1911-1914

James Carlisle "Red "Smith was a hard hitter in college but almost gave up baseball for a career in engineering. He attended a military prep school and played baseball and football at Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University) in 1908 and 1909.

During the early part of 1909, Red played for the Georgia Railway and Electric Company semipro team and later he made his pro debut as a 19-year-old third baseman for the Anderson Electricians in the Class D Carolina Association. After two seasons with Anderson, he joined the Nashville Volunteers of the Southern Association in 1911 and posted a .316 BA.

Toward the end of July, Red announced that he would retire from baseball and continue his engineering studies at Auburn during the offseasons and graduate in 1912. He had secured an important position with the Atlanta Traction Company and planned to put his engineering skills to work.

But Red had nearly won the Southern Association batting championship in 1911 when he hit .316. So his hitting attracted the attention of the Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers) and they purchased his contract.

So his career would be in baseball and not engineering. From 1911 to August 1914, he played third base for Brooklyn. He had perhaps his best year in 1913, when he led the league in doubles and finished in the top ten in hits, total bases, extra-base hits, sacrifice hits, runs batted in, slugging average, and on-base percentage plus OPS.

But in November 1913, he clashed with his manager, Wilbert Robinson, who then regarded Red as a troublemaker. So he was shipped to the Boston Braves. He would become an important contributor down the stretch, hitting .314, and would compile the highest batting average of any of the "Miracle" Braves throughout the 60 games in which he would play.

Unfortunately, a serious mishap was going to befall Red on the last day of the season., when he would break his ankle. He would recover fully however and play five more years for the Braves.