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--Hilton Smith Excerpt from Voice from the Great Black Baseball Leagues by John Holway Click
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Negro
Leaguer of the Month Hilton
Lee Smith, Pitcher Hilton Smith was regarded by some Negro Leaguers as the equal of Satchel Paige. In fact, some thought he was better! He had a great fastball, though not in the same class as Satchel's, but he also had a great curve, a slider and straight change. Smith's first pro team was the Monroe, Louisiana Monarchs in 1932. Monroe, playing in the Negro Southern League, won their pennant and ended the season playing the Pittsburgh Crawfords for the unofficial Negro League Championship. Unfortunately for Smith, the Crawfords had what many think is the top Negro League team in history with a roster of Satchel, Josh Gibson, Double Duty, Oscar Charleston, Jud Wilson, Jimmie Crutchfield, and more! Smith
tangled with Double Duty in the first game of the series and lost, 7-3.
The Crawfords beat the Monarchs 5 of 6 to win the best-of-nine series;
Barney Morris, the Monarchs' ace, beat Sam Streeter, 2-1, for Monroe's
only win. In 1935, Double Duty convinced Hilton and Barney Morris to jump Monroe and join the Bismarck semipro team. Bismarck, also featuring pitchers Duty, Satchel and Chet Brewer, had what some consider the greatest pitching staff ever. Hilton came into his own that year winning all but one of his decisions; he also batted .343 with 4 homers. Negro Leaguer Sherwood Brewer raved about Smith's pitching and hitting skills remarking that, "Usually teams would put a pitcher out in right field because they had nobody else. But Hilton could have played outfield with any of the great teams! The Grays, Chicago, any of 'em. He could hit!" Despite his great year, he was overshadowed by Satchel who won 30 games and 4 games in the first National Semipro tournament. But in 1936, without Satchel, Bismarck entered the tournament to defend their title and Hilton equaled Satchel's feat and won 4 games himself in the tournament. Bismarck, however, did not repeat as champions. In the late 1930s and 40s, Hilton was maybe the greatest pitcher in baseball. He fashioned records of 25-2, 21-3, 25-1, 22-5 and a perfect 10 and 0 in 1941. He was selected for the East-West All Star game six times. Despite
arm troubles, Smith continued to be a better-than-.500 pitcher until
he retired from the Negro Leagues in 1948. He then pitched semipro ball
for Fulda, Minnesota. In Fulda, Smith's arm was gone and he became a
decent emery-ball pitcher, something he probably picked up from his
old teammate, the crafty Double Duty.
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