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Alphonse Eugene Smith
Cleveland Indians
Outfield
Born: February 7, 1928, Kirkwood, MO
Signed: Signed by the Cleveland Indians as a free agent, July 11, 1948
Major League Teams: Cleveland Indians 1953-1957; Chicago White Sox 1958-1962; Baltimore Orioles 1963; Cleveland Indians 1964; Boston Red Sox 1964
Died: January 3, 2002, Hammond, IN (age 73)
A corner outfielder and third baseman throughout his 12-year big league career, Al Smith was a two-time All-Star with the Indians in 1955 and the White Sox in 1960. Statistically, he enjoyed his best season in 1961, hitting career highs in both home runs (28) and RBIs (93). Smith played in two World Series (1954, 1959) and hit a lead-off home run off Giants starting pitcher Johnny Antonelli (#138) to start Game 2 of the 1954 Series. He led the A.L. in runs scored with 123 in 1955.
Smith was traded to the White Sox with Early Wynn (#187) for Fred Hatfield (#318) and fan favorite Minnie Minoso (#125) on December 4, 1957. A slump part way through the 1959 season motivated owner Bill Veeck to hold "Al Smith Night" to hopefully jumpstart his regular left fielder. Instead, Smith went 1 for 4 and dropped a fly ball that led to the eventual winning run for the Red Sox. During the 1959 World Series, Smith was photographed getting a beer accidentally dumped on his head following a home run over the left field wall by the Dodgers' Charlie Neal (#299). Smith would later remark he had probably signed over 200,000 copies of the photo.Smith compiled a lifetime batting average of .272 with 164 home runs and 676 RBIs. His early career success in Cleveland led him to be honored by the team in 2001 as one of the "100 Greatest Indians of All Time."
Building the Set
September 25, 2005 in Ft. Washington, PA - Card #261
This was a late edition to our set and one of 11 cards we purchased at the 92nd Philadelphia Sports Card Show held at the convention center in Ft. Washington. My records show we paid $4 for this card. With the Ocean City baseball card shows long gone by now, our only options for local baseball card shows were the "Philly Shows" held in Ft. Washington at the time or the occasional mall baseball card show.
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| Dad and me at Yankee Stadium, August 2005 |
The year-long hiatus in collecting the set came at a time my wife and I were expecting our first son and as we moved into our first real house, so we had a pretty good excuse not to be purchasing baseball cards at the time.
The Card
The photo is the same used for Smith's 1954 and 1955 Topps cards, with his 1954 Topps card showing he was also holding a bat. The bat has been removed in 1955 and 1956. If I had to guess, the action shot looks as if Smith is trying to get back to second base on either a fielder's choice or perhaps attempting to avoid a line-out double play.
The cartoon panels on the back of the card highlight Smith's successful 1955 campaign. His .306 average led the Indians and he also topped the club with 27 doubles and 11 stolen bases. Smith finished third in the 1955 A.L. MVP voting, behind Yogi Berra (#110) and Al Kaline (#20).
Indians Team Set
1956 Season
His numbers slipped again in 1957 and when he was informed he'd be moved permanently to third base to start the 1958 season, Smith requested a trade. The Indians honored his request by shipping him to the White Sox that December.
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First Mainstream Card: 1954 Topps #248
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1954-1964
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Topps Archives 1954 #248
67 - Smith non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/8/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year. Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.
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Order Collected: #74 Jim King - Chicago Cubs / #158 Wally Post - Cincinnati Redlegs
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