George Smith (second baseman)

George Cornelius Smith (July 7, 1937 – June 15, 1987) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1963 through 1966 for the Detroit Tigers (1963–1965) and Boston Red Sox (1966). Listed at 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), 170 lb., Smith batted and threw right-handed. A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, he attended Michigan State University.

George Smith
Second baseman
Born: (1937-07-07)July 7, 1937
St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Died: June 15, 1987(1987-06-15) (aged 49)
St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 4, 1963, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
September 17, 1966, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics
Batting average.205
Home runs9
Runs batted in57
Teams

In a four-season career, Smith was a .205 hitter (130-for-634) with nine home runs and 57 RBI in 217 games, including 64 runs, 27 doubles, six triples and nine stolen bases.

Smith played in the Negro leagues for the Indianapolis Clowns (1952) and the Chicago American Giants (1956–1957).[1] In between, he had a brief trial with the unaffiliated St. Petersburg Saints of the Class D Florida State League in 1955. Then, in 1958, he signed with the Tigers' organization as a free agent. Smith was the Red Sox' semi-regular second baseman in 1966, starting 101 games at the position, but he batted only .213. He also played winter ball with the Navegantes del Magallanes club of the Venezuelan League in the 1966–67 season.[2]

In 1967, Smith was hobbled by injuries and was replaced as Boston's second baseman by rookie Mike Andrews. He was sent to the San Francisco Giants' Triple-A Phoenix club and finished his career in the minors in 1968.

Smith died in 1987 in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida from cancer, at the age of 49.

References
  1. Clark, Dick; Lester, Larry (1994), The Negro Leagues Book, Cleveland, Ohio: Society for American Baseball Research, pp. 223, 256
  2. George Cornelius Smith – VPBL batting statistics. Pura Pelota. Retrieved on July 12, 2016.
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