Uncrowned Community Builders

George W. Smith was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 5, 1904. He recalled that his mother and father separated when he was about 5 years old. He lived with his grandfather in Helena, Arkansas for a short time. Eventually his grandfather moved with George and his mother to St. Louis, Missouri. George was about ten years old at the time.

Young George began boxing as a teenager in St. Louis. A very successful amateur fighter, he had aspirations of being a member of the U.S. Olympic team during the early 1930s. However, because of his age and his inability to attract outside support, he decided instead to concentrate his energies on helping some of the younger boxers to advance in the sport. He began his long career as a boxing coach, trainer, manager and promoter in St. Louis during the early depression years.

Mrs. Smith had a large scrapbook filled with fading and deteriorating newspaper clippings which chronicled his involvement with boxing during the 1930s. Those clippings substantiated the fact that he was a pioneer in the field of amateur boxing in the United States. A newsclipping from a St. Louis paper during the late 1930s summarized his early contributions in amateur boxing. Under the headline, George Smith Makes History in Amateur Fight Circles, the article stated:

"A name that is rapidly forging ahead in the sporting world of this region is George W. Smith. Young Smith is a pioneer in his field and one of the ace trainers of amateur fighters this city has to offer. Some weeks ago, Smith, president and organizer of the Brown Bomber Athletic club, opened the first all Negro boxing and training quarters ever sponsored here.
The Brown Bomber A.C. was organized May 15, 1936 in the gym of the Pine Street YMCA in honor of Joe Louis, now world's heavyweight champion. After months of preparation, Smith has been able to present to the young Negro boys and men of this city the first public gym of its kind in Missouri.
Besides being president and founder of the Brown Bombers, Smith is vice-president of the Golden Gloves Trainers and Coaches Association of Missouri, a signal honor for a Negro".

That article also summed up what must have been George Smith's personal philosophy at that time. The above article concluded with a quote that was attributed to Smith.

"If I can succeed in building more boys into fine, sturdy men, of the caliber of our Joe Louis or John Henry Lewis or Henry Armstrong then I'll feel my work in a measure might be called a success. Sure, the road has been tough at times but things that are worthwhile are often hard to achieve."

According to the clippings in his scrapbook, Mr. Smith had a dramatic impact on the early history of amateur boxing in St. Louis. Article after article highlights the success of members of the Brown Bombers Athletic club of St. Louis. Smith loved to discuss his work with the young men whose lives he helped to shape during those years in St. Louis. Many of the fighters in the Brown Bombers club went on to eventually win national Golden Gloves Championships.

Whatever their success as boxers, the value system that George Smith articulated, self confidence, perseverance, competitive spirit and respect for self and others, certainly helped them to be stronger and better men.

But how did George Smith happen to come to Buffalo, New York? In 1939 or 1940, Smith and several of his boxers decided to move to Buffalo, New York. Smith hoped that the increased opportunities for amateur competition that Buffalo offered would help prepare his fighters for a shot at making the U.S. Olympic boxing team in 1940. The boxers that accompanied Smith to Buffalo included: Cyclone Williams, Art Foster, Charlie Riley, and Bobby Collins. Smith and his young protoges liked what they found in Buffalo and decided to remain in the area. Smith found employment at American Brass Company and eventually Bell Aircraft.

For a number of years, Smith lived at the Michigan Avenue YMCA. He continued to work with amateur boxers at the Y. He also did volunteer work with other youth programs sponsored by the Y. Over the years George Smith had the good fortune to touch the lives of many young men who eventually rose to prominence in the Buffalo community, like George K. Arthur, Leeland Jones and numerous others. Smith was also a lifelong advocate of scouting as a program for building character and positive values among the youth of the inner city. He retired from scouting in 1972.

Smith is probably most well known in the Buffalo area for his work as a photographer. He became a student of photography prior to his arrival in Buffalo. After he settled in Buffalo, he enrolled in photography courses at local institutions and studied at night or whenever he could find time from his job. At various times he did photographic work for the two major black Buffalo newspapers The Buffalo Challenger and the Buffalo Criterion. In addition, George photographed dinners and special events for most of the major black community organizations and churches in Buffalo. He even taught a class in photography at the University at Buffalo.

For a time Smith operated Cleartone Studio at 1009 Genesee Street. At that location he had a large collection of prints and negatives pertaining to organizations, society and culture in Buffalo's African American community since 1940. Most of the collection was lost after Mr. Smith was stricken with illness and was unable to personally remove the materials after his studio was closed.

Mr. Smith and another local African American photographer, Rev. W.B. Seals were friends and colleagues. They shared many tips with each other to improve their photography skills. Smith took a family photo of the Seals family that the family continues to treasure to this day.

Mr. Smith was a resident in the Lyndon Baines Johnson Senior Citizens Complex. A small quantity of the pictures and memorabilia that he collected during his lifetime was stored in cardboard boxes in his apartment. In 1984, Mr. Smith's papers were microfilmed by Dr. Monroe Fordham for the Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier's historic preservation project. Unfortunately Mr. Smith's large scrapbook was in such an advanced stage of deterioration that it could not be filmed. The micro-film can be found at the Frank E. Merriweather Library and the Monroe Fordham History Center at Buffalo State College.