Billy Franklin Smith is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 first baseman

First baseman

First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...

, outfielder

Outfielder

Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

, manager

Manager (baseball)

In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

 and coach

Coach (baseball)

In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...

. He threw and batted left-handed, stood 5'9" (1.7 m) tall and weighed 160 pounds (73 kg) during his active career. Smith compiled a lifetime batting average

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 of .312 in minor league baseball

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 but he never climbed higher than the Double-A level

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

.

Smith graduated from Jamestown, North Carolina

Jamestown, North Carolina

Jamestown is a town in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and is a suburb of the nearby cities of Greensboro and High Point. The population was 3,088 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Jamestown is located at ....

, High School and attended North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

. He played in the Boston/Milwaukee Braves

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

' farm system from 1950-54 and 1956-60, spending his last three seasons as the playing manager of the Boise Braves of the Class C Pioneer League. In 1959, he managed Boise to an 81-47 record and a runaway Pioneer League regular-season title, and led the league in hitting with a .390 mark. But his club fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Idaho Falls Russets. (His Boise club would win the playoffs in both 1958 and 1960, however.)

Smith scouted for the Braves from 1961 through 1966, then switched to the Houston Astros

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

' organization as a scout and minor league manager at the Rookie and Short Season-A levels from 1967 through 1979. In 1980, he became director of player development of the Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

 of the American League

American League

The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

, serving in that post for four seasons before returning to uniform as a Blue Jay coach under Bobby Cox

Bobby Cox

Robert Joseph "Bobby" Cox is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and manager. He first led the Atlanta Braves from 1978 to 1981, and then managed the Toronto Blue Jays from 1982 to 1985. He later rejoined the Braves in 1985 as a general manager...

 and Jimy Williams

Jimy Williams

James Francis "Jimy" Williams is an American former manager of three Major League Baseball teams. He was born in Santa Maria, California.-Playing career:...

from 1984-88.