T
he membership roll of Numa F. Reid #344
in High Point includes a vocation not found
in most lodges: Men whose lives included
stints as professional baseball players. Not one, but
four. Gil English, George Erath, Ray Hayworth and
Billy Smith weren't stars like their contemporaries,
but they still enjoyed the experience of performing
for crowds across the country and got paid doing
what they loved.
BILLY SMITH is the only one who's still living.
Born in High Point, he was initiated, passed and
raised in Boise (Idaho) No. 2 in 1963, and four years
later transferred his membership to Numa Reid.
Now 93, he has been
a Mason for 60 years.
Smith never made
it to the majors as a
player despite having
a lifetime batting
average in the minors
of .312. The former
N.C. State player was
scouted and recruited
by Bro. English, and
played in the Boston/
Milwaukee farm
system for the better
part of a decade. As
a player/manager
from 1958-60, his Boise Braves won a pair of
championships, and in the year they didn't, Smith
he led the Class C Pioneer League with a .390
batting average.
From 1961-66, Smith was a scout for the Braves,
then held the same role for Houston from 1967-
The Boys of Summer:
Pro Baseball Players from
Numa Reid Lodge #344
By Thomas Pope
Every Masonic lodge is a collective of men of various backgrounds:
Doctors, farmers, auto mechanics, bankers, insurance agents, car
salesmen, retired military, cable installers, and on and on.
Image courtesy NC State University
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