Owen Smaulding Explained

Owen Smaulding
Position:Pitcher
Birth Date:September 30, 1896
Birth Place:Wichita Falls, Texas
Death Place:Chicago, Illinois
Debutleague:Negro league baseball
Debutyear:1927
Debutteam:Kansas City Monarchs
Finalyear:1932
Finalteam:Gilkerson's Union Giants
Teams:

Bazz Owen Smaulding (September 30, 1896  - December 1, 1961) was an American Negro league pitcher in the 1920s and 1930s.

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Smaulding attended Albuquerque High School, where he played football, basketball, baseball and track.[1] [2] Described as an "incredible athlete", his high school football team reportedly defeated the University of New Mexico team in an exhibition in which Smaulding scored three touchdowns.[3] Smaulding served briefly in the US Army in World War I, graduated from high school upon return, and went on to attend the University of Washington and the University of Idaho.

Smaulding broke into the Negro leagues in 1927 with the Kansas City Monarchs, then split time in 1928 with the Chicago American Giants, Cleveland Tigers, and Birmingham Black Barons. In 1931 and 1932, he played with the independent Gilkerson's Union Giants. Following his playing career, Smaulding taught at Piney Woods School in Mississippi for several years. He died in Chicago, Illinois in 1961 at age 65, and was inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.[4]

External links

and Seamheads

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Owen Smaulding . seamheads.com . August 4, 2020.
  2. Web site: Mike Magers . Owen Smaulding . nmsportsblog.com . July 19, 2014 . August 4, 2020.
  3. Web site: David Eskenazi and Steve Rudman . Wayback Machine: A Legacy of Black Baseball . sportspressnw.com . May 15, 2015 . August 4, 2020.
  4. Web site: Inductees . New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame . August 4, 2020.