Dr. Bob Smith

Dr. Bob Smith was President of the International Baseball Association from 1981-1993 and spearheaded advocating baseball in the Olympic Games as a gold medal sport. Known by his nickname “Ish,” Dr. Smith was President of the United States Baseball Federation (USBF) from 1978-1989, Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Greenville College, Illinois from 1977-1993. He became Greenville College’s ninth President from 1993 until his retirement in 1999. According to Ivan Filby, who succeeded Dr. Smith as the President of Greenville University: “His leadership skills and willingness to serve have blessed every organization he’s been involved with.” As President of the USBF, Dr. Smith played a key role at the Extraordinary Baseball Congress of the Association International Baseball Amateur (AINBA) at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, September 10-12, 1979. Dodger President Peter O’Malley hosted Dr. Smith and 100 guests at Dodger Stadium during those meetings. At that Congress, the goal was to establish baseball as a demonstration sport in the 1984 Games of the XXIII Olympiad in Los Angeles, even with a long-term objective of obtaining gold medal status in the Olympic Games.

An Olympic Baseball committee was established and Dr. Smith was elected as chair, while Peter O’Malley, Rod Dedeaux, Manuel Gonzalez Guerra of Cuba, Bruno Beneck of Italy, Carlos Garcia of Nicaragua and others were selected for the committee, as well as Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn in an honorary role. For years, Dr. Smith and his “kitchen cabinet” of Peter, Dedeaux and Kuhn led the charge to secure a place for baseball in the Olympic Games as a gold medal sport. They traveled around the world, meeting with IOC and baseball leaders and held special IBA meetings designed to strategize about baseball’s inclusion in the Olympics. At the same time, they helped everywhere there was interest in developing youth, amateur and professional leagues. Dr. Smith was unrelenting in details and organizational skills. For many years, it was constant travel, meetings, phone calls and letters. Dr. Smith and Peter traveled to the Soviet Union, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Nicaragua, Italy, Japan, Puerto Rico and the Netherlands. But, the plan they devised worked, as baseball was named a gold medal sport for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. The date of the famous announcement was October 13, 1986, when the IOC voted to give baseball official status as an Olympic sport for the 1992 Games in Barcelona. Also, in 1988 due to Smith’s persistence, baseball was played as a demonstration sport during the Seoul Olympic Games.

Dr. Smith’s leadership, integrity, engaging personality, and Christian values all worked in baseball’s favor. In 1984, he met at the request of Fidel Castro in Havana, when Dr. Smith was holding international meetings and his name was on the ballot for re-election against leaders from Italy and Puerto Rico. Castro wanted to inform Dr. Smith that he trusted him with the organization’s leadership and that Cuba would be supporting him the next day when voting took place. Dr. Smith was elected. That same Congress, Dr. Smith requested that the name of the organization be changed from AINBA to the International Baseball Association (IBA) to assist in the Olympic Games branding, funding and worldwide sponsorships. Under his direction, the growth of the IBA was significant. Between 1980 and 1984, membership grew from 38 to nearly 60 countries and by his retirement in 1993, IBA members stood at 83 playing countries. On August 24, 1991, Dr. Smith was with Peter O’Malley for the 2nd Annual IBA World All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium. Dr. Smith sat with Peter and other international baseball leaders and friends, including Rachel Robinson, widow of Hall of Fame Dodger Jackie Robinson; Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley; Tsutomu “Tom” Shida, President of the Shida Corporation in Japan; Kiyoshi Kikuchi, Japan, Chairman of SSK Corp.; and Jiro Nagase, Japan, President of the Nagase Kenko Corp. In 1978, Smith was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame for his baseball coaching. The baseball field at Greenville College was dedicated “Robert E. Smith Field” in honor of the former coach on October 12, 1985. Dr. Smith was presented the Olympic Order, the highest honor given by the IOC, for his tireless work to champion baseball as a gold medal sport in the Olympic Games, which he guided to fruition in 1992. Smith was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame on February 11, 2019. Dr. Smith made significant contributions to the international baseball world. He passed on August 18, 2021.