Salt Lake Tribune | 1919-07-20 | Page 41 | Famous Figure in Baseball is Dead

FAMOUS FIGURE IN BfflLL IS 0E10 ' "Broadway Alex" Smith, Old-time Catcher, Victim Vic-tim of Heart Failure. NEW YORK, July 19. "Broadway Alex" Smith, man about town, most- fastidious fas-tidious dresser among the old Gilsey House crowd, ball player'and famous as the catcher of the Giants who first broke in the great Christy Mathewson, is dead. The end came suddenly of heart failure, fail-ure, after an attack of acute indigestion. Smith's death will be a distinct shock to thousands of friends and old admirers. On Tuesday Smith sat in a private box back of the press stand at Aqueduct chatting merriiy with Jimmy Loden, master of the Triple Springs farm stable, and a number of other friends. A hearty dinner after the day's sport brought on the attack that indirectly ended in his death last evening. Smith began h ,s baseball career as a catcher on the Chicago team, under the regime of Frank Selee, long before Frank Chance had ever been heard of. Smith went from Chicago to Brooklyn and later to Baltimore under Ned Hanlon. He bad several playing engagements with the New York Giants, but perhaps his most noted year found him breaking in the young college pitcher Christopher Mathewson. Ma-thewson. Smith was number two catcher catch-er at tho time, but was doing most of the work because of an inj ury to Jack Warner. Smith was with the Giants when the team went to Los Angeles in March, L.I07, with World's Champions printed across their proud chests. On this trip he served as an extra catcher. . In Hi OS Smith joined Joe Kelly's Toronto To-ronto club of tbe International league. He gave up active baseball shortly after this and for a number of years acted as scout for several teams. Of late years Smith devoted most of his time to racing. In 1007, because of his close association with Radtke and Mountain, jockeys, he was asked by tho Saratoga Racing association asso-ciation to keep away from the course. Charges of smart practice, however, were never brought against "Broadway Alex." His reply to tiie Saratoga association associ-ation was lr,ng discussed: "Radtke and Mountain are ood friends of mine. I'm clean in every way. I'll leave the track forever if the association associa-tion will make good the money I've dumped into the laps of the bookies."