вЂњGranny would come out,вЂќ said Ligtenberg. Paul Saints pitching coach Kerry Ligtenberg, who graduated from Park before playing eight years in the major leagues, didnвЂ™t play for Smith, but got to know him when he coached the Park team for two seasons. вЂњAnd, if it was a rainy day and he couldnвЂ™t practice, he had the team in the classroom working on something,вЂќ Kroschel said. Kroschel said another thing that set Smith apart was that вЂњhe had to be one of the first coaches to have his kids go to clinics.вЂќ And he got a lot of good players from that program.вЂќ вЂњHe developed a feeder program before other coaches did. вЂњHe was way ahead of his time,вЂќ said Kroschel, who played for Smith. In 1975, Smith told the Minneapolis Tribune that his main goal each season was вЂњto let the kids know IвЂ™m interested in them as a person.вЂќ When he retired as baseball coach in 1978, he was the third-winningest high school baseball coach in the state. His teams finished first or second in their conference 25 of his 32 seasons.

Over 32 seasons at Park, his baseball teams compiled a 328-133 record (.711 winning percentage) and won 14 conference championships. In addition to teaching history at Park, Smith also had a Hall of Fame career as the schoolвЂ™s baseball coach. Granny could have gone to Woodbury, but he loved it at Park and stayed.вЂќ вЂњTeachers had the option of going to the new school. Then in the 1970s, the district opened a new high school in Woodbury. Paul Park to neighboring Cottage Grove in 1965. вЂњHe started at what was a small, rural high school,вЂќ said former Park student and teacher Bill Kroschel. He continued to serve as a substitute teacher at the school until 1990. Smith began teaching there in the fall 1945, retiring from full-time teaching in 1983. It would be the only teaching position of his four-decade career in education. Paul Park High School in Washington County. After graduating from college, Granville вЂњGrannyвЂќ SmithвЂ™s first teaching job was at St.

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