Life's a bag of tricks for Cleveland State hardballer Smith

By Chris Lesinski

Nurturing a talent in college sports into a full-time, profitable career is hard enough, but a profession out of locker-room antics -- can it be done?

Rick Smith, Jr. is not only a professional magician, he holds the world record for furthest card-throw (216 feet, 4 inches). Photo courtesy of ricksmithjr.com

RELATED • VIDEO: Watch Smith on the Wayne Brady Show

Rick Smith, Jr. is a professional magician from Ohio who played four years of NCAA baseball at Cleveland State University. "We always had sock wars in the locker room," he recalls. The "sock war" is in the spirit of typical locker-room tomfoolery. A jock rolls up a sock, swings it around and launches it like a slingshot from the days of David and Goliath.

The magician on the baseball team, Smith always had a deck of playing cards handy. One time, instead of retaliating with the whole deck, Smith playfully threw a single card. "It zipped around the room at about 90 mph and gave the kid the worst paper cut of his life," Smith said with a grin.

Soon after, he and his teammates went to the Guinness Book of World Records and in early 2002, Smith became the man with the longest card-throw in the world: 216 feet, 4 inches -- yet to be even closely challenged by anyone. He uses a technique all his own, winding up, just like the pitcher he once was, and releasing with a slightly modified curveball movement. But these days, conditioning and training are a thing of the past. His arm is already sore after a days work; Rick turned the talent into a trade -- nightly gigs doing close-up magic and throwing cards for show.

Rick Smith, Jr. is not "Glitter the Clown" or your creepy Uncle Larry. At only 24, he totes a blackberry, gels his hair and sports a hip performing-style, earning him corporate magic gigs nationwide. He's appeared on The Ellen Degeneres Show and Ripley's Believe It or Not. Recently, he flew to Los Angeles to shoot an episode of a new show on Fox Sports called Sports Science. Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson and Raiders quarterback Josh McCown are also featured in the episode, which is expected to air in October. Smith explained that card throwing is being used with football players to improve hand-eye coordination. Coaches toss cards to players, who try to pinch the unpredictably darting piece of pasteboard between their fingertips. Perhaps Johnson and McCown should reconsider their careers: "Chad Johnson couldn't catch any, but Josh McCown, the quarterback, was catching pretty much all of them -- everything," Smith said.

Smith also runs a local talent agency called Cleveland Entertainers, proof that his skills don't lie solely in Gambit-like finesse. Higher education was crucial. "My marketing degree really helps me market myself all around the world," Smith said. "All the other entertainers come to me now and ask, 'What do I do?'"

Included in Smith's party of party performers is juggler Billy Matsumoto (aka "Billy the Kid"), whose infamous stunt combines the arcade game Dance Dance Revolution and three flaming clubs. Matsumoto is still in college and -- on the brink of an entertainment career -- he's tempted to drop out. Rick and his associates push him to persevere. "We tell him: just keep juggling your school schedule and your juggling career," said Smith. "Going to college works."

To view video of Rick in action, visit ricksmithjr.com.