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.
| Dick Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Third baseman | |
| Born: July 21, 1926 Blandburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| Died: January 25, 2021 (aged 94) Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 14, 1951, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 1, 1955, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .134 |
| Home runs | 0 |
| Runs batted in | 11 |
| Teams | |
Biography
editThe Blandburg, Pennsylvania, native threw and batted right-handed and was listed as 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall and 160 pounds (73 kg). 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]
References
edit- ^ Marazzi, Rich; Fiorito, Len (November 30, 2009). Baseball Players of the 1950s: A Biographical Dictionary of All 1,560 Major Leaguers. McFarland & Co. p. 371. ISBN 978-0-7864-4688-9.
- ^ "Richard Smith Obituary (1926 - 2021)". Centre Daily Times. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet