Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Fayetteville, Tennessee, U.S. | March 21, 1899
Died | March 3, 1990 Tennessee, U.S. | (aged 90)
Playing career | |
Football | |
1921–1924 | Mercer |
Basketball | |
1921–1924 | Mercer |
Position(s) | End (football) Forward (basketball) |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
Football | |
1929–1942 | South Georgia Teachers / Georgia Teachers |
Basketball | |
1930–1942 | South Georgia Teachers / Georgia Teachers |
Baseball | |
1933–1935 | South Georgia Teachers |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 45–66–7 (football) 116–60 (basketball) 32–20 (baseball) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Awards | |
All-Southern (1922, 1923) Mercer Athletics Hall of Fame Georgia Sports Hall of Fame | |
Byron Lambert "Consuello" "Crook" Smith (March 21, 1899 – March 3, 1990) was an American college football, baseball, and basketball player and coach inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1979.[1] He played for Mercer, and, after a short career as a baseball player and umpire in professional baseball, he was the head coach for the Georgia Southern Eagles team of Georgia Southern University (then known as Georgia Teacher's College).[2] He was later assistant pastor and director of young people's work at Immanuel Baptist Church in Savannah.[3]
University of Georgia coach Herman Stegeman said Smith during his playing days was "without a doubt the best all-around athlete of the South."[4]
Mercer University
[edit]Smith was from Fayetteville.[5] He earned 13 letters in football, baseball, basketball, and track for the Mercer Bears. He was inducted into the Mercer Athletics Hall of Fame in its inaugural year of 1971.[6] "Crook" was the older brother of Phoney Smith.[7]
Football
[edit]Smith was a prominent end on the football team.[8]
1922
[edit]He was selected All-Southern.[9][10]
1923
[edit]He was selected All-Southern by Julian Leggett of the Macon News.[8][11]
Basketball
[edit]In basketball he was a forward, and was selected All-Southern.[12][13][14] He was captain of the basketball team.[15] He played alongside George Harmon and Bob Gamble.[16] Their team was the runner-up to North Carolina in the 1922 SoCon Tournament.
Coaching career
[edit]Georgia Southern
[edit]Smith coached the Georgia Southern Eagles team of Georgia Southern University (then known as Georgia Teacher's College) from 1929 to 1942. His basketball teams compiled a 116–60 record.[1][17] His 1937 football team lost the first game played in the Orange Bowl. His 1939 football team won the Bacardi Bowl.
Head coaching record
[edit]Football
[edit]Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
South Georgia Teachers / Georgia Teachers Blue Tide (Independent) (1929–1941) | |||||||||
1929 | South Georgia Teachers | 4–3–2 | |||||||
1930 | South Georgia Teachers | 3–4–2 | |||||||
1931 | South Georgia Teachers | 3–6 | |||||||
1932 | South Georgia Teachers | 6–2 | |||||||
1933 | South Georgia Teachers | 5–3 | |||||||
1934 | South Georgia Teachers | 4–6 | |||||||
1935 | South Georgia Teachers | 3–3–2 | |||||||
1936 | South Georgia Teachers | 2–8 | |||||||
1937 | South Georgia Teachers | 2–9 | |||||||
1938 | South Georgia Teachers | 3–5–1 | |||||||
1939 | Georgia Teachers | 5–5 | |||||||
1940 | Georgia Teachers | 3–5 | |||||||
1941 | Georgia Teachers | 2–8 | |||||||
South Georgia Teachers / Georgia Teachers: | 45–66–7 | ||||||||
Total: | 45–66–7 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "B.L. "Crook" Smith" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
- ^ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Georgia_Southern_University/
- ^ "Clipped from the Macon News". The Macon News. July 10, 1949. p. 9.
- ^ "The Palm of Alpha Tau Omega". [Champaign, Ill., etc.] October 1, 1880 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Mercer Bulletin, p. 203
- ^ "Mitchel Tenpenny - Official Athletics Website". Mercer University Athletics.
- ^ A Gift for Giving, p. 51
- ^ a b Robert E Wilder (2011). Gridiron Glory Days. Mercer University Press. p. 45. ISBN 9780881462678.
- ^ "Georgia Tech Has Four on All-Southern Team". Richmond Times Dispatch. December 10, 1922.
- ^ Cliff Wheatley (December 10, 1922). "Al Staton, Davis, Whelchel Frye, Roberts, Cobington, Bennett, Fletcher Picked". Atlanta Constitution. p. 3. Retrieved March 16, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Telegraph's All-Southern". Mercer Cluster. December 7, 1923. pp. 3, 6. Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
- ^ "The Palm of Alpha Tau Omega". [Champaign, Ill., etc.] October 1, 1880 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Reference at dlgmedia1-www.galib.uga.edu" (PDF).
- ^ "Reference at static.soconsports.com" (PDF).
- ^ http://dlgmedia1-www.galib.uga.edu/data/newspapers-pdf/mer/mer1923/mer1923-0107.pdf
- ^ "The Mercer Cluster. (Macon, Ga.) 1920-current, March 03, 1922, Image 1 « Georgia Historic Newspapers".
- ^ Delma E. Presley (September 30, 2013). Georgia Southern University. Arcadia. p. 91. ISBN 9781439644027.