Jump to content

Rufus Smith (baseball)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rufus Smith
Pitcher
Born: (1905-01-24)January 24, 1905
Died: August 21, 1984(1984-08-21) (aged 79)
Aiken, South Carolina
Batted: Right
Threw: Left
MLB debut
October 2, 1927, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
October 2, 1927, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
Games pitched1
Earned run average3.38
Strikeouts2
Teams

Rufus Frazier "Shirt" Smith (January 24, 1905 – August 21, 1984) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in one game for the Detroit Tigers on October 2, 1927.

Smith played college baseball at Guilford College where he formed a battery with catcher Rick Ferrell. While pitching at Guilford, he caught the attention of a New England millionaire who signed Smith to one of his semi-pro teams in Massachusetts. At the end of the summer, he enrolled at Brown University. While pitching for a team in East Douglas, Massachusetts in 1927, he caught the attention of a Tigers scout, signed a contract and received a signing bonus of $5,000 (equivalent to $87,700 in 2023).[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Detroit Signs a Guilford Boy". The Greensboro Record. June 14, 1927. p. 9. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
[edit]