Curt Simmons was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1947 to 1950 and 1952 to 1967.
Simmons was one of the twin cornerstones of the starting rotation of the Philadelphia Phillies’ 1950 National League (NL) championship team, together with right-hander Robin Roberts (a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame).
He was a three-time All-Star with the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and California Angels.
Curt Simmons, former Phillies ace and whiz kid, has died at the age of 93.
The last living member of the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies Whiz Kids squad, Curt Simmons, passed away. He was 93.
The Phillies, who did not provide a cause of death, have announced that he passed away on Tuesday at his home in Ambler, Pennsylvania.
Earlier life of Curt Simmons, Where was he from? What about the Wife and family members
Curt Simmons was born in Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, on May 19, 1929(93 years old). He holds an American nationality and he belongs to the white ethnicity.
His Zodiac sign is Taurus. Curt Simmons graduated from Whitehall High School.
Curt Simmons was predeceased in 2012 by Dorothy, his wife of more than 60 years. They had two boys, Timothy and Thomas, as well as a daughter, Susan.
Early Career
In 1947, Bob Carpenter, the owner of the Philadelphia Phillies at the time, organized an exhibition game between his club and a group of top-tier high school athletes from the Lehigh Valley. In front of a crowd of 4,500 people, the game was played on June 2, 1947, the opening day of Egypt Memorial Park.
The game concluded in a 4-4 draw after Simmons, who began for the high school squad, struck out eleven Phillies (a late-game error was the only thing that prevented the high school team from winning).
The last time Simmons had a winning record was in 1964. He played for St. Louis in 1965 but lost 15 games, and in 1966 and 1967, he completed his career with the Chicago Cubs and California Angels. Over a 20-year period, his ultimate record was 193-182. (.515). Simmons gave up 3,313 hits and 1,063 bases on balls in 569 games and 3,34813 innings of work.
While serving in the military
Curt Simmons missed the whole 1951 season. When he came back, he won 14 games, with a 2.82 earned run average (ERA), and led all of Major League Baseball with six shutouts.
Although Simmons pitched until the late 1950s, the club would never again be a title contender during his time there. He had arm pain in 1959, and the Phillies, who were in last place and in the midst of a rebuild, dismissed him on May 17, 1960, after four starts on the mound.
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Three days later, Simmons joined the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent. While pitching in a rotation alongside Bob Gibson and Ray Sadecki, Simmons started a resurgence that resulted in 15- and 18-game winning seasons in 1963 and 1964, respectively. He participated in the 1964 World Series matchup with the New York Yankees.
He had 163 complete games, 36 shutouts, 1,697 strikeouts, and five saves. Except for Minnie Mioso, who would subsequently unretire twice, Simmons was the last MLB player from the 1940s to publicly retire, along with Smoky Burgess. Hank Aaron and Stan Musial, both players in the MLB Hall of Fame, cited Simmons as the hardest pitcher they had faced.