Earl Calvin Smith was a center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 1955 season. Listed at 6 feet 0 inches and weighed 185 pounds, he batted and threw right handed. Born in Sunnyside, Washington, Smith moved along with his family to Southern California when he was eight. He graduated in 1946 from Bonita High School in La Verne, California. The Pittsburgh organization signed Smith in 1949 out of Fresno State University, where he was a two-sport star and shined most as a slugging outfielder for the Bulldogs until his graduation. He saw action in all of parts of seven Minor League seasons spanning 1949?1955, before joining the Pirates on April 14, 1955 as a 27-year-old rookie. His most productive in the minors came in 1954, when he posted a .387 batting average with 32 home runs and led the Arizona-Texas League with 195 runs batted in, helping the Phoenix Stars clinch the pennant title, earning All-Star Team honors for his stellar 1954 campaign. 

March 14th, 1928 in   /  Died:   Sep 27th, 2014