Willie Smith, aka 'Buddy,' deserving of state Sports Hall of Fame
Today's Bob'n'Along is in the form of an inquiry relating to the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
My first admission is that I know very little about the criteria for West Virginia athletes and sports figures to be voted into the state Sports Hall of Fame-not like members of the newspaper's sports department. Secondly, I do not know Willie "Buddy" Smith, a resident of 203 Paula Blvd. in the city's Suan Terrace section, all that well. However, I'm proud to have made his acquaintance, as he seems to be a fine individual.
His attributes, in my opinion, are nothing short of very impressive. He was enrolled in West Virginia State College at Institute from the fall of 1948 until 1952 on an athletic scholarship. He had played on the last state basketball championship team at Kelly Miller High School in 1948. Coached by Robert L. Harris at KMHS, his honors included: All-Sectional and All-State Tournament and All-State Team.
While at WVSC, he played two sports-basketball and football. He was on two football championship teams from 1948 to 1951 - CIAA (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association) and WVSC. There was one undefeated season in 1949, when they were once tied by Virginia State University. At Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., he played on the gridiron in three Capital Classics - 1948, 1949 and 1950. He played in one National Classic in 1951 and was All-CIAA halfback in 1951.
Willie bacame one of the first five African-Americans to break the color line with the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers in 1952, coached by Joe Boche, in his first season from St. Bonaventure University in Olean, N.Y. At the time, there weren't as many as 10 African-Americans in the NFL. Though signing with the Steelers, Smith was also contacted by the Montreal Alouettes to play in the Canadian League.
In basketball, he was coached by the legendary Mark H. Cardwell, a West Virginia Sports Writer's Hall of Famer.
In college, Smith earned the nickname "Suitcase" because when he arrived at college, all he had with him was his suitcase. He became the only athlete to be a member, not to mention a standout player, on five of the six CIAA championships won by WVSC under Cardwell. The sixth championship was won prior to his entry into college in the fall of 1948.
There were no football championships (CIAA) at State after 1951 and no CIAA basketball championships after '52. Buddy was a team member with Earl Lloyd, the first African-American to play in the National Basketball Association, and also Robert Wilson Jr.,another West Virginia Hall of Famer. Wilson was the only player from WVSC to be inducted ever - in 1999.
Prior to the integration of schools in 1956, most good or great black athletes attended black colleges rather than Division I white colleges or universities. Willie broke the color line in West Virginia in 1952, playing for the Leone All-Stars, coached by Press Maravich, father of "Pistol Pete" Maravich of the NBA Atlanta Hawks back in the '70's.
Willie toured the state of West Virginia, playing against the Syracuse Nationals, an NBA team headed by player/coach Al Cervi, and with Dolph Schayes and George King, who's also a West Virginia Hall of Famer. Cervi recommended Willie to Abe Sapperstein, the owner of the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters. Sam Wheeler, player/coach of the "Trotters", contacted Willie later to play with the Globetrotters, but he was serving his country in the military at the time.
He entered military service in August 1952 as a second lieutenant and served in Korea with the 2nd Infantry Division in 1953.
Some of his other accomplishments:
- Black All-American
- All-CIAA guard (basketball) in 1950
- Member of the first WVSC squad to become the first African-American collegiate basketball team to play white colleges "out West" in 1949 and 1950, including San Francisco's Cow Palace Auditorium
- Two CIAA Tournament runner-ups in basketball in 1950 and '51
Non-sports distinctions include: Member of the Glen Elk Development Association, member of VFW Meuse Argonne Post 573, member of Roy E. Parrish Post 13, American Legion, and former president of Will-Gay Marketing, Inc. in Clarksburg.
Willie B. "Buddy"/"Suitcase" Smith was entered into the West Virginai State College Sports Hall of Fame in 1986. To me, he should also be named to the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and the West Virginia Sports Writers Hall of Fame.
Other accomplishments
- Player on three CIAA Basketball Championships 1949, 1950 and 1952
- Co-Captains Yellow Jackets 1952 CIAA Basketball Champions
Exponenent-Telegram Editor Bob Stealey can be reached by phone at (304) 626-1438, or by email at rstealey@exponent-telegram.com
Article reprinted courtesy of Bob Stealey, Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram
