Efforts and Achievements

"The Montreal Club will begin its training season at Daytona Beach on the first in March. There will be two colored boys on the Montreal Club, - Robinson one of them, and the other yet to be selected, probably pitcher Wright. 

"This whole program was more or less your suggestion, as you will recall, and I think it had a good point."

~ Branch Rickey to Wendell Smith, January 8, 1946

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"In 1948 Smith accepted a job with the Chicago Herald-American (which would later change its name to Chicago’s American), becoming the first black sportswriter at a white newspaper. That same year he became the first black member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America."
~ The National Baseball Hall of Fame

Shortly after Wendell's transition to the Chicago Herald-American, he felt that Jackie Robinson was prepared to continue his journey in Major League Baseball on his own. Slowly, Wendell began to distance himself from Robinson, but would continue to promote baseball's integration. 

It was this same year that Wendell became the first African American member of the Baseball Writer's Association of America

"Wendell Smith, Chicago's American, and a few black newspapers officially launched a campaign in January 1961 to end spring training segregation. Black players had protested their treatment in Florida for years, but teams deferred to local custom and were slow to change."
~ The National Baseball Hall of Fame 

"​​​​​​​Beneath the apparently tranquil surface of baseball there is a growing feeling of resentment among Negro major leaguers who still experience embarrassment, humiliation, and even indignities during spring training in the south. The Negro player who is accepted as a first class citizen in the regular season is tired of being a second class citizen in spring training."​​​​​​​

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~ Wendell Smith, Chicago's American, January 23, 1961

In the newspaper to the left, Smith wrote out his plan of action step by step:

"1. Meeting with their respective club owners and discussing the issue.

 2. Placing the problem in the hands of their player representatives.

 3. Selecting a spokesman, perferably a former Negro player, to explain their position to baseball's top executives."

~ Wendell Smith, Chicago's American, January 23, 1961

"During the Chicago's American campaign, Smith highlighted the voices of black baseball stars of the past and present, most notably Hank Aaron, Larry Doby, Elston Howard, Ernie Banks, and Minnie Minoso. The campaign met its first major success in March 1961 when then White Sox owner Bill Veeck cancelled hotel reservations once he discovered the hotel would not house black players. By the end of June, the Players’ Association endorsed the campaign."

~ The National Baseball Hall of Fame

The articles Wendell Smith wrote moved Bill Veeck on a deeper level, and resulted in Veeck buying a Florida hotel in order to integrate spring training further.

Wendell was selected to be a part of the Hall of Fame Negro League Commitee. The group's first action was to admit Satchel Paige into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. They did the same for several other black ballplayers until 1972, the year Smith died of cancer.

"[Bowie] Kuhn successfully convinced the Hall of Fame to establish a committee that would select former Negro leaguers to be honored. The committee included five men with Negro leagues playing experience (Monte Irvin, Roy Campanella, Bill Yancey, Frank Forbes, Judy Johnson), two former Negro leagues team owners (Alex Pompez, Eddie Gottlieb), a former major league player and former president of the NCAA (Eppie Barnes), and two journalists (Wendell Smith, Sam Lacy)."
~ The National Baseball Hall of Fame

"His contributions over the years were finally recognized when in 1993, he was posthumously awarded the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, the highest honor given by the Baseball Writers Association of America."

~ Great Black Heroes

"Since Smith’s death, numerous organizations have recognized his importance within the realms of sport, journalism, and civil rights. In 1993, Smith became the first African-American recipient of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for meritorious contributions to baseball writing, accepted by his widow Wyonella."

~ The National Baseball Hall of Fame

Video recording of Wyonella Smith recieving the J.G. Taylor Spink Award on behalf of her late husband, Wendell Smith.

Source: The National Baseball Hall Of Fame

Wendell Smith is inducted into the writers' wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

"In 2013, Andre Holland portrayed Smith in the Jackie Robinson biopic film 42 showing Smith’s contributions to a wide audience."

"Also in 2013, the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism created the Sam Lacy-Wendell Smith Award to be presented annually to a sports journalist or broadcaster who has made significant contributions to racial and gender equality in sports."

~ The National Baseball Hall of Fame

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" In 2014, the memory of Smith’s life saw more attention when the Associated Press Sports Editors posthumously awarded Smith the Red Smith Award."
~ The National Baseball Hall of Fame

"I think it’s wonderful; I’m deeply honored. After all this time, it’s wonderful. It’s a surprise. I was really surprised, but I am just deeply honored that he was remembered so, and respected and that his contribution has been acknowledged."
~ Wyonella Smith