Dick Smith (third baseman) explained

Dick Smith
Position:Third baseman
Width:260px
Bats:Right
Throws:Right
Birth Date:21 July 1926
Birth Place:Blandburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Death Place:Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Debutleague:MLB
Debutdate:September 14
Debutyear:1951
Debutteam:Pittsburgh Pirates
Finalleague:MLB
Finaldate:May 1
Finalyear:1955
Finalteam:Pittsburgh Pirates
Statleague:MLB
Stat1label:Batting average
Stat1value:.134
Stat2label:Home runs
Stat2value:0
Stat3label:Runs batted in
Stat3value:11
Teams:

Richard Harrison Smith (July 21, 1926 – January 25, 2021) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in seventy games over parts of five Major League Baseball seasons (1951–1955) as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Smith was primarily a third baseman who also played shortstop and second base.

Biography

The Blandburg, Pennsylvania, native threw and batted right-handed and was listed as 5feet tall and . He attended Penn State University and Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania.

Smith's professional career lasted for a dozen seasons, beginning in 1949. His highest MLB batting average was .174 in forty-six at bats during his rookie 1951 campaign. Lifetime, he hit .134, with his twenty-five hits including two doubles and two triples. He was credited with eleven runs batted in. In his longest stint in the majors, Smith appeared in twenty-nine games for the last-place 1952 Pirates, but collecting seven hits and batting .106. The Pirates went 42–112 that year.

After his playing career, Smith became a professor of sports science and physical education at Pennsylvania State University, as well as an assistant coach of the Nittany Lions' varsity baseball team.[1] He died on January 25, 2021, in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Marazzi . Rich . Fiorito . Len . Baseball Players of the 1950s: A Biographical Dictionary of All 1,560 Major Leaguers . November 30, 2009 . McFarland & Co. . 978-0-7864-4688-9 . 371.
  2. Web site: Richard Smith Obituary (1926 - 2021) . Centre Daily Times . 28 January 2021 . en.