Dick Smith (third baseman)

Dick Smith
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
	Pittsburgh Pirates (1951–1955);

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.

Biography[edit]

The 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

[1] 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.

[2] "Richard Smith Obituary (1926 - 2021)". Centre Daily Times. Retrieved January 28, 2021.

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