Quincy Smith

Quincy O. Smith

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 160 lb.

• Debut 1943
• Final Game 1945
• Born February 3, 1918 in Bienville Parish, LA USA
• Died January 18, 2002 in Terre Haute, IN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Quincy Smith was the younger brother of Negro League hurler Gene Smith. Quincy broke in with the Cleveland Buckeyes in 1943, backing up Sam Jethroe, Duke Cleveland and Thad Christopher in the outfield. He hit .284 as a starting flyhawk for the 1945 Birmingham Black Barons.

Smith came to Organized Baseball in 1949 with the Belleville Stags, hitting .279/?/.428 with 9 triples. He would spend all six of his minor league seasons in the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League. In 1950, he batted .313/~.403/.464 with 91 runs, 22 steals, 30 doubles and 7 triples for the Vincennes Citizens. He tied for second in the MOVL in doubles, behind Lou Bekeza. He led the league's outfielders in fielding (.985) and had 16 assists.

In 1951, Smith hit .306/?/.478 with 35 doubles and 14 triples. He ranked third in doubles and second in triples. The next year, his batting line for the Paris Lakers read .317/.377/.491 with 31 doubles, 10 triples, 11 homers, 30 steals and a league-leading 124 runs (one ahead of runner-up Clint McCord). He tied for third in doubles, tied for fifth in triples, was 5th in homers and tied for 7th in steals.

The 32-year-old remained with Paris in 1953, hitting .314/.412/.479 with 32 doubles, 10 triples, 49 steals and 94 runs. He was 6th in runs, second in doubles, tied for 7th in triples and first in steals. In a far cry from 1950, his .892 fielding percentage was last among MOVL outfielders with 60+ games and he led flyhawks with 17 errors. He did have 13 assists, second-most

Quincy ended his career in 1954, batting .292 and slugging .420 for the Lakers.

Sources

• The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James Riley
• 1951, 1953 and 1954 Baseball Guides
• The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway