James W. Smith Betsill was a famous basketball player, union activist and administrator in the surrounding regions of Pittsburgh and Harrisburg in the second half of the twentieth century. In the 1950s, he was a star basketball player who played for the Steubenville Barons. He was offered a chance to play for the Boston Celtics after college, but he played for the All-Army Team from 1958-1960 when he was drafted. He helped settle the Hazelwood riots in 1969. In 1972, he became Western Regional Director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Corrections. He served until 1997. He was responsible for establishing curriculum guidelines for educational opportunities in correctional facilities
From the description of James W. Smith Betsill audiovisual collection 1997 [videotape] (Historical Society of W Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 436149670
