Bob Smith Marquee

b. April 22, 1895 · Boston Braves 1923–1930, 1933–1935, Chicago Cubs 1931–1932, Cincinnati Reds 1933, Boston Bees 1936–1937

He played 101 games at shortstop for the 1923 Braves and 80 more in 1924, hitting .266, and then Boston moved him to the mound because the pitching was worse than the infield. He won 106 games and lost 139 across fifteen seasons with a 3.94 earned run average and 128 complete games.

He also kept hitting: 409 hits, a .242 average and 64 doubles, and he was used as a pinch-hitter throughout. He won 15 games for the 1931 Braves and 13 for the Cubs the following year, and pitched in the 1932 World Series.

He pitched a nineteen-inning complete game in 1927 and lost it. He was with Boston for eleven of the fifteen seasons. No Hall of Fame ballot ever listed him. He died in 1987, at ninety-two.

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1923	BSN	115	375	30	94	16	3	0	40	17	35	4	.251
1924	BSN	106	347	32	79	12	3	2	38	15	26	5	.228
1925	BSN	58	174	17	49	9	4	0	23	5	6	2	.282
1926	BSN	40	84	10	25	6	2	0	13	2	4	0	.298
1927	BSN	54	109	10	27	3	1	1	10	2	4	0	.248
1928	BSN	39	92	11	23	2	0	1	8	1	6	2	.250
1929	BSN	39	99	12	17	4	2	1	8	2	8	1	.172
1930	BSN	39	81	7	19	2	0	0	4	0	5	0	.235
1931	CHC	36	87	7	19	2	0	0	4	5	2	0	.218
1932	CHC	36	42	5	10	4	1	0	4	0	2	1	.238
1933	BSN/CIN	37	45	3	9	1	1	0	3	1	1	1	.200
1934	BSN	42	36	5	9	1	0	0	3	0	1	0	.250
1935	BSN	47	63	3	17	0	0	0	4	1	5	0	.270
1936	BSN	35	45	1	10	2	0	0	4	0	4	0	.222
1937	BSN	19	10	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	.200
Career	—	742	1689	154	409	64	17	5	166	52	110	16	.242

Pitching, season by season

Year	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1925	BSN	5	3	13	10	0	92.2	110	46	36	19	4.47
1926	BSN	10	13	33	23	1	201.1	199	84	75	44	3.75
1927	BSN	10	18	41	32	3	260.2	297	109	75	81	3.76
1928	BSN	13	17	38	25	2	244.1	274	105	74	59	3.87
1929	BSN	11	17	34	29	3	231.0	256	120	71	65	4.68
1930	BSN	10	14	38	24	5	219.2	247	104	85	84	4.26
1931	CHC	15	12	36	29	2	240.1	239	86	62	63	3.22
1932	CHC	4	3	34	11	2	119.0	148	61	36	35	4.61
1933	BSN/CIN	8	7	30	10	1	132.1	143	39	18	34	2.65
1934	BSN	6	9	39	5	5	121.2	133	63	36	26	4.66
1935	BSN	8	18	46	20	5	203.1	232	89	61	58	3.94
1936	BSN	6	7	35	11	8	136.0	142	57	35	36	3.77
1937	BSN	0	1	18	0	3	44.0	52	20	6	14	4.09
Career	—	106	139	435	229	40	2246.1	2472	983	670	618	3.94

On this day & linked events

1895

Born April 22, 1895

Rogersville, TN, USA

1987

Died July 19, 1987

1923

Major-league debut: Bob Smith

Bob Smith made a major-league debut on April 19, 1923.

1937

Final major-league game: Bob Smith

Bob Smith played a final major-league game on August 6, 1937.

Image: Goudey, public domain