Bob Smith (smithbo03)

Robert Gilchrist Smith

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2" Weight 190 lb.
• High School Woodsville High School
• Debut April 29, 1955
• Final Game September 23, 1959
• Born February 1, 1930 in Woodsville, NH USA
• Died April 1, 2013 in Augusta, GA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Lefthander Bob Smith was signed as an amateur free agent by the Boston Red Sox before the 1948 season. The eighteen-year-old went 0-6 in his first season in 16 games and followed that with an 8-10 record in 1949. In 1950 the young pitcher had his first winning season when he went 13-5 with the Oneonta Red Sox of the class C Canadian-American League. It was the 1954 season with the Shreveport Sports that brought Smith's qualifications to light as the young man went 13-5 with a league-leading 2.89 ERA and helped his team to the Texas League pennant.

Smith made his debut in the big leagues with 1 2/3 inning of relief in one game for the Red Sox on April 29, 1955, but he was sent down when rosters were trimmed and spent the rest of the year with the Louisville Colonels of the American Association where he had a 10-6 record with a 2.48 ERA. He was with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in 1956, winning 8 and losing 11 with a 4.38 ERA before working out of the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers bullpens, from 1957 to 1959, closing out his major league run with a 4-9 record in 91 appearances. Most of his appearances were with the Pirates, 75 of his career 91 games over three seasons.

Smith continued to pitch in the minors until 1964, closing out his 13-year (1948-1964) minor league run at age 33 with the Seattle Rainiers of the PCL with a 6-4 record and a 3.94 ERA in his last active season. This gave the left-hander an 88-85 record with a career 4.03 ERA in 418 appearances during his minor league years. After baseball, Smith worked in the forest products and paper manufacturing industry and became the purchasing manager for the Boise-Cascade Company in Vancouver, Washington, and later in Ashdown, Arkansas for Great Northern Nekoosa Paper Company. Smith retired in 1993 to Aiken, SC and died in nearby Augusta, GA in 2013 at the age of 83.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• Bob Smith at the SABR Bio Project