Biography.guide
Home › People › Baseball player › Jimmy Smith
Portrait of Jimmy Smith

Jimmy Smith

1895 – 1974

Major League Baseball infielder

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Jimmy Smith

Lived 1895 – 1974 (aged 78). Jimmy Smith was an American baseball player.

James Lawrence Smith (May 15, 1895 – January 1, 1974) was an American Major League Baseball infielder often referred to as "Greenfield Jimmy" or "Bluejacket".

Smith was a switch hitter and threw right-handed. His major league debut came on September 26, 1914, with the Chicago Chi-Feds. In 1919, he won the World Series with the Cincinnati Reds, and he went on to play his final game with the Philadelphia Phillies on September 3, 1922.

During Prohibition, Smith smuggled bootlegged alcohol from various cities into his Greenfield neighborhood. After retiring from baseball, he joined National Distillers company as general manager. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Pittsburgh.

Family Smith had four children: Mary Louise, Jimmy Jr., Nora, and Tommy. Jimmy Jr. played baseball for the University of Pennsylvania, and some professional baseball in the minor leagues with the Gladewater Bears, a team in the Texas League. Tommy played basketball at Pennsylvania and then attended the Wharton school of business. Jimmy Jr. had a son, Jimmy Smith III, who was an All-Ivy League football player at the University of Pennsylvania. Jimmy Smith III signed a contract to play with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1983 but was released after a knee injury.

Smith was the father-in-law of world light heavyweight champion Billy Conn. A rematch against Joe Louis in 1942 had to be abruptly cancelled after Conn broke his hand in a much-publicized fight with Smith.

Smith's great-granddaughter is swimmer Leah Smith.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Nationality
Education
Duquesne University
Also known as
James Lawrence Smith

People in Jimmy Smith's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Jimmy Smith's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Jimmy Smith?

Major League Baseball infielder

When was Jimmy Smith born?

Jimmy Smith was born on 15 May 1895 in Pittsburgh.

When did Jimmy Smith die?

Jimmy Smith died on 1 January 1974 in Pittsburgh.

What was Jimmy Smith's occupation?

Jimmy Smith was a baseball player.

What nationality was Jimmy Smith?

Jimmy Smith was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Jimmy Smith

· Wikidata: Q6201307

· DBpedia: Jimmy Smith (1910s infielder)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jimmy Smith. https://biography.guide/jimmy-smith-baseball-player/

MLA: "Jimmy Smith." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jimmy-smith-baseball-player/.

Chicago: "Jimmy Smith." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jimmy-smith-baseball-player/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:26 UTC