The Old College Try: Former Baseball Captain Don Smith Carves Out a Career in Education
Written by Doug Goodnough
Don Smith, ’59, wasn’t sure what he wanted to do after graduating from nearby Homer (Michigan) High School. However, after a year of working construction jobs, he knew what he didn’t want to do.
“I decided that I didn’t want to do that the rest of my life,” said Smith, who eventually enrolled at Hillsdale College. “I didn’t want to be working outside in the cold weather, so I decided to give (college) a try.”
Smith earned his teaching degree, and after a brief stint in the classroom, spent most of his career in education as a school counselor at Whitmore Lake Schools in the Ann Arbor, Michigan, area. Retiring in 1988, he worked part time for many years in a local machine shop. Now retired, he and his wife, Mary, recently moved to Fishers, Indiana, to be near their two daughters and son.
A standout high school athlete, Smith was a four-year member of the baseball team and was a captain of the Dales during his senior year. The 88-year-old has trouble remembering some of the details from those times, but “Smitty” does recall when home games were played on Martin Field, which was located directly behind Central Hall in the heart of campus.
“Center field is where the Dow Center is now,” Smith said of the field, which had no dugouts and no outfield fence. “And right field had a hill. You had to climb up it a little to catch the ball. It wasn’t flat out there.”
The head baseball coach was the legendary Johnny Williams, and Smith remembers his easygoing coaching style. His teammates included Bob Duncan, ’59, who played minor league baseball in the Detroit Tigers organization, and Wayne Schurr, ’59, who pitched in the Major Leagues for the Chicago Cubs in 1964.
“We were glad to have him on our side,” Smith said of Schurr, a tall, hard-throwing right-hander who is the only Hillsdale graduate to play in the Major Leagues.
In fact, in the spring of 1959, Schurr faced off with University of Detroit two-sport great Dave DeBusschere, who was the ace of the Detroit pitching staff. The game played at Hillsdale drew “half of campus” according to eyewitness reports, as fans saw a glimpse of two eventual Major League pitchers. DeBusschere would go on to have a Hall-of-Fame career as an NBA basketball player and coach.
The baseball season didn’t last very long, with the team playing maybe a dozen or so games.
“We did go on a spring trip a couple of years,” Smith said. “I think it was to Kentucky and Tennessee. We took five or six cars.”
Smith does remember playing against Alma College star Jim Northrup, who went on to become a standout outfielder for the Detroit Tigers. He also recalls that one of his friends who worked in the dining hall offered to give him a steak dinner for every home run he hit.
How many did he hit?
“I don’t know, but I had a few steak dinners,” Smith said.
In his senior year, Smith earned all-conference and team MVP honors as a first baseman and also did some pitching for the Dales, who were members of the MIAA. He also dabbled in football and basketball while at Hillsdale, but said baseball was the sport he enjoyed the most.
Off the field, Smith commuted from home his first three years at Hillsdale and picked up several part-time jobs around campus to help pay for tuition. One job was prepping the baseball field for games, and another was “to see if the president and his party needed anything at halftime during the football games.”
He said he fondly remembers the canoe trips down the Au Sable River that football coach Frank “Muddy” Waters conducted for students during that time. And his education professor, Dan “Big Daddy” Goldsmith, had him teach tennis during a physical education class.
“Seniors had to teach (a sport) for a semester,” said Smith, who knew very little about tennis. “I played twice in my life. So a couple of guys were pretty good, and I said, ‘You’re going to help teach this class.’ I got through it.”
Living in nearby Litchfield before the move to Indiana, Smith said he returned to campus for Hillsdale Baseball’s Alumni Day a few times and is impressed with all the changes that have happened at the College. He also was recently inducted into the Homer High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Despite having both knees and hips replaced over the years, Smith remains active, especially on the golf course. He usually shoots below a 90, although he now plays the senior tees.
“I feel fortunate that I can do what I can do at this age,” he said.
Doug Goodnough, ’90, is Hillsdale’s director of Alumni Marketing. He enjoys connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.
Published in June 2024