George J. "Germany" Smith (April 21, 1863 – December 1, 1927) was an American

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), ...

player from

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. Primarily a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

, Smith played for five teams in 15 seasons. He made his major league debut for Altoona Mountain City of the Union Association in 1884. After Altoona's team folded after just 25 games, he jumped to the Cleveland Blues 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 ...

. After the 1884 season, Cleveland then sold him, along with six other players, to the

Brooklyn Bridegrooms 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, Califor ...

for $4000. On June 17, 1885, Smith reportedly committed seven errors intentionally when his team decided to punish new

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 ...

Phenomenal Smith John Francis "Phenomenal" Smith (December 12, 1864 – April 3, 1952), born as John Francis Gammon, was an American professional baseball player and player-manager from 1884 to 1905. He played eight seasons in Major League Baseball, princip ...

, losing the game 18-5. All 18 runs against the brash left-hander were unearned‚ due to a total of 14 Brooklyn "errors". "Phenomenal" gave himself his nickname before he joined the team‚ saying that he was so good that he did not need his teammates to win. The intentional misplays of his teammates caused club President Lynch to fine the guilty players $500 each‚ but he reluctantly agreed to release "Phenomenal" to ensure team harmony. A reliable shortstop in the days when a fielding average below .900 could lead the league, Smith did lead 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 ...

in 1887 with an .886 average. When the AA folded in 1890, Smith and most of his teammates transferred to the National League's new Brooklyn franchise. In 1891,

John Montgomery Ward John Montgomery Ward (March 3, 1860 – March 4, 1925), known as Monte Ward, was an American Major League Baseball pitcher, shortstop, second baseman, third baseman, manager, executive, union organizer, owner and author. Ward, of English descent ...

took over as

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 ...

and shortstop, effectively ending Smith's career with Brooklyn, so he left and joined the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. There he led NL shortstops in assists each year from 1891 to 1894. Smith later returned in 1897, when Cincinnati and Brooklyn traded shortstops, with

Tommy Corcoran Thomas William Corcoran (January 4, 1869 – June 25, 1960) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from to for the Pittsburgh Burghers (1890), Philadelphia Athletics (1891), Brooklyn G ...

moving to the Reds. Smith's major league career came to an end after the 1898 season, when he played just 51 games for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

. He moved on to play for the minor league

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

for the 1899 and 1900 seasons. Smith died at the age of 64 in

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. ...

, from injuries when struck by an automobile, and is interred at Calvary Cemetery in Altoona.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Germany 1863 births 1927 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball shortstops Altoona Mountain Citys players Cleveland Blues (NL) players Brooklyn Grays players Brooklyn Bridegrooms players Cincinnati Reds players St. Louis Browns (NL) players Wilmington Quicksteps (minor league) players Altoona (minor league baseball) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Grand Rapids Furniture Makers players Baseball players from Pittsburgh Pedestrian road incident deaths Road incident deaths in Pennsylvania