Rufus Frazier "Shirt" Smith (January 24, 1905 – August 21, 1984) 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played in one game for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

on October 2, . Smith played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for ...

where he formed a

battery Battery or batterie most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source * Battery indicator, a device whic ...

with catcher

Rick Ferrell Richard Benjamin Ferrell (October 12, 1905 – July 27, 1995) was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout, and executive. He played for 18 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1929 through 1947 for the St. Lou ...

. While pitching at Guilford, he caught the attention of a New England millionaire who signed Smith to one of his

semi-pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André 3000 (credited as And ...

teams in Massachusetts. At the end of the summer, he enrolled at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. While pitching for a team in

East Douglas, Massachusetts East Douglas is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Douglas, Massachusetts, Douglas in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,557 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 cen ...

in 1927, he caught the attention of a Tigers scout, signed a contract and received a signing bonus of $5,000 ().

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1905 births 1984 deaths Detroit Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from North Carolina Guilford Quakers baseball players Sportspeople from Aiken, South Carolina Beaumont Exporters players Des Moines Demons players Evansville Hubs players Jersey City Skeeters players Montreal Royals players Providence Grays (minor league) players Rochester Red Wings players Sacramento Senators players Seattle Indians players Toledo Mud Hens players Brown Bears baseball players Guilford Quakers men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1900s-stub