Curt Simmons

Curt Simmons
Curt Simmons
	Baseball card of Simmons with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1953
	Pitcher
	Born: May 19, 1929; Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, U.S.
	Died: December 13, 2022 (aged 93); Ambler, Pennsylvania, U.S.
	Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
	September 28, 1947, for the Philadelphia Phillies
Last MLB appearance
	October 1, 1967, for the California Angels
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	193–183
Earned run average	3.54
Strikeouts	1,697
Teams
	Philadelphia Phillies (1947–1960); St. Louis Cardinals (1960–1966); Chicago Cubs (1966–1967); California Angels (1967);
Career highlights and awards
	3× All-Star (1952, 1953, 1957); World Series champion (1964); Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame;

Curtis Thomas Simmons (May 19, 1929 – December 13, 2022) was an American professional

California Angels

.

Early life and education

Simmons was born in Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. He attended Whitehall High School, where he led Whitehall to three straight league titles and also led the Coplay American Legion team to two Pennsylvania state crowns.^[1]

Major League Baseball

Philadelphia Phillies

In

All-American high school game between teams managed by Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb

.

In 1949, Simmons returned to the Lehigh Valley, pitching for the Phillies in an exhibition match against the Allentown Redbirds, in front of a record crowd of 4,590 at Breadon Field in Whitehall Township.

In the

decisions, playing an instrumental role in bringing the Phillies their second National League

championship of the 20th century.

With the outbreak of the

Camp Atterbury and requested and was granted leave on October 4, 1950, to attend the Series. The Phillies chose not to request that the Commissioner of Baseball Happy Chandler rule Simmons eligible for the World Series, but Simmons attended it in support the team. Simmons' place on the World Series roster was taken by pitcher Jocko Thompson.^[3] Without Simmons, the Phillies were swept in four games by Joe DiMaggio and the New York Yankees

.

Simmons missed the entire

1951 season while stationed in Korea with the military, but he returned in the 1952 season, winning 14 games, posting a 2.82 earned run average (ERA), and leading Major League Baseball

with six shutouts. But the Phillies would never again contend for a championship during his tenure in Philadelphia, although Simmons continued to pitch with the Phillies into the late 1950s.

St. Louis Cardinals

In 1959, he was struck with a sore arm. In 1960, the Philadelphia Phillies, then in last place and in rebuilding mode, released Simmons on May 17, 1960, after four mound appearances. Simmons signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals three days later, and began a comeback that culminated in 15- and 18-game-winning seasons in 1963 and 1964, respectively, while in a pitching rotation that included Bob Gibson and Ray Sadecki. In 1964, he appeared in the World Series against the New York Yankees, starting World Series games for the world champion Cardinals, losing his only decision but compiling a 2.51 ERA.

Simmons’ last winning record was in 1964; he lost 15 games for the Cardinals in 1965.

Chicago Cubs and California Angels

Simmons finished his

California Angels in 1967

.

Along with Smoky Burgess, Simmons was the last player to formally retire who had played in Major League Baseball in the 1940s not counting Minnie Miñoso, who would later twice un-retire. MLB Hall of Fame hitters Hank Aaron^[4] and Stan Musial^[5] each separately named Simmons as the toughest pitcher they had to face in their careers.

Over his two decade career in Major League Baseball, Simmons' final

complete games, 36 shutouts, and five saves

.

Death

Simmons died on December 13, 2022, in Ambler, Pennsylvania, at the age of 93.^[6] At the time of his death, Simmons was the last Philadelphia Phillies player from the 1940s, and the last living member of the 1950 Phillies National League pennant winning team, nicknamed the Whiz Kids because of the team's youth.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b Bostrom, Don (April 10, 2008). "Phils hadn't played here in six decades". Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Curt Simmons Fans 11 Phils; Egypt Tied". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. June 3, 1947. p. 24.
^ "Curt Simmons Given Leave For Series". Toledo Blade. Toledo, Ohio. October 4, 1950. p. 33.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ John, Andrew L. (February 14, 2016). "Hank Aaron, Bud Selig speak at Indian Wells fundraiser". The Desert Sun. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
^ Kunda, John (May 21, 1991). "The Hall's Yearbook Has It All". The Morning Call. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
^ "Curt Simmons, member of 1950 'Whiz Kids,' dies at 93". MLB. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
^ "The Oldest Living Major League Baseball Players". Retrieved 13 December 2022.

External links

Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
Curt Simmons at the SABR Baseball Biography Project
Curt Simmons at Baseball Almanac
Curt Simmons at Baseballbiography.com

[Simmons-1] Bostrom, Don (April 10, 2008). "Phils hadn't played here in six decades". Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania.^{[permanent dead link]}

[2] "Curt Simmons Fans 11 Phils; Egypt Tied". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. June 3, 1947. p. 24.

[3] "Curt Simmons Given Leave For Series". Toledo Blade. Toledo, Ohio. October 4, 1950. p. 33.^{[permanent dead link]}

[4] John, Andrew L. (February 14, 2016). "Hank Aaron, Bud Selig speak at Indian Wells fundraiser". The Desert Sun. Retrieved 22 May 2017.

[5] Kunda, John (May 21, 1991). "The Hall's Yearbook Has It All". The Morning Call. Retrieved 22 May 2017.

[6] "Curt Simmons, member of 1950 'Whiz Kids,' dies at 93". MLB. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.

[old-7] "The Oldest Living Major League Baseball Players". Retrieved 13 December 2022.

[1]

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[4]

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[7]

v t e St. Louis Cardinals 1964 World Series champions
9 Bob Uecker 11 Jerry Buchek 12 Bill White 14 Ken Boyer (NL MVP) 15 Tim McCarver 17 Carl Warwick 18 Mike Shannon 19 Bob Skinner 20 Lou Brock 21 Curt Flood 22 Gordie Richardson 23 Charlie James 24 Dick Groat 25 Julián Javier 26 Ed Spiezio 27 Dal Maxvill 31 Curt Simmons 33 Barney Schultz 35 Mike Cuellar 37 Ray Sadecki 39 Ron Taylor 41 Roger Craig 44 Ray Washburn 45 Bob Gibson (World Series MVP) 47 Bob Humphreys
Manager 5 Johnny Keane Coaches 2 Red Schoendienst 3 Joe Schultz Jr. 4 Howie Pollet 8 Vern Benson
Regular season

v t e Members of the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame
Inducted as Phillies	Roberts Ashburn Klein Alexander Ennis Bunning Delahanty Williams Hamner Owens Carlton Schmidt Bowa Short Simmons Allen Jones Thompson Callison Luzinski McGraw Cravath Maddox Taylor Magee Hamilton Boone Green Vukovich Samuel Kalas Daulton Kruk Lieberthal Schilling Manuel Burrell Thome Gillick Halladay Abreu Trillo McBride Reed Carpenter Quinn Rolen
Inducted as Athletics	Mack Foxx Grove Simmons Cochrane Dykes Plank Waddell Collins Moses Johnson Valo Bender Coombs Baker Shantz Joost Rommel Fain Miller Chapman Earnshaw Zernial Walberg Oldring