Early career (1911–1917) Smith made his
professional baseball debut with the
Adrian Yeggs of the
Class C Southern Michigan League in 1911, and returned to Adrian for the 1912 season. He began the 1913 season with the
Duluth White Sox of the Class C
Northern League. He finished the 1913 season with the
Toledo Mud Hens of the
Class AA American Association. Smith began the 1914 season with the
Waterbury Contenders of the
Class B Eastern Association, and made his major league debut with Cleveland, now known as the Indians, on September 20, 1914. He had a .321
batting average in 13
games played. Leibold won the job, but Smith forced his way into Cleveland's
batting lineup, with
Shoeless Joe Jackson moving from
right field to
first base. In 1917, Smith became a
bench player, as the Senators started
Clyde Milan,
Sam Rice, and
Mike Menosky in the outfield. He finished the 1917 season as a bench player. Before the 1919 season, the Indians traded Roth, and Smith reclaimed a starting position in their outfield. After the 1921 season, Cleveland traded Smith,
George Burns, and
Joe Harris to the
Boston Red Sox for
Stuffy McInnis. Starting the 1922 season with Boston, Smith batted .286 in 73 games. On July 23, 1922, the Red Sox traded Smith and
Joe Dugan to the
New York Yankees for
Chick Fewster,
Elmer Miller,
Johnny Mitchell, a
player to be named later and $50,000 ($ in current dollar terms). Smith became a bench player for the Yankees, pinch hitting for
Babe Ruth and
Bob Meusel. The Yankees won the
American League pennant in 1922, but lost the
1922 World Series to the
New York Giants; Smith batted 0-for-2 with two
strikeouts in the series. He was a member of the
1923 World Series champions, as the Yankees defeated the Giants, though he did not play in the series. In 1924, Smith hit .334 with 28 home runs for Louisville. Smith played in 96 games for Cincinnati and tied with
Edd Roush for the team lead for home runs with eight. Smith led the PCL in home runs with 46 in 1926 and with 40 in 1927. After the 1928 season, the Stars sold Smith to Louisville. Smith played for Louisville in 1929. He began the 1930 season with the
Buffalo Bisons of the
International League, and in May was traded to the
Minneapolis Millers of the American Association for
Hack Miller. He opened the 1931 season with Minneapolis, but was released in April. In May, he played for the
New Orleans Pelicans of the
Southern Association, and he joined the
Springfield Senators in the
Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League in June. Smith played for the
Fort Wayne Chiefs of the
Central League in 1932. In his major league career, Smith had a .276 batting average, 70 home runs, and 540 RBIs. ==Personal life==