View source for Al Simmons

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Short description|American baseball player (1902–1956)}}
{{other people}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Al Simmons
|image=Simmons, Phila., 1924 LOC npcc.10883 (cropped).jpg
|caption=Simmons in 1924
|position=[[Outfielder]]
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{birth date|1902|5|22}}
|birth_place=[[Milwaukee]], Wisconsin, U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1956|5|26|1902|5|22}}
|death_place=Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=April 15 
|debutyear=1924
|debutteam=Philadelphia Athletics
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=July 1
|finalyear=1944
|finalteam=Philadelphia Athletics
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.334
|stat2label=[[Hit (baseball)|Hits]]
|stat2value=2,927
|stat3label=[[Home run]]s
|stat3value=307
|stat4label=[[Runs batted in]]
|stat4value=1,828
|teams=
* [[Philadelphia Athletics]] ({{mlby|1924}}–{{mlby|1932}})
* [[Chicago White Sox]] ({{mlby|1933}}–{{mlby|1935}})
* [[Detroit Tigers]] ({{mlby|1936}})
* [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] ({{mlby|1937}}–{{mlby|1938}})
* [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Bees]] ({{mlby|1939}})
* [[Cincinnati Reds]] ({{mlby|1939}})
* [[Philadelphia Athletics]] ({{mlby|1940}}–{{mlby|1941}})
* [[Boston Red Sox]] ({{mlby|1943}})
* [[Philadelphia Athletics]] ({{mlby|1944}})
|highlights=
* 3× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1933 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1933]]–[[1935 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1935]])
* 2× [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1929}}, {{wsy|1930}})
* 2× [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions|AL batting champion]] (1930, 1931)
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders|AL RBI leader]] (1929)
* [[Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame]]
* [[Athletics Hall of Fame]]
|hoflink = National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
|hoftype = National
|hofdate=[[1953 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1953]]
|hofvote=75.4% (ninth ballot)
}}
'''Aloysius Harry Simmons''' (born '''Alois Szymanski''';<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/simmoal01.shtml Al Simmons] at baseball-reference.com, accessed January 19, 2011.</ref> May 22, 1902 – May 26, 1956) was an American professional [[baseball]] [[outfielder]] who played 20 seasons in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB). Nicknamed "'''Bucketfoot Al'''", he had his best years with [[Connie Mack]]'s [[Philadelphia Athletics]] during the late 1920s and early 1930s, winning two [[World Series]] with the team. Simmons also played for the [[Chicago White Sox]], [[Detroit Tigers]], [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]], [[Boston Braves|Boston Bees]], [[Cincinnati Reds]] and [[Boston Red Sox]]. After his playing career ended, Simmons served as a coach for the Athletics and [[Cleveland Guardians|Cleveland Indians]]. A career .334 hitter, Simmons was inducted into the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1953.

==Early life==
Simmons was born in [[Milwaukee]] and grew up as a fan of the [[Philadelphia Athletics]]. In the fourth grade, he received a spanking from his father for insisting that he wanted to play professional baseball. When he persisted in asserting his desire to be a baseball player, his father replied that he had better become a good player. Simmons was known by his birth surname (Szymanski), until he was playing for a local minor league team and he was tired of hearing people mispronounce it. He saw an advertisement for a company named Simmons Hardware and decided to take on the last name of Simmons.<ref name=PCB>{{cite web|title=Szymanski, Aloysius Harry (Al Simmons)|url=http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Simmons__Al.html|publisher=Pennsylvania Center for the Book|access-date=December 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515213656/http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Simmons__Al.html|archive-date=May 15, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Playing career==

===Philadelphia Athletics (1924–1932)===
In 1925, his second season with Philadelphia, Simmons led the AL with 253 [[hit (baseball)|hits]] and 392 total bases, while posting a .387 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]], 24 [[home run]]s and 129 [[run batted in|runs batted in]] (RBI). He scored 122 runs, hit 43 [[double (baseball)|doubles]], and finished with a .599 [[slugging percentage]]. Simmons' 85 multi-hit games constitute a single-season MLB record.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/tiny/iBcyA|title=Batting Game Finder, From 1913 to 2017, (requiring H>=2)|publisher=Baseball Reference|access-date=August 1, 2017}}</ref> He earned the second-most votes for the league's [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player Award]]. In the following three seasons, he hit .341, .392 and .351 and drove in 110, 108 and 107 runs in those respective years, while finishing fifth in 1926 MVP voting and fourth in 1927.

Simmons led the A's to the AL pennant in 1929, as Philadelphia went 104–46, finishing 18 games ahead of the [[New York Yankees]]. The A's went on to defeat the [[Chicago Cubs]] in five games to win the [[World Series]]. That season, he hit .365 with 34 home runs and led the AL with 157 RBI. He also scored 114 runs, had 212 hits with 41 doubles and a .642 slugging percentage. In the [[1929 World Series]], Simmons batted .300 with two home runs, five RBIs and scored six runs.

[[File:Al Simmons holding bats (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|170px|Simmons in an undated photograph]]

Simmons' best year as a player was in 1930, when he won his first of successive batting titles, hitting .381 with 36 home runs, 211 hits, 41 doubles and 16 triples. He had a slugging percentage of .708, drove in 165 runs and scored 152 runs in 138 games. The A's won the AL pennant again, going 102–52, and defeated the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] to win back-to-back World Series titles. In the [[1930 World Series]], Simmons batted .364 with two home runs and four RBI with a .727 slugging percentage.

In 1931, the A's won their third straight AL pennant, by 13.5 games over the Yankees, going 107–45. Simmons won his second batting title, hitting .390 with 22 home runs, 128 RBI, 100 runs scored, 200 hits, 37 doubles, 13 triples and a .641 slugging percentage while playing in only 128 games. He finished third in AL MVP voting behind his MVP teammate [[Lefty Grove]] and the Yankees' [[Lou Gehrig]]. The A's were upset in their quest for a third consecutive World Series title, losing the [[1931 World Series]] in seven games to the Cardinals. Simmons hit .333 with two home runs and eight RBI in the series.

In a final season with Philadelphia, Simmons led the AL with 216 hits. He batted .322, with 35 home runs, 151 RBIs and 144 runs scored in 1932. Simmons finished his Athletics tenure with a .356 batting average, 209 home runs, 1,179 RBI and 969 runs scored in 1,290 games. He drove in 100+ runs in all nine seasons and scored 100 or more runs in five seasons. In three World Series appearances for the A's, Simmons hit .333 with six home runs, 17 RBI and 15 runs scored in 18 games.

===Later career (1933–1944)===
In late September 1932, the Athletics sold Simmons, [[Mule Haas]] and [[Jimmy Dykes]] to the [[Chicago White Sox]] for cash. The amount of the purchase was not disclosed at the time the sale was reported, though it was said to be the largest cash purchase ever made by the White Sox and possibly the largest purchase in AL history. Newspaper reports speculated that Athletics owner [[Connie Mack]] might be breaking apart the Athletics team that had been so successful between 1929 and 1931.<ref name=Tuscaloosa>{{cite news|title=Athletics sell three big stars to Chicago Sox|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19320930&id=LHE-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=PUwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5110,3469634|access-date=January 21, 2015|work=[[The Tuscaloosa News]]|date=September 30, 1932}}</ref>

During his first season in Chicago, Simmons batted .331 with 14 home runs, 119 RBI and 200 hits. In 1934, he batted .344 with 18 home runs, 104 RBI, 102 runs scored and 192 hits in 138 games. After a disappointing final season with the White Sox, which saw Simmons bat just. 267 with 16 home runs and 79 RBI in 128 games (the first time in his 11-year career he did not reach .300 and 100+ RBI), he rebounded by hitting .327 with 13 home runs, 112 RBI and 96 runs scored in 1936 for the [[Detroit Tigers]].

In 1937, he struggled again, this time with the [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]], batting just .279 with 8 home runs and 84 RBIs in 103 games. He rebounded with a stellar season in 1938, batting .302 with 21 home runs and 95 RBI in just 125 games for Washington. His 21 home runs that year gave Simmons the distinction of being the first player to hit 20 home runs in a year for the Senators.

Simmons was purchased from the Senators by the [[Boston Braves|Boston Bees]] in December 1938. The purchase price was not immediately revealed, though Simmons was reported as not getting along with Senators owner [[Clark Griffith]].<ref name=Milwaukee>{{cite news|title=Al Simmons sold to the Boston Bees|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19381229&id=cKBQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ESIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6681,3426031|access-date=January 21, 2015|work=[[The Milwaukee Journal]]|date=December 29, 1938}}{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> 

Simmons was purchased from the Bees by the [[Cincinnati Reds]] on August 31, 1939. The Reds won the NL pennant that year, and Simmons got to play in his final [[World Series]]. He played in one game in the [[1939 World Series]], going one for four with a double and a run scored.

Simmons played in the major leagues until 1944, when he finished his career with his original team, the Philadelphia Athletics.

===Overview===
Simmons was one of the best hitters in MLB history. He had a career batting average of .334. He hit .340 or better in eight different seasons, with four seasons of better than .380. He recorded a .300 batting average and 100 or more RBI in his first 11 major league seasons.

Simmons accumulated 1,500 hits in 1,040 games and 2,000 hits in 1,393 games, numbers that remain the fewest games needed to attain both marks in major league history. He compiled 200 hits or better in a season six times, with five of those being consecutive (1929–33), and had 199 and 192 hits in 1926 and 1934. He compiled more hits than any right-handed batter in AL history until surpassed by [[Al Kaline]].

Simmons recorded 8 five-hit games and 52 four-hit games in the majors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/S/PX_simma101.htm|title=Al Simmons top performances at retrosheet.org.|website=retrosheet.org|access-date=September 24, 2022}}</ref>

Simmons hit 307 career home runs, finishing in the top six in AL in home runs for seven consecutive seasons (1925–32). In 19 [[World Series]] games, he hit .329 with 6 home runs, 17 RBI, 15 runs scored and a .658 slugging percentage. He was also a fine outfielder in his era, recording a career .982 fielding percentage. He recorded exactly 5,000 [[putouts]] in his MLB career.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://baseball-reference.com/players/s/simmoal01.shtml|title=Al Simmons Career Statistics At Baseball Reference|website=baseball-reference.com|accessdate= December 22, 2023}}</ref>

Simmons was nicknamed "Bucketfoot Al" because he strode toward third base when hitting, hence hitting "[[Glossary_of_English-language_idioms_derived_from_baseball#foot_in_the_bucket|with his foot in the bucket]]", an old baseball term.<ref>[http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/cd6ca572 Al Simmons]. Article by Fred Stein. ''SABR Biography Project''. Retrieved on March 7, 2018.</ref>

===Career statistics===
{| class="wikitable"
!Category!!Years!![[Games played|G]]!![[At bat|AB]]!![[Run (baseball)|R]]!![[Hit (baseball)|H]]!![[Double (baseball)|2B]]!![[Triple (baseball)|3B]]!![[Home run|HR]]!![[Runs batted in|RBI]]!![[Stolen base|SB]]!![[Bases on balls|BB]]!![[Batting average (baseball)|AVG]]!![[On-base percentage|OBP]]!![[Slugging percentage|SLG]]!![[On-base plus slugging|OPS]]||[[Fielding percentage|FLD%]]
|-
|Total||20||2,215||8,759||1,507||2,927||539||149||307||1,828||88||615||.334||.380||.535||.915||.982
|}
Source:[https://baseball-reference.com/players/s/simmoal01.shtml]

==Later life and legacy==
After his playing days ended, Simmons served as a [[coach (baseball)|coach]] for Mack's Athletics (1945–49) and the [[Cleveland Guardians|Cleveland Indians]] (1950). In early April 1951, Simmons announced he was dealing with an undisclosed illness and would be stepping down as a coach of the Indians. While Cleveland manager [[Al López]] encouraged Simmons to think about his decision, Simmons said he could no longer help the team.<ref name=Blade>{{cite news|title=Illness forces Simmons to quit as Indian coach|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19510404&id=M2cxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SAAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4588,1979376|access-date=January 21, 2015|work=[[Toledo Blade]]|date=April 4, 1951}}</ref>

Simmons died on May 26, 1956. He had collapsed on a sidewalk near the [[Milwaukee Athletic Club]], where he lived, and was thought to have suffered a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]]. He was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later.<ref name=Miami>{{cite news|title=Al Simmons left enviable record|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2206&dat=19560527&id=9BtXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WEMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2875,3910356|access-date=January 21, 2015|work=[[The Miami News]]|date=May 27, 1956}}{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> He was buried at St. Adalbert's Cemetery in Milwaukee.

Simmons was elected to the [[Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame]] in 1951, the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953, and the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 1975.<ref>[http://polishsportshof.com/inductees/baseball/al-simmons/ Al Simmons « National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928090401/http://polishsportshof.com/inductees/baseball/al-simmons/ |date=September 28, 2013 }}</ref>

In 1999, Simmons ranked number 43 on ''[[The Sporting News]]''{{'}} list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was a nominee for the [[Major League Baseball All-Century Team]]. In the 2001 book ''[[The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract|The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract]]'', [[Bill James]] ranked Simmons as the 71st greatest baseball player of all time and the seventh greatest MLB left fielder of all time.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
{{div col}}
* [[List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career total bases leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career batting average leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career slugging percentage leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career OPS leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Al Simmons (baseball)|Al Simmons}}
*{{Baseball Hall of Fame profile|simmons-al}}
*{{Baseballstats|mlb=122240|espn=27533|br=s/simmoal01|fangraphs=1011978|brm=simmon001alo|retro=S/Psimma101}}
*{{SABR Baseball Biography Project|cd6ca572}}
*[https://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Obits_S/Simmons.Al.Obit.html Al Simmons] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200123023301/http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Obits_S/Simmons.Al.Obit.html |date=January 23, 2020 }} at The Deadball Era
*{{find a Grave|2404}}

{{AL batting title}}
{{AL RBI champions}}
{{1929 Philadelphia Athletics}}
{{1930 Philadelphia Athletics}}
{{Oakland Athletics HOF}}
{{1953 Baseball HOF}}
{{Baseball Hall of Fame members}}
{{Philly Baseball Wall of Fame}}
{{Oakland Athletics Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Al}}
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:American League All-Stars]]
[[Category:American League batting champions]]
[[Category:American League RBI champions]]
[[Category:American people of Polish descent]]
[[Category:American Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Milwaukee]]
[[Category:Boston Braves players]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox players]]
[[Category:Chicago White Sox players]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds players]]
[[Category:Cleveland Indians coaches]]
[[Category:Detroit Tigers players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball outfielders]]
[[Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Athletics coaches]]
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[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Washington Senators (1901–1960) players]]
[[Category:Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players]]
[[Category:Aberdeen Grays players]]
[[Category:Shreveport Gassers players]]