Don’t Forget This Monarch: Hilton Smith, obscured by a great shadow.
Hilton Smith was quiet compared to his Kansas City Monarchs teammate Leroy “Satchel” Paige; though in truth, everyone was quiet compared to Satchel Paige, not because Paige talked a lot but because he was a star, perhaps the biggest star of the time. Satchel Paige burned bright and hot, Hilton Smith burned cool and steady. He had the best curve ball in the league along with a fiery heater, he was was a phenomenal pitcher but to his dismay, he often played in Paige’s shadow and would become known as his relief act. It worked like this, because Satchel Paige could draw large crowds to Monarchs games, he would frequently be slated to start, then he would pitch three or four innings. When Paige was done, Hilton Smith would come in to finish the last five or six innings, often performing better than Paige had in the first few. Along with his great pitching, Hilton Smith could hit, not unheard of for a pitcher but certainly not common, he finished with a career average of .323 in the Negro Leagues… that’s very good for regular players, for a pitcher it is incredible. Here are a few of his other stats compiled from The Biographical Encyclopedia of The Negro Baseball Leagues, James A. Riley
. Won 20 or more games for 12 seasons straight (1937–48)
. 1937 no-hitter against Chicago American Giants
. Undefeated record 1938
. 6X all-star 1937–42
. In the winter of 1946 while pitching in Venezuela he held the New York Yankees to one hit for 5 innings, winning the game.
. Lifetime record of 161 wins — 32 losses
Writer Joe Posnanski talks about Hilton Smith in his book, The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America (Buck O’Neil was a player manager for the Monarchs while Smith and Paige were both on the team.) He talks about the friendship between Buck O’Neil and Hilton Smith and how in his later years, Smith wrote letters to the Baseball Hall of Fame, hoping to gain admittance. Getting into Cooperstown is the dream of everyone who ever played the game of baseball, professionally or not. So, when I think of players who weren’t allowed to play at their peak or shine on the diamond because of the color of their skin, its heartbreaking. Imagine seeing Hilton Smith pitch against Joe DiMaggio at Yankee Stadium in 1937, both in their prime. Its something that I like to daydream about on occasion. Hilton Smith passed away in 1983, but less than 20 years later in 2001 and thanks to the tireless efforts of people former Kansas City Monarchs like Buck O’Neil, he was finally enshrined into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
So next time you are working on your fastball or curve in the backyard, think about Hilton Smith facing off against the greats.
Twitter @satch_was_here
