Smead Powell Jolley (January 14, 1902 – November 17, 1991) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. He played from 1922 to 1941, including four seasons in

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 ...

(MLB) from 1930 to 1933. Jolley was considered a good hitter. His poor fielding kept him from having a longer major league career, but he spent eight seasons in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL), the top minor league of that era. In 1928, he won the PCL Triple Crown. He was inducted into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame in 2003.

Early minor league career

Jolley was born in Wesson, Arkansas, in 1902. He was 6'3" tall and weighed 210 pounds."Smead Jolley Stats"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2021. Jolley started his professional baseball career in 1922 with the

Greenville Bucks The Greenville Bucks or sometimes Buckshots were a Cotton States League baseball team in Greenville, Mississippi that existed from 1922 to 1955. They were affiliated with the Memphis Chicks in the 1930s, the New York Yankees in the 1940s and the D ...

of the class D

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Engli ...

. That season, he was a

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, ...

and had a 12–7

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

in 180

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. He also had a .314

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

."Smead Jolley Minor Leagues Statistics & History"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2021. In 1923, Jolley was an outfielder and pitcher for the Shreveport Gassers of the class A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. He batted .332 and had a 2–8 record in 111 innings pitched. In 1924, Jolley was an outfielder and pitcher for the Texarkana Twins of the class D

East Texas League The East Texas League was a Texas–based minor league baseball league that existed between 1916 and 1950. The East Texas League played as a Class D level league in 1916 and from 1923 to 1926. The league became a Class C level league from 1936 ...

. He batted .371 and had a 9–9 record in 184 innings pitched. That was the last season in which he spent significant time as a pitcher. In 1925, Jolley played for the Corsicana Oilers of the class D

Texas Association The Texas Association was a sports league of minor league baseball teams in Texas that operated from 1923 through 1926. An earlier league, initially known as the Texas-Southern League, used the same name from mid-1896 through 1899. History of th ...

and batted .362.

San Francisco Seals

Jolley played for the San Francisco Seals of the class AA Pacific Coast League from 1926 to 1929. In 1926, he batted .346. In 1927, Jolley batted .397 with 33

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 163

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBI). He led the PCL in batting average and RBI."Smead Jolley"
milb.com. Retrieved October 28, 2021. In 1928, Jolley batted .404 with 45 home runs and 188 RBI, leading the league in all three categories to win the Triple Crown. He also led the league with 309

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

, a .675

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

, and 516

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hit (baseball), hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single (baseball), single, 2 for a double (baseball), double, 3 for a triple (baseball), triple and 4 ...

. The Seals won the PCL championship. In 1929, Jolley batted .387 with 35 home runs and 159 RBI.

Major League Baseball

In November 1929, the Seals traded Jolley to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

(AL). In 1930, he batted .313 with 16 home runs and 116 RBI. In 1931, he batted .300 with 3 home runs and 28 RBI. In April 1932, the White Sox traded Jolley to the AL's

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. Overall, he batted .312 with 18 home runs and 106 RBI in 1932. In 1933, he batted .282 with 9 home runs and 65 RBI.

Later minor league career

In December 1933, the Red Sox traded Jolley to the AL's

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

. The Browns then traded him to the PCL's

Hollywood Stars The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles–based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels. Hollywood Stars ( ...

. In 1934, Jolley batted .360. In 1935, he batted .372. In 1936, Jolley played for the

Albany Senators The Albany Senators was a name used by multiple minor league baseball teams representing Albany, New York, that existed between 1885 and 1959. The mid-20th century club played at Hawkins Stadium. The various editions of the Senators generally pl ...

of the class AA

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. He led the league with a .373 batting average, 221 hits, 52 doubles, and 345 total bases. In 1937, Jolley played for the

Nashville Volunteers The Nashville Vols were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1901 to 1963. Known as the Nashville Baseball Club during their first seven seasons, they became the Nashville Volunteers (regularly shortened to Vols) ...

of the class A1

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

and batted .298. Jolley joined the PCL's

Oakland Oaks Oakland Oaks may refer to one of the following sport teams, listed chronologically: *Oakland Oaks (PCL), a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1955 *Oakland Oaks (ice hockey), a professional ice hockey te ...

in 1938. He batted .350. In 1939, he batted .309. In 1940, Jolley joined the

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Co ...

of the class B

Western International League The Western International League was a mid- to higher-level minor league baseball circuit in the Pacific Northwest United States and western Canada that operated in 1922, 1937 to 1942, and 1946 to 1954. In 1955, the Western International League ...

. He led the league with a .373 batting average, 224 hits, 56 doubles, and 365 total bases. Jolley finished his professional baseball career with the Indians in 1941.

Legacy

Jolley had a .305 batting average, 521 hits, 46 home runs, and 313 RBI in the major leagues. He was considered a good hitter but a poor fielder, and his defense was too great of a liability to sustain an MLB career. In the minor leagues, Jolley had over 2,700 hits and over 300 home runs. He spent 20 years in professional baseball, including eight in the PCL, the top minor league of that era. The league had a minimum salary of $5,000 per year, comparable to the two major leagues, and often paid their established players as well as the major leagues. The PCL was sometimes called "the third major league." Jolley died in

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is built on an informal archipe ...

, in 1991. In 2003, he was inducted into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jolley, Smead 1902 births 1991 deaths Major League Baseball outfielders Chicago White Sox players Boston Red Sox players Shreveport Gassers players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Hollywood Stars players Nashville Vols players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Spokane Indians players Baseball players from Arkansas People from Union County, Arkansas Albany Senators players Corsicana Oilers players Greenville Bucks players Jersey City Giants players Texarkana Twins players Vancouver Capilanos players 20th-century American sportsmen