Sinjin Smith

Sinjin Smith
Personal information
NicknameSinjin
BornChristopher St. John Smith
May 7, 1957 (1957-05-07) (age 67)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
College / UniversityUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Volleyball information
PositionSetter
Number22 (UCLA)
Medal record
Men's beach volleyball
Representing the  United States
Goodwill Games
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Saint Petersburg Beach

Christopher St. John "Sinjin" Smith (born May 7, 1957) is an American former professional beach volleyball player. He was the first player to win 100 career tournaments, and won numerous Manhattan Open titles with Karch Kiraly and Randy Stoklos as partners.[1][2]

College

Smith went to college at UCLA, where he was a setter.[3] UCLA won the National Championship in Smith's freshman year.[4] In his junior year, the team again reached the finals before losing to Pepperdine, and Smith was selected to the All-Tournament Team.[4] In his senior year in 1979, the Bruins defeated cross-town rival USC to win the National Championship.[4] Smith was again selected to the All-Tournament Team, and was voted the Championship's Most Outstanding Player.[4] Smith was selected as an All-American in both his junior and senior years.[3]

Smith was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 1991.[5]

Beach volleyball

Smith began to compete as a professional in the two-man beach volleyball tournaments of Southern California at age fifteen.[1] When he started playing beach volleyball, players were motivated primarily by the prestige of winning tournaments rather than money, since winnings were relatively meager.[6] He won his first beach tournament with former UCLA teammate "Stormin" Mike Normand.[7] He won his first Manhattan Open in 1979 teaming with another UCLA alum, Jim Menges.[8] In the early 1980s, he made a successful beach team pairing with former UCLA teammate Kiraly.[8][1] They split up when Kiraly committed full-time to the U.S. national team.[9]

Smith moved on to partner with Stoklos, and the two became the most dominant pair in men's beach volleyball.[2][8] Smith was selected as the Best Defensive Player by the AVP in 1990, 1991, and 1992.[7] He won a bronze medal in beach volleyball at the 1994 Goodwill Games in Saint Petersburg.[8]

By the time Smith announced his retirement in 2001, he had won 139 career tournaments.[2] He had also amassed $1,700,000 in career prize money.[7] As a primary force behind the growth of beach volleyball as a sport,[2] he was inducted into the California Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2002 and the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2003.[3][1]

The pair of Smith and Stoklos was featured in the video game Kings of the Beach released by Electronic Arts for MS-DOS in 1988 and Commodore 64 in 1989, and in 1990 it was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System.[10] The pair also appeared in the 1990 film Side Out as the nemesis team of Rollo Vincent (Stoklos) and Billy Cross (Smith).[11][7]

Smith had a brief career as a television actor, appearing most notably on an episode of Magnum, P.I. as Magnum's volleyball partner who winds up dead under suspicious circumstances.[7]

In 1990, Smith was selected as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People.[5]

Awards

  • Two-time All-American 1978, 1979
  • Two-time NCAA Champion 1976, 1979
  • NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player 1979
  • AVP Best Defensive Player 1990, 1991, 1992
  • UCLA Hall of Fame 1991
  • Goodwill Games beach volleyball bronze medal 1994
  • CBVA Hall of Fame 2002
  • International Volleyball Hall of Fame 2003

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Sinjin Smith". International Volleyball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on July 23, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Bresnahan, Mike (August 11, 2001). "At Age 44, Smith Draws Line in Sand". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 24, 2023. (subscription required)
  3. ^ a b c "Sinjin Smith". UCLA Athletics. Archived from the original on July 25, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d "National Collegiate Men's (Volleyball)" (PDF). NCAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Sinjin Smith". UCLA Athletics. Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  6. ^ "Beach Volleyball; King of the Beach Becomes a Career". The New York Times. July 26, 1994. p. B11. Retrieved September 6, 2024. (subscription required)
  7. ^ a b c d e "Christopher 'Sinjin' Smith". Beach Volleyball Database. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d "Sinjin Smith". Olympedia. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  9. ^ "Charles Frederick Kiraly". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  10. ^ Manu (May 28, 2018). "Kings of the Beach". Games Nostalgia. Archived from the original on August 1, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  11. ^ "Side Out (1990)". IMDb. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Inaugural
 Men's FIVB Beach Volley World Tour Winner
alongside United States Randy Stoklos
1989–1992 		Succeeded by