Earnest Maynard 'Ernie' Smith was one of San Francisco's early sports announcers. His education at U.C. Berkeley brought him fame as an athlete, despite the interruption of World War I, where he gained the rank of Captain with the U.S. Army. He held the Pacific Coast swimming championship for five years, and won the national water polo championship in 1920.

Early work as a sports writer introduced him to broadcasting at KYA, and he was heard up and down the coast on the short-lived ABC network and later on NBC. He was heard broadcasting a wide variety of sporting events from San Francisco , including baseball, football, wrestling, boxing, crew races, track meets and even parades. His enthusiastic, detailed descriptions of sporting events won him a loyal following among radio listeners.