Background
He was born in The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States and was of Irish descent.
He was born in The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States and was of Irish descent.
He finished in 17th place. He finished 10th at the 1912 event with a time of 2:27:46. He finished in the top three at the 1913 event.
Smith came from a relatively well off family and had a brother named Frank. lieutenant has been speculated that both of them may have suffered from bipolar disorder. His athletic interest began when he was a child.
At the age of 12 Smith was playing craps with some friends in an alley when a police officer spoted them and ran after them, attempting to arrest them for illegal gambling.
The man caught all of them except Smith. Another day when the officer found Smith he advised him to pursue competitive running.
He competed in the marathon for the United States at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He shared rooms with Jim Thorpe on the way to the Olympics.
Smith also participated in at least three Run for the Diamonds events.
In came in at third place in both 1911 and 1913. Smith was a member and Captain of the Pastime Athletic Club. Supposedly Smith was an early underground sports agent.
He was of the belief that a marathon runner should never look behind themself, as this throws off ones timing while running.
He made an exception to this however when he once encountered Tom Longboat while in a race and exchanged a glance with him. After his athletic career ended he became a sports columnist for The New York Tribune.
Smith also ran the Boston Marathon 10 years in a row. He came first and won in 1912. Smith was United States of America Outdoor Track & Field Champion 10000 m in 1912, a victory he shared with Hannes Kolehmainen. Later in 1912 Smith won a race called the Union Settlement Road Race and was given a gold medal award, handed to him by congressman Amos Pinchot. He won the Coney Island Derby Race in 1913.
