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Charles William Smith
Chicago Cubs
Third Base
Born: September 15, 1937, Charleston, SC
Signed: Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1957 season
Major League Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers 1960-61; Philadelphia Phillies 1961; Chicago White Sox 1962-64; New York Mets 1964-65; St. Louis Cardinals 1966; New York Yankees 1967-68; Chicago Cubs 1969
Died: November 29, 1994, Reno, NV (age 57)
Charlie Smith, or Charley Smith per most reference sources, played for ten years in the majors mostly in a utility infielder role. Primarily a third baseman, he appeared in over 120 games in a season five different times with the Dodgers and Phillies in 1961, the White Sox and Mets in 1964, the Mets again in 1965, the Cardinals in 1966 and the Yankees in 1967. Smith was sent to the Yankees in December 1966 in the deal that saw Roger Maris (#164) head to St. Louis.
In 771 career games, Smith hit .239 with 69 home runs and 281 RBIs, finishing three years in the top 10 for strikeouts. He holds the distinction of being the first player to appear for both Chicago teams (Cubs and White Sox) and both current New York teams (Yankees and Mets).
Charlie Smith, or Charley Smith per most reference sources, played for ten years in the majors mostly in a utility infielder role. Primarily a third baseman, he appeared in over 120 games in a season five different times with the Dodgers and Phillies in 1961, the White Sox and Mets in 1964, the Mets again in 1965, the Cardinals in 1966 and the Yankees in 1967. Smith was sent to the Yankees in December 1966 in the deal that saw Roger Maris (#164) head to St. Louis.
In 771 career games, Smith hit .239 with 69 home runs and 281 RBIs, finishing three years in the top 10 for strikeouts. He holds the distinction of being the first player to appear for both Chicago teams (Cubs and White Sox) and both current New York teams (Yankees and Mets).
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #576
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
The Card / Cubs Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
1969 Season
On December 6, 1968, the Yankees traded Smith to the Giants for Nate Oliver (#354). After spending time in spring training with the Giants, his contract was sold to the Cubs on March 28th. Smith appeared in just two games with the Cubs, as a pinch-hitter on April 19th and April 22nd, going 0 for 2. He'd spend a little over a month with the Tacoma Cubs in the Pacific Coast League, where he batted .261 in 27 games. On June 17th, Smith announced his retirement from baseball.
Phillies Career
On May 4, 1961, the Phillies traded Turk Farrell (#531) and Joe Koppe to the Dodgers for Smith and Don Demeter. The Dodgers were in need of a closer having lost Ed Roebuck to a shoulder injury and the Phillies were looking to rebuild following a 95-loss season in 1960. Demeter was the key return for the Phillies with the 23-year-old Smith seemingly included as a throw-in. Smith immediately took over the starting third baseman's job from the platoon of Bobby Malkmus and Bob Sadowski.
In 112 games for the Phillies, Smith hit .248 with nine home runs and 47 RBIs. His defense was shaky as he finished in fourth place for the highest number of errors committed in the league with 28. Following the season, Smith was on the move again, traded to the White Sox on November 28th with John Buzhardt for Roy Sievers.
Smith appeared on a few oddball issuances as a Phillie, but there's no mainstream baseball cards to mark his one season with the club.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #283
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1962-69
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA 1960s I #289
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 34 in the Beckett online database as of 10/11/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
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| From the 1961 Phillies Yearbook, 2nd Edition |
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show. The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year. I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova. I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.
I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set. The first place I stopped was a table with well-organized and well-marked binders of commons and semi-stars with 20% Off notes across the front of each binder.
I took my time and found 32 commons and semi-stars needed before asking to see the dealer's star cards from the set. It turned out this first purchase was also my biggest, as I spent over half my allotted budget here, America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, before moving on to my second stop. This was the 17th of 36 total cards bought from America's Pastime, and the 17th of 91 cards for set added overall on the day, and it cost a little over $2 after the dealer discount.
The Card / Cubs Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
This is the second straight hatless Cubs player added to our set, and it looks like Smith is wearing a Mets uniform here, meaning the photo is from 1965 at the latest. The cartoon on the back of the card highlights his .333 average as a pinch-hitter with the Yankees in 1968, which was actually .323 (10 for 31) per his Baseball Reference page. Smith was a lifetime .277 (26 for 94) pinch-hitter. The write-up explains how he arrived with the Cubs, from the Yankees, via the Giants. The statistics are complete, save for his two at-bats with the Cubs.
Accuracy Index: Smith's card drops to -8 for the Mets jersey and lack of a hat.
1969 Season
On December 6, 1968, the Yankees traded Smith to the Giants for Nate Oliver (#354). After spending time in spring training with the Giants, his contract was sold to the Cubs on March 28th. Smith appeared in just two games with the Cubs, as a pinch-hitter on April 19th and April 22nd, going 0 for 2. He'd spend a little over a month with the Tacoma Cubs in the Pacific Coast League, where he batted .261 in 27 games. On June 17th, Smith announced his retirement from baseball.
On May 4, 1961, the Phillies traded Turk Farrell (#531) and Joe Koppe to the Dodgers for Smith and Don Demeter. The Dodgers were in need of a closer having lost Ed Roebuck to a shoulder injury and the Phillies were looking to rebuild following a 95-loss season in 1960. Demeter was the key return for the Phillies with the 23-year-old Smith seemingly included as a throw-in. Smith immediately took over the starting third baseman's job from the platoon of Bobby Malkmus and Bob Sadowski.
In 112 games for the Phillies, Smith hit .248 with nine home runs and 47 RBIs. His defense was shaky as he finished in fourth place for the highest number of errors committed in the league with 28. Following the season, Smith was on the move again, traded to the White Sox on November 28th with John Buzhardt for Roy Sievers.
Smith appeared on a few oddball issuances as a Phillie, but there's no mainstream baseball cards to mark his one season with the club.
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #283
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1962-69
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA 1960s I #289
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 34 in the Beckett online database as of 10/11/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
