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Edward Mayo "Catfish" Smith (January 17, 1915 – November 24, 1977) was an American baseball player, manager, and scout. He had a 38-year career in professional baseball from 1933 to 1971. He is also the namesake of the "Mayo Smith Society," the Detroit Tigers international fan club that awards the "King Tiger Award" each year. Smith served as the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies (1955–1958), Cincinnati Reds (1959), and Detroit Tigers (1967–1970), compiling a managerial record of 662–612 (). He received The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award in 1968 after the Tigers won the American League pennant by 12 games with a record of 103–59 () and defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1968 World Series. ESPN has ranked Smith's decision to move Mickey Stanley to shortstop for the 1968 World Series as the third "gutsiest call" in sports history. Smith also played professional baseball for 18 seasons from 1933 to 1950, including one season of Major League Baseball with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1945. He spent his most productive years in the International League playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs (1937–1939) and Buffalo Bisons (1940–1944) and in the Pacific Coast League with the Portland Beavers (1946–1948). Smith also spent 13 years in the New York Yankees organization as a minor league manager from 1949 to 1954 and as a "super scout" and "trouble shooter" from 1959 to 1966. ==Early years== Smith was born in January 1915 at New London, Missouri, a small town located 10 miles south of Hannibal and 100 miles northwest of St. Louis.〔 He was the only child of George Frederick Smith and Eval Smith. His middle name, "Mayo", was reportedly bestowed by his grandmother, who had been a patient at the Mayo Clinic and "liked the name."〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=Society of American Baseball Researchers (SABR) )〕 In 1920, the family lived in Saverton Township, Ralls County, Missouri, where George Frederick was a farmer.〔1920 U.S. Census entry for George F. Smith, Eval Smith and Edward M. Smith. (M. Smith, age 5, born in Missouri. ) Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census (on-line ). Census Place: Saverton, Ralls, Missouri; Roll: T625_943; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 159; Image: 786.〕 In 1926, at age 11, Smith moved with his family to Lake Worth in Palm Beach County, Florida. In Florida, Smith's father was employed as a butcher or "meat cutter" in a meat market, and his mother was employed as a sales lady in a "dry goods" store.〔〔Census entry for George F. Smith and family. Edward M. Smith, age 15, born in Missouri. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census (on-line ). Census Place: Lake Worth, Palm Beach, Florida; Roll: 328; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 28; Image: 159.0; FHL microfilm: 2340063.〕 Smith attended Lake Worth High School where he was the captain of the football and basketball teams and the class president in his sophomore and senior years. He graduated from high school in 1932 and was selected as the "outstanding boy student" in Palm Beach County. Because Smith's high school did not have a baseball team, he played as a third baseman for a semi-pro Elks team in the Palm Beach County League. According to another source, Smith was a member of the Carl Vogel Post 47, Junior Legion All-Stars in 1929.〔 In any event, Smith was forced to stop playing semi-pro baseball after school officials threatened to expel him if he continued.〔 Smith was also an outstanding golfer and billiards player, playing professional billiards at age 16. He played in several exhibitions against Ralph Greenleaf and William Hoppe, the billiards champions of the 1920s and 1930s.〔 During his youth, he reportedly picked up extra cash as a pool hustler. While playing professional baseball in Buffalo in the 1940s, a local radio broadcaster challenged Smith to a game of billiards. On his first turn, Smith "broke up the rack and ran 28 points." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mayo Smith」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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