Ozzie Smith to Address Sports Information Directors at Convention

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Former Cal Poly baseball standout Ozzie Smith, considered by many to be the greatest defensive shortstop in the history of Major League Baseball and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, will be the guest speaker and provide his unique presentation and story at the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Convention on Tuesday, June 26.

The 2012 CoSIDA convention will be held in St. Louis and Smith will address attendees at the final social event and farewell function on the final evening of the convention, scheduled to take place in Busch Stadium, home of the 2011 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.

"Ozzie is a legendary figure in the city of St. Louis, not only for his remarkable playing career, but also for his generous and tireless charitable efforts in the community," said Eric McDowell, CoSIDA 3rd Vice President, Assistant Athletics Director/Sports Information at Union College (NY) and former sports information director at Cal Poly.

"As athletic media relations professionals, we all know about the numbers that Ozzie recorded on the field. Our members will now learn more about Ozzie's story before he became one of the best to ever play his position in his sport."

Smith is still the Mustang standard bearer for most career stolen bases with 110, career at-bats (754) and twice stole a school-record 44 bases in a season. Ozzie earned All-American honors in 1976 and twice was named to the All-California Collegiate Athletic Association first team. He played at Cal Poly from 1974 through 1977, before embarking on a professional career for the ages with the San Diego Padres and the Cardinals.

Smith was inducted into the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987.

Read the story and a bio on Smith on the CoSIDA web site by clicking here.