Curt Simmons
| Curt Simmons | |||
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| Pitcher | |||
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Born: May 19, 1929 Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania |
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| 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 | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
Curtis Thomas "Curt" Simmons (born May 19, 1929) is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1947 to 1950 and 1952 to 1967. With right-hander Robin Roberts, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Simmons was one of the twin anchors of the starting rotation of the "Whiz Kids", the Philadelphia Phillies' 1950 National League championship team. He is the youngest surviving player from the team.
While attending Whitehall High School, Simmons led his high school team to three straight league titles, and also led the Coplay American Legion team to two Pennsylvania state crowns.
In 1947, Philadelphia Phillies owner Bob Carpenter arranged for an exhibition match between the Phillies and a team of all-star high school players from the Lehigh Valley. The game was played on the opening day of Egypt Memorial Park in front of a crowd of 4,500. Much to the surprise of the Phillies, Simmons struck out eleven and the game ended in a 4-4 tie (in fact, a late-game error was the only thing that prevented the high school team from winning). Simmons was signed by the Phillies, and was awarded a $65,000 signing bonus, one of the highest ever awarded at that time. That spring, Simmons also pitched and played outfield for an All-American high school game between teams managed by Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. In 1949, Simmons would return to the Lehigh Valley, pitching for the Phillies in an exhibition match (and 10-3 win) against the Allentown Redbirds in front of a record crowd of 4,590 at Whitehall's Breadon Field.
Simmons won 17 of 25 decisions during the 1950 season, playing a major role in bringing Philadelphia its second NL championship of the 20th century. But, with the outbreak of the Korean War, Simmons was called to active military service in September 1950, with only a month remaining in the campaign. His absence from the Phils' rotation almost caused a swoon akin to the Quakers' 1964 collapse, but the underdog Whiz Kids, a collection of young players (Roberts, Simmons, Richie Ashburn, Del Ennis, Willie Jones, Granny Hamner, etc.), managed to hold off the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1950 season's final contest (on Dick Sisler's 10th-inning home run) to win the NL flag by two games.
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