Phillies alumni: Courting Curt Simmons
The Phillies did something on June 2, 1947, that’s never been done since and might never be done again. The scene 75 years ago was Egypt Memorial Park, located in a small town about seven miles north of Allentown, Pa.
Curt Simmons, an 18-year-old hard-throwing high school left-handed pitcher, was on every team’s radar. Scouts flocked to see him dominate at Whitehall High School.
“The scouts used to sit on the front porch because they didn’t want to miss a thing,” Simmons said in an interview a few years ago. “I remember mom got so annoyed that she chased them off the porch.
“Cy Morgan was the Phillies’ scout. Dad finally told him, ‘Why don’t you bring your team here to play our team?’ Cy carried the message back to the Phillies’ offices.”
The Phillies had a day off on Monday, June 2, 1947. Owner Bob Carpenter sent the team to Egypt Park for an exhibition game against Simmons, who pitched for the town team that would compete in the Twilight League. The day before, the Phillies had lost to the Cubs, 4-3, at Shibe Park.
Facing Simmons the next day, the Phillies wound up in a 4-4, nine-inning tie in a game called by darkness. Except for shortstop, the Phillies fielded the same starting lineup that faced the Cubs. Simmons held the Phillies to seven hits, walked three and struck out 11. An error led to an eighth-inning, game-tying run that kept the Phillies from losing.
The crowd was estimated at 5,000, including nearly a dozen baseball scouts. The next day, the Tigers and Red Sox scouts offered Simmons a $58,000 signing bonus.
“That was a lot of money, but dad had told the Phillies they would have the last crack,” said Simmons.
Morgan offered Simmons $60,000, plus a promise the Phillies would call him up in September and give him an additional $5,000. Morgan’s salesmanship paid off.
Curt graduated on June 5, owner of the biggest bonus of that era. His pro career began with the Blue Rocks in Wilmington, Del., a few days later.
True to Morgan’s word, Simmons made his Major League debut in the second game of a Sept. 28 doubleheader against the Giants. He won the last game of the season, 3-1, a complete-game five-hitter with six walks and nine strikeouts. He lost the shutout on a two-out base hit in the top of the ninth.
On June 2, 2012, to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Phillies playing in Egypt, the community honored their most famous resident on “Curt Simmons Day.” Festivities began with a parade. Representing the Phillies, Dallas Green, David Montgomery and I got to ride in individual cars that Saturday afternoon. The parade went past a modest, two-story house on Main Street. A sign strung across the porch simply read, "Welcome Home, Curt."
The afternoon ended with a ceremony at the bandstand that was part of Egypt Memorial Park. To Simmons’ surprise, the ballfield was named Simmons Field.
Simmons observed his 93rd birthday this May 19. He’s the last surviving member of the 1950 Whiz Kids, who won the National League pennant. At that time, his Army Reserve unit was on active duty, and he couldn’t pitch in the World Series.
Following 13 seasons and a 115-110 record with the Phillies, Simmons spent seven years pitching in St. Louis and compiled a 69-58 record. He got to pitch in the 1964 World Series, in which the Cardinals beat the Yankees in seven games, because the Phillies collapsed down the stretch and blew their chance at a pennant.
“Here I was trying to get as many Phillies World Series tickets as possible for my many friends in Philadelphia,” Simmons said. “Next thing I know, I’m going to the Series with the Cardinals but only needed a couple of tickets because I only had a couple of friends there.”
Simmons, normally a man of few words, is credited with one memorable quote: "Trying to throw a fastball by Henry Aaron is like trying to sneak a sunrise past a rooster."