Charles J. Smith (December 11, 1840 – November 15, 1897) was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

. He played in 14 games for the

New York Mutuals The Mutual Base Ball Club of New York was an American baseball club established in 1857, the year of the first baseball convention. The Mutuals just missed out on being a founding member of the National Association of Base Ball Players that yea ...

in 1871, hitting .264 in 72 at bats. In the pre-professional era of early baseball, Smith played for the amateur

Brooklyn Enterprise The Enterprise Base Ball Club of Brooklyn (also known as the Enterprise of Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford) was an American baseball club in the 1850s and 1860s. Founding The Enterprise was founded as an amateur club on June 28, 1856, i ...

until 1858, when he joined the

Brooklyn Atlantics The Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn ("Atlantic" or the "Brooklyn Atlantics") was baseball's first champion and its first dynasty. The team was also the first baseball club to visit the White House in 1865 at the invitation of President An ...

, for whom he played until 1870. The Atlantics were one of the premiere clubs active in the sport's Amateur Era, which pre-dated the advent of paid professionalism. Based on newspaper accounts and older player reminiscences, Smith was considered a high-caliber player. However, in that era, game-by-game statistics were not regularly compiled, so there is no way to assess Smith's value compared to other players. Smith's name was alternately spelled "Charley" and "Charlie" in the press. Smith's 1897 obit in the ''

Brooklyn Daily Eagle The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''Kings County Democrat'', later ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' before shortening title further to ''Brooklyn Eagle'') was an afternoon daily newspaper published in the city ...

'' included the following: "Smith was regarded as the premier third baseman. He had a quick eye, fearlessly faced the swiftly batted balls, which then contained much more rubber than those now in use, and captured difficult fly balls in a graceful manner. He was also a remarkably accurate thrower, a splendid batsman and a dashing base runner. The late

Harry Wright William Henry "Harry" Wright (January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895) was an American professional baseball player, manager (baseball), manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played Center fielder, center field for baseball's first fu ...

said once in speaking about Charlie icSmith: 'Undoubtedly, he was the king of third baseman.'" Smith played in an era before fielders wore gloves and had to handle the ball barehanded. An 1897 obit in the ''

Brooklyn Daily Times The ''Brooklyn Times-Union'' was an American newspaper published from 1848 to 1937. Launched in 1848 as the ''Williamsburgh Daily Times'', the publication became the ''Brooklyn Daily Times'' when the cities of Brooklyn and Williamsburg were uni ...

'' reported, "Up to the day that he died, Charlie Smith's crooked fingers bore eloquent testimony to many a hot grounder that he had gathered in and many a foul ball fly that he had nipped. He was practically invincible in his position at third."Brooklyn Daily Times, November 18, 1897, as reproduced in ''Nineteenth Century Notes'', Winter 2025, published by the Nineteenth Century Committee of the

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Au ...

References

Sources

Baseball Reference
Major League Baseball infielders Brooklyn Atlantics (NABBP) players New York Mutuals players Baseball players from Brooklyn 1840 births 1897 deaths Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery {{US-baseball-infielder-stub