Gene Smith, 95; Pitched In Negro Leagues (Threw Three No-Hitters)
Bill Schenley
Photo: http://tinyurl.com/3gpuzga
FROM: The St. Louis Post Dispatch ~
By Tim Barker
Eugene "Gene" Smith, who threw three no-hitters [1] during his eight-year
career in the Negro Leagues, died of congestive heart failure Wednesday (May
25, 2111) at St. Mary's Health Center in Richmond Heights. He was 95 and
lived in Vinita Park.
Mr. Smith was known as a power pitcher during a career that saw him play for
several teams, including the St. Louis Stars, Atlanta Black Crackers, New
York Black Yankees and the Cleveland Buckeyes [2]. He pitched in the Negro
Leagues from 1939 to 1950, but also took a three-year break to serve in the
Army during World War II.
Family members say baseball, and sports in general, meant everything to Mr.
Smith, who never realized his dream of playing major league ball. By the
time Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, Mr. Smith was nearing
the end of his own career, with an arm unable to put up with the demands of
pitching.
"He had problems with that arm for the last 30 years of his life," said a
son, Bobby Thomas of St. Louis.
Mr. Smith and other players were honored in 1997 during a St. Louis
Cardinals home game for their work in paving the way for Robinson to make
his jump from the Negro Leagues to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
"The opportunity to play in the major leagues was all you wanted," Mr. Smith
said at the time.
Mr. Smith never let go of baseball. His wife, Marie Smith, said he remained
an avid fan of the game until he became sick around Easter.
Along with his Negro League career, Mr. Smith pitched for teams in Mexico
and Canada.
In 1977 he retired from his job as a packer for National Lead Co. In 1983,
he was named to the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame. He also coached
baseball for the Mathews-Dickey Boys' & Girls' Club.
Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday at Eddie Randle & Sons
Funeral Home, 4600 Natural Bridge Avenue.
In addition to his wife and son, he is survived by another son, Michael
Thomas, and a daughter, Marilyn Hamilton, both of St. Louis; 13
grandchildren; and 29 great-grandchildren.
<Note: His brother Quincy also played in the Negro Leagues (Cleveland
Buckeyes).>
[1] In 1938, while pitching for the Atlanta Black Crackers, he threw two
no-hitters in one day, and in 1941 he threw another against the New York
Black Yankees.
[2] He also played for the Ethiopian Clowns (1939), Kansas City Monarchs
(1941), Pittsburgh Crawfords (1946), Homestead Grays (1946-1947), Louisville
Buckeyes (1949), and the Chicago American Giants (1949-1951)
Jim J
> no-hitters in one day, and in 1941 he threw another against the New York
> Black Yankees.
And thus he joins Johnny Vander Meer as the only pitchers to throw two
consecutive no-hitters....
Vander Meer gets all the glory, while Smith toiled in relative
obscurity. All because of skin color.