An all-around athlete in college, both in basketball and softball, she served in the Army during World War II, just after the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

She was discharged in 1945 and made her debut in the AAGPBL in its 1947 season, playing for the Kenosha Comets before joining the Grand Rapids Chicks in 1948.

Following her baseball career, Smith attended and graduated from Pratt Art Institute in New York City.

She spent more than 30 years in the Richmond school system, teaching art and shop classes, before retiring in 1982.

The AAGPBL folded in 1954, but there is now a permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York since November 5, 1988 that honors those who were part of this experience.