A native of Providence, Rhode Island, Smith became a well-known amateur baseball player in New England.

He made his major league debut in 1883 with his hometown Providence Grays, playing two games at first base for them.

He would not play again in the major leagues until 1890, when he finished his career by making eight appearances for the Cleveland Spiders.

[1][2] Smith also played minor league baseball for the Brooklyn Grays of the Interstate Association in 1883.

[1] Smith was pitching for an amateur team in Providence in 1885 when an opportunity arose for him to return to the major leagues.

On August 5, Charles Radbourn, Joe Start, and Dupee Shaw were all unavailable to pitch for Providence, officially because of an illness, though rumor had it that the players simply wanted the day off.

Fans feared that the team would struggle with an amateur on the mound, but Smith limited St. Louis to nine hits and three runs (only one of which was earned) as Providence won the game 4–3.

The next day's account of the game in the New York Times reported that "Edgar Smith, a young amateur, did the pitching [...] Sharp fielding gained the victory.

[2] In 1890, Smith returned to the major leagues, playing in eight games for the NL's Cleveland Spiders.

Smith completed five of his starts but lost four out of five decisions, posting a 4.30 earned run average (ERA).