Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith will visit Cal Poly to rededicate plaza at baseball stadium

Stephanie Zappelli
·2 min read
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Legendary St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith will visit Cal Poly’s baseball stadium on Saturday for the university’s rededication of a plaza in his honor, according to a Cal Poly news release.

The plaza was originally dedicated to Smith in 2003, the same year Cal Poly awarded him an honorary degree of doctor of humane letters.

Now, a statue of the Major League Baseball Hall of Famer sits behind the Hoffman Press Box in the plaza, according to the news release.

The university also invested $1.3 million in renovating the plaza, including installing “a new press box, ticket booth, entry arches, fencing, landscaping and a new home for the Ozzie Smith statue, sitting upon a baseball with appropriate uplighting, to present one of Cal Poly’s most successful athlete alumni,” the news release said.

Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith speaks at the dedication of his statue outside Cal Poly’s Baggett Stadium in June 2003.
Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith speaks at the dedication of his statue outside Cal Poly’s Baggett Stadium in June 2003.

Smith played baseball at Cal Poly from 1974 to 1977. From there, he went onto a 19-year professional baseball career, first as a shortstop for the San Diego Padres, then for the St. Louis Cardinals.

“Smith accumulated 2,460 hits and 580 stolen bases during his career, and won the National League Silver Slugger Award as the best hitter at shortstop in 1987,” the news release said. “He won the National League Gold Glove Award for defensive play at shortstop for 13 consecutive seasons and was a 15-time All-Star.”

In 1987, Smith was named a charter member of the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame.

In 2002, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and in 2014, he was elected to the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame during its inaugural year.

Cal Poly hired Maino Construction for the plaza improvements, along with Cal Poly alumni Michael Price and Jon Vasquez of Bay Area Concretes for concrete and flat work, according to the university.

Cal Poly will host the ceremony on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. before the 4 p.m. Big West Conference basaeball game against UC Irvine, the news release said.

Ozzie Smith plays in an alumni game on Jan. 28, 1978, before heading to the major leagues. These are the last photos of the Hall of Famer in a Cal Poly uniform.
Ozzie Smith plays in an alumni game on Jan. 28, 1978, before heading to the major leagues. These are the last photos of the Hall of Famer in a Cal Poly uniform.