Sports stats

Ambassadors Reorganize Front Office, Hire New Team President

December 12, 2003 - Canadian American League (Can-Am)
Allentown Ambassadors News Release


The Allentown Ambassadors hired Clyde Smoll to be the team's new President and General Manager and his wife Charlene to become the Director of Ticket Operations and Administration, team officials announced today.

A native of Quakertown, Clyde has been involved in sports management for over 16 years. He and Charlene were the principal owners of the Elmira Pioneers from 1986 through 1995, when Elmira was a Single-A affiliate of the Florida Marlins and Boston Red Sox in the New York-Penn League. Clyde was named the General Manager of the Year in the league in both 1990 and 1993, and the team was named Organization of the Year in 1989. The Pioneers also won four other league awards for marketing/promotions and attendance during his tenure.

"I couldn't be happier to have the Smolls on-board," Ambassadors' owner Peter Karoly said. "Clyde's overwhelming experience in both corporate and sports management is something our club has not had in the past and can only benefit us in the future. I look forward to his unique vision and strong leadership making us one of the top organizations in the Northeast League."

Both Smolls moved with the Pioneers to Lowell, Massachusetts in 1996 where it became the Lowell Spinners. They worked closely with government officials in Massachusetts, including former Senator Paul Tsongas, to design and build Edward A. LeLacheur Park on the U-Mass.-Lowell campus for the Spinners. The Ambassadors are trying to bring a new stadium to Allentown for the 2005 season.

"I am extremely excited about the possibility of a new stadium in 2005," Clyde Smoll said. "I look forward to working with Peter and Lauren [Angstadt, co-owner of the Ambassadors] and local and state government officials to bring it to fruition."

Prior to getting into baseball management, Clyde was a multiple letter winner at Quakertown High School in football, basketball and baseball. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati, where he was a three-year letterman in baseball, Clyde worked in management positions for IBM, Sperry, Fasson (a division of Avery International) and the Zebec Corporation, all while residing in Quakertown.

In his spare time, Clyde began to work for Lee Butz's Allentown Wings of the Atlantic Coast Baseball League (an NCAA sanctioned league that has been operating now for over 35 years) as an assistant coach. Five years later, with the assistance of Dr. Tom Bonekemper, the Smolls acquired the team and moved it to Quakertown where it became the Quakertown Blazers. Dr. Bonekemper still operates the team, although the Smolls gave up their interest in 1986. Clyde was inducted into the Quakertown-Pennridge Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, joining his father, Clyde Sr., and uncle, John, who had been previously inducted.

The Smolls sold the Spinners in 1997 and moved to Indianapolis to work in administrative positions for the Central Hockey League (CHL) office. The CHL is a minor hockey league akin to the Double-A Eastern League in Minor League Baseball. Clyde became the Vice-President of Marketing and Business Development for the league, a job he would stay in for over two years before moving on to work for the ABA 2000 league office, also in Indianapolis. The ABA is a minor league basketball organization that is the descendant of the ABA of the 1970s that competed with the NBA. Clyde was the Chief Operating Officer and Director of League Operations for one year before going back into the corporate world for three years.

He came back to baseball last year, working as the Vice-President of Business Operations for the New Orleans Zephyrs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros.

"After being away from the area for the last 16 years involved in ownership and management of minor league sports teams it's great to be back in the Lehigh Valley," Clyde Smoll said. "My wife Charlene and I are hopeful that our experiences and knowledge from the last 16 years will be helpful in taking the Ambassadors to the next level."

Charlene was the Director of Finance and Administration for the Pioneers and Spinners while the Smolls owned the team. She won the New York-Penn League's Female Executive of the Year Award in 1996 in recognition of her efforts not only with the Spinners, but also of her role with the league office. She was responsible for the financial operations of the league under the direction of league President Robert E. Julian, an attorney from Utica, New York.

Charlene was the Director of Finance and Administration for the CHL for six years, before following Clyde to New Orleans to become the Director of Ticket Operations and Administration for the Zephyrs last year.

Michael Jermain will continue with the Ambassadors as the new Vice-President of Sales/Marketing. Jermain joined the Ambassadors front office last January and has worked in Professional Baseball, in both affiliated and independent leagues, for over nine years.



Canadian American League Stories from December 12, 2003


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Allentown Ambassadors Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central