He will forever be known as "The Wizard" for his incredible glove work at shortstop, but before Ozzie Smith was etching his name in the MLB record books, his name was being written onto lineup cards in the CCAA.
Ozzie Smith suited up for Cal Poly for four seasons from 1974-77 and left with a CCAA-record of 110 stolen bases. He is still ranked second all-time, and his 44 steals in a season (1977) still ranks fourth. His outstanding performance helped lead the Mustangs to a then school-record 41 wins and a berth in the NCAA Div. II Regional. He was twice named to the All-CCAA team.
He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1977 and spent four years with the Padres before playing 15 seasons in St. Louis. During his 19-year Major League career, he was a 15-time All-Star and won 13 consecutive Gold Gloves. He holds the National League record for the number of times he was the fielding percentage leader (seven), career assists (8,375), and career double plays (1,590).
Upon his retirement, the Cardinals retired his No. 1 jersey in 1996. Smith was inducted into Cooperstown in his first season of eligibility and was the sole member of the 2002 Hall of Fame class. Besides the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame, Smith has also been inducted or honored in other halls of fame and recognitions. In 1999, he ranked No. 87 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players and finished third in voting at shortstop for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
In 2002, Smith received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Cal Poly. In 2003, the Ozzie Smith Plaza at the Cal Poly Sports Complex was named in his honor.