Former Cal Poly and Major League baseball standout Ozzie Smith speaks at ceremony Saturday rededicating Ozzie Smith Plaza and his bronze statue.
Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Ozzie Smith Plaza Rededicated on Alumni Weekend at Baggett
3/25/2023 11:10:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- In 1974, as a freshman baseball player at Cal Poly out of South Central Los Angeles, Ozzie Smith almost went back home.
"A lot of young people reach points in times in their lives when it doesn't seem like anything is happening and things just aren't working out the way they thought it would be. I certainly reached that point here," the "Wizard of Oz" said in his remarks during the rededication of Ozzie Smith Plaza and his bronze statue Saturday afternoon. "I called my mom and told her I wanted to come home. I was too far away from home. I was a momma's boy."
Ozzie's mom called his high school baseball coach.
"He very sternly told me that you're going to stick it out. That was the best place for you. Because of that call, I stuck it out," Ozzie recalled. "One or two weeks later, our varsity shortstop got hurt and I was able to step in and take advantage of an opportunity when it presented itself."
After setting Cal Poly records for career at-bats, career steals and single-season stolen bases and still remaining in the top 10 in numerous other categories, Ozzie went on to earn 13 Gold Gloves and 15 All-Star appearances in a 19-year Major League career and induction into the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame, Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame. His No. 1 Cardinals jersey has been retired.
"I always tell young people today that you've got to be prepared for that window of opportunity, which may be very small, but you have to keep yourself in a position to be able to step through that window of opportunity when it presents itself," said Smith. "I certainly was able to do that, was given that opportunity by Berdy Harr, who was the head coach at Cal Poly at the time, and I was very fortunate in that I had people in my life that all preached the same message about working hard, getting the most out of your God-given talent, understanding that no success comes without some blood, some sweat and some tears, and that you're only going to get out of something what you put in it. If you put nothing in, you shouldn't expect anything in return."
Why did Ozzie choose to play baseball at Cal Poly?
"In 1973 when I graduated from (Locke) high school, I had to do some soul searching," he said. "I played more basketball than baseball in high school, but I realized that baseball is what I really loved doing more than anything else. As a small kid coming out of South Central Los Angeles, I wasn't recruited by a lot of schools. Berdy Harr and Tom Hinkle were instrumental and showed interest in my baseball abilities. They were responsible for me coming to Cal Poly.
"I didn't want to get too far away from home," Ozzie added. "Going to Cal Poly allowed me to go home on the weekends. And, besides, it was a beautiful campus. When I flew in yesterday, everything was green, like it was when I played here in the 1970s."
the first Cal Poly student-athlete to earn a championship
in track and field. He attended Saturday's rededication ceremony.
"I had finished three years of my school and I had promised my mom I was going to get an education," Smith said. "Detroit offered me $8,500. I felt that if they didn't give me $10,000, they weren't going to take a very good look at me. So, in my infinite wisdom, I said to myself I am going to go back to them and ask them for $1,500, and if I don't get it, I'm going back to school. Well, they didn't have the $1,500 in their budget, so I came back to school and eventually got drafted again my senior year by the San Diego Padres.
"Being the good businessman that I am, I signed for $5,000 and a bus ticket to Walla Walla, Washington, where I started my professional career."
A fourth-round draft pick in 1977, Ozzie played 68 games in the minor leagues, all at Walla Walla in 1977, before making the leap from Short-A to the Major Leagues -- four seasons with the Padres and 15 at St. Louis. How did a small kid from South Central Los Angeles and what was then a Division II baseball program at Cal Poly enjoy so much success in 19 Major League seasons?
"To be good at anything, you've got to know what you're not good at," said Smith. "For me, it started at home with my mom, my high school coach, my college coach right into the pros, knowing that you've got to continue to work hard to be the very best you can be, whatever you choose to do with your life.
Ozzie paid tribute to his college coach after introducing Berdy's wife, Jeannie, in Saturday's ceremony.
"Her husband was so instrumental in my development as a player and as a person," said Ozzie. "I don't know if my life would have been the same had he not reached out to me. Jeannie Harr, thank you so much for being here.
"I can't say enough about all of my ex-teammates that I've had a chance to visit today," he added. "You can't do this by yourself. None of this is done by one person. You're only as good as the people around you. I've been very fortunate to have a lot of good players around me. Thank you guys so much for being here.
"Thanks to the community for honoring me in this way. I am very humble for your generosity and the fact that a little kid out of South Central Los Angeles would be standing here before you today, having a plaza named after me with the statue. That's not the things that I dreamed about, but this is really really special for me and always has been."
Berdy Harr passed away in 1990 and was inducted into the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.
Ozzie retired from his playing days after the 1996 season. Since then, he has worked as a commentator, a host for This Week in Baseball, plays golf and owns a pain management clinic. He owned a restaurant for 21 years in St. Louis and has two grandchildren. "I try to spend as much time with them as I can."
"You don't miss the competition. You find other things to compete in, which is golf for me these days," Smith added. "The one thing you miss the most is the camaraderie with the players, your teammates. What makes things special is to come back here to visit with the guys who were a part of your beginnings."
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