Bernie Smith: A Pioneering Journey from the Mets’ Farm System to Major League Baseball
Bernie Smith, who passed away at 88 on Saturday, carved out a remarkable path through baseball history that began with the New York Mets’ first-ever farm system. Though he never played at Shea Stadium, Smith holds the distinction of being the first left fielder for the Auburn Mets, the organization’s Class-D affiliate established during the franchise’s inaugural 1962 season. This was a challenging year for the parent club, which set a then-record with 120 losses, but it represented the beginning of a long and meaningful journey for Smith, who would eventually overcome significant obstacles to reach the major leagues.
Born in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, Smith was a multi-sport athlete who lettered in football, basketball, and track at Hammond High School before choosing Southern University, where he focused on baseball and football. His determination to pursue a professional baseball career was evident when he hitchhiked from Louisiana to South Carolina to attend a Mets tryout, where scout Wid Matthews—one of the organization’s first employees—signed him to his initial professional contract. Smith made an immediate impact in Auburn, hitting a grand slam that helped clinch the Governors Cup, providing one of the few bright spots in the Mets organization’s difficult first year of existence. Despite this promising start, Smith’s path to the majors would be far from straightforward.
The road to the big leagues proved lengthy and challenging for Smith, requiring four seasons just to reach the Triple-A level. After seven years in the Mets organization without receiving the coveted call-up to the majors, his breakthrough finally came following a December 1969 trade to the Seattle Pilots. Interestingly, Smith never played for the Pilots either, as the franchise relocated to Milwaukee and became the Brewers before the 1970 season began. In July 1970, more than eight years after his professional debut in Auburn, Smith finally realized his dream of playing in the major leagues with the Brewers at what was actually 32 years of age—not 28 as officially recorded, since Smith had apparently listed his birth year as 1941 rather than his actual birth year of 1937 on player questionnaires, perhaps to appear younger to scouts and team executives.
Smith’s major league career was brief but meaningful—spanning 127 games with the Brewers from 1970-71, during which he batted .232 with two home runs and nine RBIs. After retiring as a player following the 1972 season, Smith remained with the Brewers organization and took on a groundbreaking role in 1973 as manager of Class-A Danville in the Midwest League. Under his leadership, the Warriors finished with the best record in their division at 66-57, and Smith earned Manager of the Year honors. More significantly, Smith became only the fourth Black manager in an integrated baseball league, blazing a trail for future generations of minority managers in professional baseball.
Smith’s managerial success came despite considerable resistance from locals in Danville, Illinois. Brewers executive Tony Siegle later revealed in a 1990 interview that the team “caught an awful lot of flak from the Danville people,” despite Smith leading the club to a championship. This pushback may have influenced the Brewers’ decision not to offer Smith a contract for the 1974 season, effectively ending his professional baseball career. Undeterred, Smith returned to Louisiana, where he opened a convenience store in his hometown of Lutcher and operated a youth baseball league, continuing to influence the game at the grassroots level while also serving his community as head of the Juvenile Services Bureau of the St. James Parish Sheriff’s office.
Bernie Smith’s story represents more than just a brief major league career—it embodies perseverance, breaking barriers, and leaving a lasting impact both on and off the field. From his humble beginnings hitchhiking to a tryout, to becoming one of baseball’s pioneering Black managers, Smith overcame significant obstacles during a transformative period in American sports history. His journey from the inaugural Mets farm system to the major leagues and into management positions opened doors for future generations, while his later work with youth baseball and community service demonstrated his commitment to giving back. Though his major league statistics may appear modest, Bernie Smith’s legacy extends far beyond the numbers, making him an important figure in baseball’s ongoing story of progress and inclusion.
