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Harold Raymond Smith
St. Louis Cardinals
Catcher
Born: June 1, 1931, Barling, AR
Signed: Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams: St. Louis Cardinals 1956-1961; Pittsburgh Pirates 1965
Died: April 12, 2014, Fort Smith, AR (age 82)
Hal Smith was a three-time All-Star catcher for the Cardinals before a heart ailment prematurely ended his playing career. Smith took over regular catching duties for the Cardinals in 1957, making his first All-Star team in the process. He'd be named to both National League All-Star teams in 1959, which would prove to be his career year. Smith appeared in a career-high 142 games that season, starting 128 games behind the plate. He batted .270 with career bests in home runs (13) and RBIs (50). Known most for his defense and strong throwing arm, Smith led all catchers in runners caught stealing in 1959 and 1960. In June 1961 he was diagnosed with a coronary artery condition, immediately ending his big league career at the age of 30. The Cardinals added him to their coaching staff, where he'd continue to mentor his eventual replacement, Tim McCarver.
Smith would make a brief return as a player in 1965. Serving as the bullpen coach for the Pirates, Smith was activated and made emergency appearances in four games as the Pirates had lost all their catching depth to various injuries. He'd coach in the majors with the Cardinals (1962), Pirates (1965-1967), Reds (1968-1969) and Brewers (1976-1977). In 570 major league games, Smith batted .258 with 437 hits, 23 home runs and 172 RBIs.
August 19, 2000 in Raleigh, NC - Card #204
This Hal Smith shouldn't be confused with the other Hal Smith (#62) also in the 1956 Topps set. Both were catchers, complicating things somewhat, but this Hal Smith is commonly shown as Hal R. Smith in checklists while the other Hal Smith shows up as Hal W. Smith. I don't think I realized there were two Hal Smiths in the set until I alphabetized our checklist, which made it easier to check if we needed a card when a dealer's boxes were out of order.
Something that's perhaps only amusing to me is that I purchased both Hal Smith cards needed for our set at the same time from the same dealer at the Sports Card Show in Raleigh. I decided I wanted to purchase both cards together, and if I found one in decent shape I waited until I had found the second in decent shape as well. Having found both Hal Smith cards in an out-of-order box of 1956 Topps commons, I approached the dealer and asked him for a price for the pair. He did somewhat of a double take when he realized both cards bore the name Hal Smith and he looked at me quizzically.
Without missing a beat, and without cracking a smile, I told him, "I collect only Hal Smith cards." He continued his stare for a few more seconds and then said, "$15 for both of them." And with that, both Hal Smith cards entered our 1956 Topps set.
The Card / Cardinals Team Set
This is Smith's rookie card, and given he didn't make his debut until 1956 (see below) I'm assuming that's not Smith donning the catching gear in the action shot. Smith would wear #18 with the Cardinals in his first three seasons with the team. Outfielder Rip Repulski (#201) wore #8 with the Cardinals, so there's also an excellent chance the catcher shown is from an entirely different team.
Adding confusion to the multiple catching Hal Smith situation, Topps used the wrong Smith's facsimile autograph on the front of this card. This is the same autograph that appears on the other Smith's card earlier in the set.
1956 Season
Smith earned a spot on the Cardinals' opening day roster and made his major league debut on May 2nd against the Pirates at Busch Stadium. He pinch-hit for pitcher Lindy McDaniel in the fifth inning, connecting for an RBI double to left that scored Repulski. A few batters later, Stan Musial would hit a grand slam, and Smith scored his first major league run. On June 14th, regular catcher Bill Sarni (#247) was part of a massive ten-player deal with the Giants and Smith became the Cardinals' every day catcher.
1956 Season
He'd start 58 games overall behind the plate, and batted .282 in his rookie season with five home runs and 23 RBIs.
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First Mainstream Card: 1956 Topps #283
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6): 1956-1961
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1961 Topps #549
32 - Smith non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/23/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
The Trading Card Database
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Order Collected: #62 Hal Smith - Baltimore Orioles / #172 Frank Torre - Milwaukee Braves
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