60 Facts About Ozzie Smith

Osborne Earl Smith was born on December 26,1954 and is an American former professional baseball player.

Ozzie Smith was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2002.

Ozzie Smith was elected to the St Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 2014.

Ozzie Smith was born in Mobile, Alabama; his family moved to Watts, Los Angeles, when he was six years old.

Ozzie Smith quickly established himself as an outstanding fielder, and later became known for performing backflips on special occasions while taking his position at the beginning of a game.

Related searches

Ozzie Smith won his first Gold Glove Award in 1980 and made his first All-Star Game appearance in 1981.

Ozzie Smith waived the "no trade" clause and was traded to the Cardinals for shortstop Garry Templeton in 1982.

Ozzie Smith continued to earn Gold Gloves and All-Star appearances annually until 1993.

Ozzie Smith served as host of the television show This Week in Baseball from 1997 to 1998.

Ozzie Smith was born in Mobile, Alabama, the second of Clovi and Marvella Ozzie Smith's six children.

Ozzie Smith's father worked as a sandblaster at Brookley Air Force Base.

When Ozzie Smith was six, his family moved to the Watts section of Los Angeles.

Ozzie Smith's father became a delivery truck driver for Safeway stores, while his mother became an aide at a nursing home.

Ozzie Smith's mother was an influential part of his life who stressed the importance of education and encouraged him to pursue his dreams.

Ozzie Smith played a variety of sports in his youth, though considered baseball to be his favorite.

Ozzie Smith developed quick reflexes through various athletic and leisure activities, such as bouncing a ball off the concrete steps in front of his house, moving in closer to reduce reaction time with each throw.

Ozzie Smith was a teammate of future National Basketball Association player Marques Johnson on the basketball team, and a teammate of future fellow Hall-of-Fame player Eddie Murray on the baseball side.

Ozzie Smith learned to switch-hit from Cal Poly coach Berdy Harr.

Ozzie Smith was named an All-American athlete and established school records in career at-bats and stolen bases before graduating in 1977.

Ozzie Smith was playing semi-professional baseball in Clarinda, Iowa, when in June 1976 he was selected in the seventh round of the amateur entry draft by the Detroit Tigers.

The parties could not agree on a contract; Ozzie Smith wanted a $10,000 signing bonus, while the Tigers offered $8,500.

Ozzie Smith returned to Cal Poly for his senior year, then in the 1977 draft was selected in the fourth round by the San Diego Padres, ultimately agreeing to a contract that included a $5,000 signing bonus.

Ozzie Smith spent his first year of professional baseball during 1977 with the Class A Walla Walla Padres of the Northwest League.

Ozzie Smith began 1978 as a non-roster invitee to the San Diego Padres' spring training camp in Yuma, Arizona.

Ozzie Smith credited Padres manager Alvin Dark for giving him confidence by telling reporters the shortstop job was Ozzie Smith's until he proved he can't handle it.

Related searches

Padres promotion director Andy Strasberg knew Ozzie Smith could perform backflips, though only did them during practice before fans entered the stadium.

Meanwhile, Ozzie Smith was winning recognition for his accomplishments on the field.

Ozzie Smith's fielding play prompted the Yuma Daily Sun to use the nickname "the Wizard of Oz" in a March 1981 feature article about Ozzie Smith.

In 1981, Ozzie Smith made his first All-Star Game appearance as a reserve player.

Ozzie Smith made me feel wanted, which was a feeling I was quickly losing from the Padres.

Herzog believed Ozzie Smith could improve his offensive production by hitting more ground balls, and subsequently created a motivational tool designed to help Ozzie Smith concentrate on that task.

Ozzie Smith developed a lasting friendship with teammate Willie McGee during the season, and Ozzie Smith said he likes to think he "helped Willie get over some of the rough spots of adjusting to the major leagues".

Ozzie Smith later participated in the postseason for the first time when the Cardinals faced the Atlanta Braves in the best-of-five 1982 National League Championship Series.

In Game 1, Ozzie Smith drove in the series' first run by hitting a sacrifice fly that scored McGee, ultimately going five for nine in St Louis' three-game series sweep.

Just as Herzog had predicted in December, Ozzie Smith found himself as the team's starting shortstop in the best-of-seven 1982 World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

In July 1984, Ozzie Smith's wrist was broken by a pitch as he batted against the Padres.

Ozzie Smith returned from the disabled list after a month, but his return to the lineup was not enough to propel the Cardinals to a postseason berth.

Ozzie Smith was the leading vote-getter in the 1987 All-Star Game.

Ozzie Smith contributed a triple during the series, and the Cardinals won the contest in seven games.

Ozzie Smith finished second in MVP balloting to Andre Dawson, who had played on the last-place Chicago Cubs, largely because Ozzie Smith and teammate Jack Clark split the first-place vote.

Ozzie Smith was witness to change within the Cardinal organization when owner Gussie Busch died in 1989 and Herzog quit as manager during the 1990 season.

Ozzie Smith became a free agent for the first time in his career on November 2,1992, only to re-sign with the Cardinals on December 6.

Ozzie Smith won his final Gold Glove in 1992, and his 13 consecutive Gold Gloves at shortstop in the National League has yet to be matched.

Ozzie Smith appeared in 98 games during the strike-shortened 1994 season, and later missed nearly three months of the 1995 season after shoulder surgery on May 31.

Ozzie Smith was recognized for his community service efforts with the 1994 Branch Rickey Award and the 1995 Roberto Clemente Award.

Related searches

In February 1994, Ozzie Smith took on the role of honorary chairman and official spokesman for the Missouri Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Health.

Ozzie Smith believed he had earned the position with his spring training performance, but La Russa disagreed, and awarded Clayton the majority of playing time in the platoon situation that developed, where Ozzie Smith typically saw action every third game.

Ozzie Smith missed the first month of the season with a hamstring injury, and continued to harbor ill feelings toward La Russa that had developed after spring training ended.

The agreement prompted a press conference at Busch Stadium on June 19,1996, during which Ozzie Smith announced he would retire from baseball at season's end.

Ozzie Smith finished his career with distinctions ranging from the accumulation of more than 27.

Ozzie Smith became color commentator for the local broadcast of Cardinals games on KPLR-TV from 1997 to 1999.

When his stint on This Week in Baseball concluded, Ozzie Smith then moved on to do work for CNN-SI beginning in 1999.

On January 8,2002 Ozzie Smith learned via a phone call he had been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot by receiving 91.

Ozzie Smith was inducted into the Hall of Fame during ceremonies on July 28,2002.

Ozzie Smith has been an entrepreneur in a variety of business ventures.

Besides the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Ozzie Smith has been inducted or honored in other halls of fame and recognitions.

Ozzie Smith was honored with induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the St Louis Walk of Fame, and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Cal Poly.

Ozzie Smith is the father to three children from his marriage to former wife Denise: sons Nikko and Dustin, and daughter Taryn.

In 2012, Ozzie Smith made news headlines again, when he sold all of his Gold Gloves at auction together for more than $500,000.

Ozzie Smith is the host of Cardinals Insider, a weekly news magazine televsion show about the club.