Inductees

Lionel Smith was the only son of Lloyd and Freda Smith. Lloyd Smith was the superintendent of Cairo (MO) Public Schools, where he supported the development of girls’ high school basketball. Lionel Smith, his only child, made his mark in sports as a high-scoring basketball player at Madison High School, and later at the University of Missouri, where he was teammates with Norm Stewart during the 1956 – 1957 season.

During that season, Smith had emerged as a player and on February 18, 1957, he delivered a performance that surpassed all that had come before. Smith scored forty-four points against Marquette for a 98–76  University of Missouri win. Two weeks later, he finished his college career with 992 points,  the third-highest total in Tiger history at the time.

After college, the 6’3″ guard played three seasons (1957 – 1960) with the Wichita Vickers Oilers in the NIBL (National Industrial Basketball League).