Claude Smith (minors02)

Claude Duane Smith Sr.
(Red)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6'1", Weight 200 lbs.
• School Appalachian State Teachers College; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Born June 27, 1908 in Ansel, KY USA
• Died September 29, 1989 in Boone, NC USA

BR Minors Page

Biographical Information

Claude Duane Smith Sr. played minor league baseball for the Cooleemee Weavers in 1937, the Bassett Furnituremakers in 1938, and the Wilson Tobs in 1942. A 1947 profile in the Macon Telegraph described him as a right-handed pitcher and first baseman, and noted that he had already established himself as a baseball coach before arriving at Mercer University.

Before joining Mercer, Smith taught and coached baseball at R.J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, NC. He was born in Ansel, KY, attended Appalachian State Teachers College, and later earned a master's degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He joined Mercer University in 1943 and served as a professor and baseball coach there until his retirement in 1977. He was later inducted into the Mercer University Athletic Hall of Fame, and the school's baseball field was named Claude Smith Field in his honor.

His son, Claude Smith Jr., went to Mercer and played for his father before being selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 15th round of the 1974 MLB June Amateur Draft.