He was also a member of the 1887 Detroit Wolverines team that won the National League pennant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Doyle</span> American baseball player (born 1985)

John Terence Doyle is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

The Pawtucket Maroons were an early minor league baseball team based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The "Maroons" were part of a Pawtucket tenure as members of the New England League beginning in 1892 and continuing through the 1899 season. Pawtucket teams then played briefly in the 1908 Atlantic League and were members of the Colonial League in 1914 and 1915.

The Norfolk Phenoms were a minor league baseball team based in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1900, the Norfolk Phenoms played as members of the Virginia League, winning the league championship as the league folded during the season.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Phenomenal Smith Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "'Phenomenal' Smith Dead: Sent Up Matty to Majors; Former Pitcher-Outfielder Was 87; Induced Christy to Join Norfolk in 1900". The Sporting News. April 16, 1952. p. 38.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Phenomenal Smith Minor League Statistics". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Pitchers Average Ten Strike-Outs Per Game". The Washington Times. February 14, 1921. p. 11.
  5. "Germany Smith". Baseball Library.com. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  6. Bill Spaceman Lee; Jim Prime (2007). Baseball Eccentrics: A Definitive Look at the Most Entertaining, Outrageous and Unforgettable Characters in the Game. Triumph Books. ISBN   978-1-61749-926-5.
  7. Bruce Nash; Allan Zullo (2012). The Baseball Hall of Shame: The Best of Blooperstown. Globe Pequot. pp. 17–18. ISBN   978-0-7627-8400-4.
  8. 1 2 "New Hampshire Baseball Quiz, Question No. 13". New Hampshire Historical Society. Archived from the original on May 21, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  9. "Christy Mathewson Minor League Statistics". Sports Reference LLC.
  10. Ronald A. Mayer (2008). Christy Mathewson: A Game-by-Game Profile of a Legendary Pitcher. McFarland. p. 7. ISBN   978-0-7864-8123-1.
  11. 1900 US Census entry for Margaret Cowan Smith, wife of John Smith, and daughters Isabel and Elsie. Census Place: Bristol Borough, Bucks County, PA, Sheet 14, page 109.
  12. 1 2 1910 U.S. Census entry for John F. Smith, age 43, born in Penn., employed as manager of a baseball club. Census Place: Manchester Ward 5, Hillsborough, New Hampshire; Roll: T624_863; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0138; FHL microfilm: 1374876. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line].
  13. 1930 U.S. Census entry for John F. Smith, age 64, born in Penn., employed as a Manchester police officer. Census Place: Manchester, Hillsborough, New Hampshire; Roll: 1301; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 0026; Image: 839.0; FHL microfilm: 2341036. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line].
  14. 1940 U.S. Census entry for John Smith, age 75, born in Penn., occupation city police officer. Census Place: Manchester, Hillsborough, New Hampshire; Roll: T627_2291; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 6-33. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line].
Phenomenal Smith
Phenomenal Smith (Old Judge).jpeg
Smith, c. 1888
Pitcher
Born:(1864-12-12)December 12, 1864
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Died: April 3, 1952(1952-04-03) (aged 87)
Manchester, New Hampshire, US
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 18, 1884, for the Philadelphia Athletics
Last MLB appearance
June 15, 1891, for the Philadelphia Phillies