Claire Smith (journalist)

Claire Smith is an American sportswriter. She covered the New York Yankees from 1983 to 1987 as the first female Major League Baseball beat writer, working for the Hartford Courant. She later worked as a columnist for The New York Times from 1991 to 1998, and was an editor and columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer from 1998 to 2007. She is currently a news editor for ESPN.

External video
This baseball writer is in a league of her own, PBS NewsHour[1]
This article is about the sportswriter. For the Australian archaeologist, see Claire Smith.
Claire Smith
OccupationSportswriter
NationalityAmerican
Notable awardsJ. G. Taylor Spink Award (2017)

After the first game of the 1984 National League Championship Series against the Cubs in Wrigley Field, the San Diego Padres physically removed Smith, then working for the Hartford Courant, from the visitors' clubhouse despite a National League rule requiring equal access to all properly accredited journalists during the playoffs. San Diego first baseman Steve Garvey left the clubhouse, told her she still had a job to do, and proceeded with an interview. Newly appointed Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth declared a new rule the next day requiring equal access for all major league locker rooms.[2][3]

Smith was born in Langhorne, Pennsylvania and graduated from Neshaminy High School. Her mother Bernice was a chemist who worked for General Electric. Smith credits her for sparking an interest in baseball, especially for Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers. Smith's father, William, was an illustrator and sculptor. Smith attended the Pennsylvania State University and then Temple University, getting her first journalism job with the Bucks County Courier Times.[4]

Smith was the subject of A League of Her Own, a short biographical documentary that was screened in 2018 at the Baseball Hall of Fame's annual Baseball Film Festival. The film was narrated by Jackie Robinson's daughter Sharon.[5]

Honors

Claire Smith was elected the 2017 recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) on December 6, 2016.[6][7] She is the first woman, and fourth African-American,[8] to receive this award, the BBWAA's highest honor, presented annually since 1962 for “meritorious contributions to baseball writing.” The award is permanently celebrated in the "Scribes & Mikemen" exhibit in the Library of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.[9]

References
  1. "This baseball writer is in a league of her own". PBS NewsHour. December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  2. "This baseball writer is in a league of her own". PBS NewsHour. December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016. at time 3:30-5:30
  3. Ackert, Kristie (December 7, 2016). "Proud to stand with Claire Smith as pioneer gets her Hall call". New York Daily News. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  4. Fitzpatrick, Frank (December 6, 2016). "Inquirer alum Claire Smith first woman to win baseball's prestigious Spink Award". Philly.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  5. "Claire Smith's Inspiring Story a Hit at Film Festival". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved October 17, 2020. "Scribes & Mikemen" exhibit in the Library of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
  6. Calcaterra, Craig (December 6, 2014). "Claire Smith becomes the first woman to win the BBWAA's Spink Award". NBCSports.com. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  7. "CLAIRE SMITH 1ST FEMALE SPINK AWARD WINNER" (Press release). Cooperstown, New York: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. 2016-12-06. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  8. Crouse, Karen (2017-07-29). "For Female Baseball Reporter, Writing About, and Making, History". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2017-08-02. On Saturday, she will become the first woman, and fourth African-American, voted...
  9. "J.G. Taylor Spink Award". Hall of Famers - Hall of Fame Awards. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved October 17, 2020. "Scribes & Mikemen" exhibit in the Library of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
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