Thomas Francis Xavier SmithBorn:
July 5, 1927
Jersey City, NJ
Died:
May 31, 1996
Jersey City, NJ
Career
1946-47 St. Peter's Prep - Jersey City, NJ (High School)
1948-49 St. Peter's College - New Jersey (College)
1949-50 St. Peter's College - New Jersey (College)
1950-51 St. Peter's College - New Jersey (College)
1951-52 New York Knicks (NBA)
1951-52 Carbondale Aces (ABL)
1951-52 Bridgeport Roesslers (ABL)
1952-53 Wilkes-Barre Barons (ABL)
1952-53 Jersey City Titans (Independent)
Born to Edward and Viola Smith,
Tom was drafted by the Knicks in 1951, and signed on October 14, 1951
Smith scored over 1300 points at St Peters, and was drafted by the Knicks in 1951. He only played one game with the Knicks in the regular season, scoring four points.(Not sure which game.)
He served as a city clerk in Jersey City for eight years before running successfully for the city's mayor in 1977, serving his term through 1981 when he ran for governor of New Jersey, but lost in the primaries. Also an author who wrote of his time in politics and the powers of Jersey City, Smith died of cancer in 1996.
He and his wife, Florence, has two daughters.
Source:
Everything You Wanted to Know About the Knicks, Michael Benson
Obituary, New York Times, June 5, 1996
Stats:
http://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=smithto01
I just checked my 1975 copy of THE SPORTS ENCYCLOPEDIA: PRO BASKETBALL and there he is. The has him with 3 minutes played, but all of his other stats are "0's", which would explain how he could have been left out of some box scores and overlooked over the years.
ReplyDeleteHe isn't even listed on Basketball Reference.
DeleteOh, I'm sure there are other similar errors that have crept in over the years.
ReplyDelete