Smith, John Wendell
1914-1972 · Contribution: 1937-1972
Sports editor and columnist
Recommended Jackie Robinson to Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey and served as Robinson’s traveling companion, ghostwriter, and confidant through his 1946-47 integration of professional baseball, work recognized posthumously with the Baseball Hall of Fame’s J.G. Taylor Spink Award in 1993
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Quick facts
- Born
- 1914, Detroit, Michigan
- Active since
- 1937
- Category
- Press & Photography
- Best known for
- Recommending Jackie Robinson to Branch Rickey
Impact on the world
Smith was instrumental in engineering baseball's integration, recommending the player, guiding him through it, and documenting it, arguably shaping the single most important moment in American sports.
Sources
- National Baseball Hall of Fame
1 more sources and references are available to members.
Related visionaries
Lacy, Samuel Harold “Sam”
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Spent nearly 60 years as sports editor and columnist for the Baltimore Afro-American, campaigning through the 1930s and 1940s for the integration of Major League Baseball and helping bring Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson together, work recognized with the Baseball Hall of Fame’s J.G. Taylor Spink Award in 1997
Vann, Robert Lee
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Gumbel, Bryant Charles
1948-present
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