Edgar Eugene Smith (June 12, 1862 – November 3, 1892) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

and

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

from to and then again in . He stood tall and weighed . Smith batted and threw right-handed. A native of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, Smith became a well-known amateur baseball player in New England. He made his major league debut in 1883 with his hometown

Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National Leagu ...

, playing two games at

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for them. He also pitched one game for the Philadelphia Quakers that year, allowing 17 runs and taking the loss. In 1884, he played in 14 games for the

Washington Statesmen Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, serving as both a pitcher and an outfielder. While he returned to playing amateur baseball in Providence in 1885, the Grays had him pitch for them on August 5 when their other starting pitchers were unavailable; Smith allowed just one

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

in the start as he defeated the St. Louis Maroons. He would not play again in the major leagues until 1890, when he finished his career by making eight appearances for the

Cleveland Spiders The Cleveland Spiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899, first for two seasons as a member of the now-defunct American Association (AA), followed ...

. On November 3, 1892, he died of a

pulmonary hemorrhage Pulmonary hemorrhage (or pulmonary haemorrhage) is an acute bleeding from the lung, from the upper respiratory tract and the trachea, and the pulmonary alveoli. When evident clinically, the condition is usually massive.tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

Baseball career

Providence Grays and Philadelphia Quakers (1883)

Edgar Eugene Smith was born on June 12, 1862, in

. He lived at 18 Dexter Street. In his hometown, he gained local distinction as an amateur

player. His services were in demand because he could play several positions:

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

, and occasionally

. He began his major league career with the

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL) in 1883, making his debut for them on May 25. With Smith at first base, the Grays defeated the Chicago White Stockings 9–6 at Lake Front Park in Chicago. Smith played one other game for the Grays that year, also at first base. In the contests, he recorded two

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

, scored two runs, and had a

run batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI). Later in the season, on June 20 he pitched a game for the Philadelphia Quakers. While Smith recorded three hits and an RBI in the game, he did not do well on the mound; he allowed 18 hits and 17 runs in seven innings, and took a loss as the

Boston Beaneaters Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most po ...

defeated Philadelphia by a score of 29–4 at Boston's

South End Grounds South End Grounds refers to any one of three baseball parks on one site in Boston, Massachusetts. They were home to the franchise that eventually became known as the Boston Braves, first in the National Association and later in the National Le ...

. Smith also played

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

baseball for the

Brooklyn Grays The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...

of the Interstate Association in 1883.

Washington Statesmen (1884)

In 1884, he played in 14 games for the

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. Used as a pitcher in three games, he lost both of his starts and also made one

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

appearance, after having begun the game in the outfield. Counting the relief appearance, he played 12 games in the outfield as well. Smith batted .088 with five runs scored, five hits (one of which was a

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

) and no RBI for Washington.

Providence Grays (1885)

Smith was pitching for an amateur team in Providence in 1885 when an opportunity arose for him to return to the major leagues. On August 5,

Charles Radbourn Charles Gardner Radbourn (December 11, 1854 – February 5, 1897), nicknamed "Old Hoss", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for Buffalo (1880), Providence (1881–1885), ...

Joe Start Joseph Start (October 14, 1842 – March 27, 1927), nicknamed "Old Reliable", was one of the most durable regulars of baseball's earliest era, and one of the top first basemen of his time. He began his playing career in 1859, before the forma ...

, and

Dupee Shaw Frederick Lander "Dupee" Shaw (May 31, 1859 – January 12, 1938), also sometimes known as "Wizard," was a professional baseball player from 1883 to 1896. The left-handed pitcher played Major League Baseball for six seasons with the Detroit Wolv ...

were all unavailable to pitch for Providence, officially because of an illness, though rumor had it that the players simply wanted the day off. Not having any other starting pitchers on his roster, Providence manager

Frank Bancroft Francis Carter Bancroft (May 9, 1846 – March 30, 1921) was an American manager in Major League Baseball for the Worcester Ruby Legs, Detroit Wolverines, Cleveland Blues, Providence Grays, Indianapolis Hoosiers, and Cincinnati Reds of the Natio ...

had the team sign Smith to start that day's game against the St. Louis Maroons at the

Messer Street Grounds Messer Street Grounds, also known as Messer Park or Messer Field, is a former baseball park located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was home to the Providence Grays of the National League from 1878 to 1885 and of the minor league Providence Grays ...

in Providence. Fans feared that the team would struggle with an amateur on the mound, but Smith limited St. Louis to nine hits and three runs (only one of which was

earned Earning can refer to: * Labour (economics) *Earnings of a company *Merit Merit may refer to: Religion * Merit (Christianity) * Merit (Buddhism) * Punya (Hinduism) * Imputed righteousness in Reformed Christianity Companies and brands * Merit ...

) as Providence won the game 4–3. The next day's account of the game in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' reported that "Edgar Smith, a young amateur, did the pitching ..Sharp fielding gained the victory." Though that was his only major league game in 1885, Smith also played for the

Columbus Stars The Columbus Stars were a minor professional ice hockey team that was a brief member of the United Hockey League (UHL). The team folded before the midway point of 2003–04 season, in which the Stars had 21 home games drawing an average of only ...

, a Georgia team in the Southern League.

Minor leagues (1886–89)

The Grays ceased to exist as a major league team following the 1885 campaign, but a minor league team of the same name participated in the Eastern League in 1886, playing at the Messer Street Grounds. Smith played for them, but the team folded in June. After that, Smith played for the

Boston Blues The Boston Blues were a Negro league baseball team in 1946 and part of Branch Rickey's U.S. Baseball League. The league did not last long due to scheduling problems as the Blues led their division. The star players on the club were catcher Johnny ...

of the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

. He was still with the team when it moved to

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located 35 miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about 17 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States Cen ...

in 1887. Smith later pitched for the

Detroit Wolverines The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant (and winning the pre ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

and the International Association.

Cleveland Spiders (1890)

In 1890, Smith returned to the major leagues, playing in eight games for the NL's

. He was the team's starting pitcher in six of these contests. Smith completed five of his starts but lost four out of five decisions, posting a 4.30

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). He

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denot ...

11 batters and walked 10, allowing 42 hits in 44 innings pitched. His other appearances were all in the outfield. In 24

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s, Smith batted .292 with two runs scored, seven hits (one of which was a triple), and four RBI. He also walked four times. His final major league appearance came on August 12, 1890.

Career statistics

Altogether, Smith played 26 games in the major leagues. In 11 pitching appearances, he had a 2–7

record A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

, a 5.05 ERA, 18 strikeouts, 18 walks, and 96 hits allowed in 82 innings. As a hitter, he batted .184 with 10 runs scored, 18 hits, one

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

, two triples, no home runs, and six RBI.

Death

Not long after his final game, Smith was stricken with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. On November 3, 1892, he died in Providence at the age of 30. The cause of death was a

pulmonary hemorrhage Pulmonary hemorrhage (or pulmonary haemorrhage) is an acute bleeding from the lung, from the upper respiratory tract and the trachea, and the pulmonary alveoli. When evident clinically, the condition is usually massive.Swan Point Cemetery Swan Point Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Established in 1846 on a 60-acre (0.24 km2) plot of land, it has approximately 40,000 interments. History The cemetery was first organi ...

in Providence.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Edgar 1862 births 1892 deaths Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Providence, Rhode Island 19th-century baseball players Providence Grays players Philadelphia Quakers players Cleveland Spiders players Washington Nationals (AA) players Brooklyn Grays (Interstate Association) players Columbus Stars (baseball) players Providence Grays (minor league) players Boston Blues players Haverhill (minor league baseball) players Detroit Wolverines (minor league) players 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Rhode Island Deaths from pulmonary hemorrhage