Vincent Ambrose 'Vinnie' Smith ,December 7, 1915 - December 14, 1979, was an American Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 and Umpire player from Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

.

Career

Smith made his Major League debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...

 on September 10, 1941 and appeared in 9 games as a catcher

Catcher

Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...

. After serving in the military during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 from 1942-1945 he returned to the Pirates and played in 7 additional games as a catcher.

After retiring Smith worked as National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 Umpire from 1957 to 1965. He was an umpire on May 26, 1959 when Harvey Haddix

Harvey Haddix

Harvey Haddix, Jr. was a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher who played with the St. Louis Cardinals , Philadelphia Phillies , Cincinnati Redlegs , Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles . Haddix was born in Medway, Ohio, located just outside of Springfield...

 threw 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves.