Wendell Smith (sportswriter)
Wendell Smith | |
|---|---|
Smith in the late 1940s | |
| Born | March 23, 1914 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | November 26, 1972 (aged 58) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Sportswriter |
| Alma mater | West Virginia State College |
| Notable awards | J. G. Taylor Spink Award (1993) Red Smith Award (2014) |
| Spouse |
Wyonella Hicks (m. 1949) |
| Children | John Wendell Smith Jr. |
John Wendell Smith (March 23, 1914 – November 26, 1972) was an American sportswriter and civil rights activist who was influential in the choice of Jackie Robinson's career as the first African American Major League Baseball player. Similarly, Smith was one of the first African American sport-writers to be a member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, and was posthumously awarded the J. G. Taylor Spink Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993.