James Lawrence Smith (May 15, 1895 – January 1, 1974) was a Major League Baseball

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

often referred to as "Greenfield Jimmy" or "Bluejacket". Smith was a switch hitter and threw right-handed. His major league debut came on September 26, 1914, with the

Chicago Chi-Feds The Chicago Whales were a professional baseball team based in Chicago. They played in the Federal League, a short-lived "third Major League", in 1914 and 1915. They originally lacked a formal nickname, and were known simply as the "Chicago Feder ...

. In 1919, he won the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

with 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 ...

, and he went on to play his final game with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

on September 3, 1922. During

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, Smith smuggled bootlegged alcohol from various cities into his Greenfield neighborhood. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Pittsburgh.

Family

Smith had four children: Mary Louise, Jimmy Jr., Nora, and Tommy. Jimmy Jr. played baseball for the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, and some professional baseball in the minor leagues with the Gladewater Bears, a team in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. Tommy played basketball at Pennsylvania and then attended the

Wharton school of business The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

. Jimmy Jr. had a son, Jimmy Smith III, who was an All-Ivy League football player at the University of Pennsylvania. Jimmy Smith III signed a contract to play with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1983 but was released after a knee injury. Smith was the father-in-law of world light heavyweight champion

Billy Conn William David Conn (October 8, 1917 – May 29, 1993) was an Irish American professional boxer and Light Heavyweight Champion famed for his fights with Joe Louis. He had a professional boxing record of 63 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw, with 14 wins ...

. A rematch against Joe Louis in 1942 had to be abruptly canceled after Conn broke his hand in a much-publicized fight with Smith. Smith's great-granddaughter is swimmer Leah Smith.

References

External links

1917 Champion New York Giants Team Photo

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jimmy 1895 births 1974 deaths Major League Baseball infielders Chicago Whales players Baltimore Terrapins players Pittsburgh Pirates players New York Giants (NL) players Boston Braves players Duquesne Dukes baseball players Cincinnati Reds players Philadelphia Phillies players Indianapolis Indians players Jersey City Skeeters players Baseball players from Pittsburgh Burials at Calvary Catholic Cemetery (Pittsburgh)