Al Smith, former newspaper sports editor, dies

ATLANTA - Alston T. Smith, a former sports editor and columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has died. He was 65. <br> <br> Smith, of Marietta, died of cancer Sunday. The former sports news editor and designer joined the Atlanta paper in 1971. He also wrote a sports collectibles column since 1994, which continued through December 2001. <br> <br> Smith owned an extensive baseball memorabilia collection. His guiding tenet was for readers to collect what they liked for the fun of it, rather than make a fast dollar. He also was known for tipping off fans to autograph signings and auctions where they could add to, or start, their own collection. <br> <br> He retired from the Journal-Constitution in 1999. <br> <br> Funeral services will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Sandy Springs Chapel. <br> <br>

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