William T. "Big Bill" Smith (1869 – ?) was a

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

for several years before the founding of the first Negro National League. He played for several teams, most of the seasons appear to be played for the

Chicago Unions The Chicago Unions were a professional, black baseball team that played in the late 19th century, prior to the formation of the Negro leagues. Founding Organized as the Unions in 1887, the club was led by Abe Jones (1887–1889) and by W.S. ...

Brooklyn Royal Giants The Brooklyn Royal Giants were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Brooklyn, New York. Formed in 1905 by John Wilson Connor (1875–1926), owner of the Brooklyn Royal Cafe, the team initially played against white semi-pro teams. ...

and

Cuban Giants The Cuban Giants were the first fully salaried African-American professional baseball club. The team was originally formed in 1885 at the Argyle Hotel, a summer resort in Babylon, New York. Initially an independent barnstorming team, they played ...

. Smith attended Fisk University in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. He started with

Frank Leland Frank C. Leland (1869 – November 14, 1914) was an American baseball player, field manager and club owner in the Negro leagues. Early life and career beginnings Leland was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He attended Fisk University in Nashville, ...

and the

at the age of 20, working with the team until 1897. 1904XGiants

In his 30s, Smith played for the Cuban X-Giants for a couple seasons, moved on to the

in 1905, then half a dozen other teams. He was still playing baseball for the Schenectady Mohawk Giants and the Brooklyn All Stars at the age of 45 years.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Big Bill Negro league baseball managers Cuban X-Giants players Philadelphia Giants players Brooklyn Royal Giants players Illinois Giants players Schenectady Mohawk Giants players Baseball players from Tennessee 1869 births Year of death unknown