1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #2 Al Simmons

Sunday, March 17, 2024

#2 Al Simmons - Chicago White Sox

Aloysius Harry Simmons

Chicago White Sox

Outfield

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 5'11" Weight: 190

Born: May 22, 1902, Milwaukee, WI

Major League Teams: Philadelphia Athletics 1924-1932; Chicago White Sox 1933-1935; Detroit Tigers 1936; Washington Senators 1937-1938; Boston Bees 1939; Cincinnati Reds 1939; Philadelphia Athletics 1940-1941; Boston Red Sox 1943; Philadelphia Athletics 1944

World Series Appearances: Philadelphia Athletics 1929-1931; Cincinnati Reds 1939

Died: May 26, 1956, Milwaukee, WI (54)

Hall of Fame Induction: 1953

Outfielder Al Simmons played in 20 big league seasons, batting .334 for his career and winning two World Championships with Connie Mack's (#142) Athletics teams in 1929 and 1930. Those two Championship seasons coincided with Simmons' best years in the majors. He collected 253 hits in 1925, a career-high, league-leading and record-setting single season record by a right-handed batter, as the Athletics slowly became an American League powerhouse. In 1929, Simmons batted .365 with 34 home runs and a league-best 157 RBIs as his team defeated the Cubs in five games in the World Series. The following season, Simmons won his first batting title with a .381 mark while hitting 36 home runs and collecting 165 RBIs. The Athletics, with Simmons batting .364 in the World Series, took down the Cardinals in six games. Another batting title would follow in 1931 with Simmons batting .390. Another pennant resulted, but the Athletics lost the World Series to the Cardinals, and a slow and steady decline for the franchise began.

Mack sold Simmons to the White Sox in September 1932, and Simmons was the starting center fielder for the American League in the first ever All-Star Game played in 1933. He'd make the All-Star team again in 1934 and 1935. Over the final eight seasons of his playing career, Simmons played for six different teams, making two more stops with the Athletics along the way. He retired having batted over .380 in four different seasons and over .330 in nine seasons. Simmons' .334 career batting average is currently 27th all-time and his 2,927 hits are 41st all-time. He had 539 doubles, 307 home runs and 1,828 RBIs. Simmons was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1953 and he joined the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame in 1981, inducted as the Athletics' representative alongside Phillies' great Grover Cleveland Alexander.

Building the Set

March 16, 2024 from Jupiter, FL - Card #104

My chosen profession requires working six days a week beginning in January through at least the end of March, and this will be the 26th year I've spent most Saturdays in the early months of the year toiling away. Our oldest son Doug is in his junior year of high school, and baseball practice has begun in earnest, with scrimmages starting later this week. My work schedule and Doug's baseball schedule conspired against us traveling to the recent Philly Show last weekend, so I decided to have a baseball card show of my own.

I was the winning bidder on this Simmons card and the card of fellow Hall of Famer Charlie Gehringer (#77), in auctions from seller 01sham from Jupiter, Florida. I was the winning and only bidder on both cards, with both having reasonable opening bids. Given the lack of activity on both auctions, an occurrence that's happening a lot more lately, I'm starting to think the pandemic-era boom in vintage baseball cards and set building has finally waned. That's great news for me, as I don't plan to stop collecting, and the remaining 14 cards needed for my Diamond Stars set are all fairly pricey.

Variations Available

1 - 1934 / green back / 1933 statistics / 1934 copyright

2 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1934 copyright ✅

3 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1934 copyright / no SOX on front of jersey

The Card / White Sox Team Set

This is the first version of Simmons' card produced for the set, featuring the SOX logo prominently on the front of his jersey. Following his move from Chicago to Detroit (see below), National Chicle removed the SOX logo from the front of Simmons' jersey and referred to his new Tigers team on the back of the card. The tip on the back of the card discusses the importance of a "long, free follow through" with a batter's power swing.

1935 Season

This was the last of three consecutive All-Star seasons with the White Sox for Simmons. He made 113 starts in center field, another nine starts in left field, and appeared in 128 games overall. By his standards, he had an off-year, batting .267 with 16 home runs and 79 RBIs, the first time his RBI total had dipped below 100 in 11 straight seasons. With the White Sox looking to rebuild, the team sold Simmons to the Tigers on December 10, 1935 for $75,000.