Smith, Curt 1951-

views updated

SMITH, Curt 1951-

PERSONAL: Born March 20, 1951, in Bath, NY; son of Howard Frederick (a guidance counselor) and Guendolen (a librarian; maiden name, Stuart) Smith; married Linda Kuhn (a librarian), June 22, 1974 (marriage ended); married; second wife's name Sarah; children: Olivia, Travis. Education: Attended Allegheny College, 1969–71; State University of New York College at Geneseo, B.A. (cum laude), 1973. Politics: Republican. Religion: Presbyterian. Hobbies and other interests: Antiques, U.S. Civil War history, Broadway musicals.

ADDRESSES: Home—Rochester, NY. Office—c/o Messenger-Post Newspapers, 73 Buffalo St., Canandaigua, NY 14424. E-mail—curtwrite@eznet.net.

CAREER: Television and radio commentator, speechwriter, and nonfiction author. Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Rochester, NY, reporter and feature writer, 1973–75; Hamilton College, Clinton, NY, director of public relations, beginning 1975; former reporter for Gannett Group; Saturday Evening Post, former senior editor; speechwriter to U.S. President George H. W. Bush, 1989–93; University of Rochester, currently senior lecturer in English. WROC, Rochester, host of Talking Point and Perfectly Clear; sports broadcaster and commentator for Empire Sports Network.

MEMBER: American Association of Public Relations Directors, National Association of Sportswriters and Sportscasters, Central New York Public Relations Council, Juston Welliver Society, Sigma Delta Chi.

AWARDS, HONORS: St. Bonaventure/New York Times award 1973, for stories on Floyd Patterson and Roberto Clemente; four national awards from Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, 1976–77, for writing, layout, and design; radio commentary voted Best in New York State by Associated Press/New York State Broadcasters Association; selected among 1000 Outstanding Alumni of New York State University System.

WRITINGS:

America's Dizzy Dean, Bethany Press (St. Louis, MO), 1978.

Long Time Gone: The Years of Turmoil Remembered, Hardwood Press (South Bend, IN), 1982.

Voices of the Game: The First Full-Scale Overview of Baseball Broadcasting, 1921 to the Present, Diamond Communications (South Bend, IN), 1987, revised as Voices of the Game: The Acclaimed Chronicle of Baseball Radio and Television Broadcasting: From 1021 to the Present, Distican (Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada), 1992.

Red Sox Fan's Little Book of Wisdom: A Fine Sense of the Ridiculous, Diamond Communications (South Bend, IN), 1994, 2nd edition, 2002.

The Storytellers: From Mel Allen to Bob Costas: Sixty Years of Baseball Tales from the Broadcast Booth, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1995.

Windows on the White House: The Story of Presidential Libraries, Diamond Communications (South Bend, IN), 1997.

Of Mikes and Men: From Ray Scott to Curt Gowdy: Broadcast Tales from the Pro Football Booth, Diamond Communications (Lakeville, IN), 1998.

Our House: A Tribute to Fenway Park, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1999.

Storied Stadiums: Baseball's History through Its Ballparks, Carroll & Graf (New York, NY), 2001.

(Editor) What Baseball Means to Me: A Celebration of Our National Pastime, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Author of documentary film based on Voices of the Game, and coauthor of "Sports Century" television documentary series, both for ESPN. Contributor of stories and articles to baseball magazines, Library Journal, Upstate, and newspapers; contributor of column to upstate New York Messenger-Post.

SIDELIGHTS: Baseball historian Curt Smith has written nearly a dozen books chronicling one of America's most popular sports, beginning in 1979 with his debut effort, America's Dizzy Dean. The majority of Smith's books examine baseball's glory days in the early and mid-twentieth century. His The Red Sox Fan's Little Book of Wisdom: A Fine Sense of the Ridiculous, which was published in its second edition in 2002, provides hope and inspiration for followers of a team that has had its share of ups and subsequent downs. Storied Stadiums: Baseball's History through Its Ballparks follows the history of the game through the 125 major ballparks built since 1862.

In over 600 pages. Storied Stadiums describes the game through the history of such ballparks as Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, and Yankee Stadium. Smith recalls baseball's golden era, which saw the construction of its most classic parks, or as he refers to them, the "Xanadus of personality." Moving to the 1960s, Smith recounts the era of cookie-cutter stadiums that included the construction of Veteran's Stadium in Philadelphia and Shea Stadium in New York. Finally, he discusses the resurgence of classic-themed ballparks, such as Jacob's Field in Cleveland and Camden Yards in Baltimore. With each park, Smith provides a detailed history, including statistics and anecdotes about the stadium's players and fans. The book includes a short introduction by renowned baseball broadcaster Bob Costas and numerous photographs and lithographs taken from Bill Goff's Good Art Sports Gallery.

Most critics praised Storied Statiums. According to Robert Cottrell in Library Journal: "Smith provides an iconoclastic look at the national pastime that baseball fans will likely enjoy." Although a Publishers Weekly contributor described the work as somewhat "long" and "rambling," Smith's writing style was praised as "enjoyable and appropriate to the topic."