Robert Smith (baseball)

Dr. Robert E. "Ish" Smith, (born May 15, 1936), is the former President of the International Baseball Federation, which is the international governing body for the sport of baseball, and the United States Baseball Federation.

As President of the International Baseball Association from 1981 to 1993, he is the person most credited with getting the sport of baseball accepted into the Olympic Games as an official gold medal sport. For these efforts, he is a recipient of the Olympic Order, the highest honor given by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Baseball career

Smith graduated from Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois in 1957 and went to work at the college a few years after graduation as a physical education instructor and baseball coach, in 1961.

Smith began his work with the Olympics when he began to work on the United States Olympic Committee in 1977.

Smith was elected President of the United States Baseball Federation in 1980 (until 1989) and then quickly ascended to the presidency of the International Baseball Federation/International Baseball Association (IBA) the following year at the Baseball World Cup held in Japan. At the IBA's Congress in 1988, held in conjunction with the Nicaragua Baseball World Cup, Smith was re-elected as President, and he held the office until 1993. That year, he was succeeded by Aldo Notari of Italy.

During Dr. Smith's time as international leader of amateur...
Read More