Hilton Smith

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Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame

Hilton Lee Smith
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Inducted as a member of the Kansas City Monarchs (None)
Year Inducted: 2001
First Year Elligible: 1971

Hilton Lee Smith (February 27, 1907 - November 18, 1983) was an American right-handed pitcher in Negro league baseball.

Born in Giddings, Texas, Smith began his professional career in black baseball's equivalent of the minor leagues with the Austin Black Senators in Austin, Texas. His big league debut was with the Monroe Monarchs of Monroe, Louisiana in 1932, a year which saw the Monroe team lose to the Pittsburgh Crawfords in the Negro League World Series.

In late 1936 Smith signed with the Kansas City Monarchs. From 1937 until his retirement in 1948 Smith was a star pitcher on the Monarchs, possessing what may have been the best curveball in baseball history; but he was overshadowed by his more flamboyant teammate Satchel Paige. Often Paige would pitch the first three innings of a game, leaving Smith to pitch the remaining six; Paige would nonetheless receive credit for the win. Also, unlike Paige, Smith was a very good hitter. Still, Smith was credited with 20 or more wins in each of his 12 seasons with the Kansas City Monarchs.

After retiring from baseball, Hilton Smith worked as a schoolteacher and later as a steel plant foreman. He also scouted for the Chicago Cubs. Smith had a quiet, reserved temperament, but in his later years he stood up for Negro Leaguers in their struggle to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He died at age 76 in Kansas City, Missouri. It was not until 2001 that he became a member of the Hall.

Known statistics: 93 wins - 11 losses (1939-1942), .326 career batting average