Hilton Lee Smith (February 27, 1907 – November 18, 1983) was an American right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

in Negro league baseball. He pitched alongside

Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...

for the

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 19 ...

between 1932 and 1948. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.

Early life

Born in

Giddings, Texas Giddings is the county seat of Lee County, Texas, United States situated on the intersection of U.S. Highway 77 and U.S. Route 290. Its population was 4,969 at the 2020 census. The city is in Lee county, named in honor of Confederate General Rob ...

, Smith began his career in black baseball's equivalent of the minor leagues with the Austin Black Senators in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. Smith made the dean's list as a student at Prairie View A&M College in 1928 and 1929. He was an outfielder in his first college season and a pitcher in his second year. His big league debut was with the Monroe Monarchs of Monroe, Louisiana in 1932. In 1934, Smith wed Louise Humphrey. They had two children.

Semi-pro career

From 1935 to 1936, Smith pitched for the Bismarck semi-professional team organized by

Neil Churchill Neil O. Churchill (February 13, 1891 – September, 1969) was a car dealer in Bismarck, North Dakota who funded an integrated baseball team in the mid-thirties more than a decade before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major Leag ...

. In 1935 his teammates included

, Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, Quincy Trouppe,

Barney Morris Barney Morris (June 3, 1910 – May 24, 1962) was an American baseball player in the Negro leagues. A skillful pitcher, he played for the Monroe Monarchs, the Bismarck Churchills, the Pittsburgh Crawfords, and the New York Cubans The New Yor ...

, and

Chet Brewer Chester Arthur Brewer (January 14, 1907 – March 26, 1990) was an American right-handed pitcher in baseball's Negro leagues. Born in Leavenworth, Kansas, he played for the Kansas City Monarchs, and from 1957 to 1974 he scouted for the Pittsburgh ...

. 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.

Negro league career

In late 1936, Smith signed with the

. From 1937 until his retirement in 1948, Smith was a star pitcher on the Monarchs. He possessed an outstanding curveball, but was overshadowed by his more flamboyant teammate

. 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.

Post-playing career and death

After retiring from baseball, Smith worked as a schoolteacher and later as a steel plant foreman. He also scouted for the Chicago 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 the Baseball Hall of Fame. He died in 1983 in Kansas City, Missouri. It was not until 2001 that he was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Notes

References

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External links

an
Baseball-Reference Black Baseball and Mexican League stats
an
SeamheadsSABR BioProject
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Hilton 1907 births 1983 deaths Algodoneros de Torreón players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Texas Bismarck Churchills players Kansas City Monarchs players Mexican League baseball pitchers Monroe Monarchs players National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees New Orleans Crescent Stars players Baseball players from Kansas City, Missouri People from Giddings, Texas Prairie View A&M Panthers baseball players Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo players 20th-century African-American sportspeople