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Although she didn’t start pitching until her sophomore year in high school (Voorhees, N.J.), Michele Smith more than made up for her late start by becoming one of the premier double-threat players in the United States and the world. After going 46-6 in high school and being named all-state three years in a row, Smith continued to develop as a pitcher and hitter while in college at Oklahoma State University. She compiled a record 82-20 in college and batted .269, .211, .393 and .379 during her four-year career. She graduated in 1990 with a degree in health wellness and pre-med at had considered a career in medicine. After being named Academic All-Big Eight in 1989 and MVP of the Big Eight Tournament, Smith played for a variety of ASA teams, including the Linden, N.J. Majors, Budweiser Bells, the SSK California Invasion and the Redding, CA Rebels. It was with the Rebels, however, that she enjoyed tremendous personal success while making the the Rebels one of the consistent top finishing teams in the 1990s. Smith earned All-America honors ten times (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998) and was the winner of the Bertha Tickey Award as the outstanding pitcher at the Women’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship in 1990, 1993, 1994 and 1995. In 1990 and 1994 she was named ASA SportsWoman of the Year. She was a member of various USA international teams, including two Olympic teams (1996 and 2000), two Pan American Teams, and three ISF World Championship teams. The success Smith enjoyed on the softball field wasn’t however, achieved without a lot of hard work, determination and rehabilitation, especially after she was injured in a bizarre truck accident returning from an oral surgeon.in 1986. As she was sitting in the passenger seat of the truck, she took off her seat belt and the strap caught the door handle. The door flew open. Smith fell out of the truck, which was traveling between 40 and 45 miles per hour. Smith tumbled off the road and crashed into a pole. The accident detached the triceps from the bone in her left arm and chopped off the tip of her elbow. The accident was a wake-up call for Smith who lived for softball her freshman year, knowing that in three years she would be out working and “I wouldn’t be making half a million dollars to throw the ball around the diamond.” The accident pointed out to Smith that no matter what happens it takes “a lot of practice and a lot of perseverance. You’ve got to keep striving forward. You can’t expect things to happen overnight. It takes a lot of work.” After going 12-6 her freshman year at OSU, she missed the fall semester her sophomore year while undergoing rehabilitation. In 2002, Michele announced she was retiring from the USA National Team program after she played in the ISF World Championship, batting .500 (5-for-10, one HR, 4 RBIs) and winning her only game on the mound. She however, is still playing softball overseas in the Japan Pro League, which she has been doing since 1994. Besides still playing, she has served as a spokesperson for Worth Sports Company and does softball color commentary for ESPN.
