Al Simmons was a premier hitter and left fielder for Connie Mack’s formidable Philadelphia Athletics from 1924 to 1932, hitting .308 with 102 RBIs in his freshman year. He had a breakthrough season the following year with a sensational .387 average.

In 1929 he led the American League with 157 RBIs while hitting .365 and was the AL MVP. In 1930 and 1931 he had league-leading .381 and .390 averages. In his last season with Connie Mack in 1932, he hit .322 while again leading the league in hits, with 216.

On the field, Simmons was a warrior, intent on damaging the opposition and demolishing pitchers with his bat, stifling opposing teams’ rallies with his glove, and upsetting infielders with violent takeout slides. He never lost his intensity for baseball even when he was a coach after his playing days.

Toward the end of his playing career, he was purchased from the Washington Senators by the Boston Bees (Braves) in December 1938.

On opening day in 1939, he had three hits, playing left field at the Bee Hive (Braves Field). On June 18th he enjoyed another three-hit afternoon, with a double against Cincinnati. On July 9th he homered and had three hits against the Phillies. In August he was traded to the Reds, but he played in 93 games, he batted .282 while with the Bees.

Simmons retired and coached in 1942 but with the World War II military demands for younger players, he came out of retirement and appeared in 40 games for the Red Sox in 1943.

On May 1st he played left field and was 2-for-4 and got two more hits, including a double in the next game against his old team, the Philadelphia A's. A couple of weeks later he had another two-hit day with a double against the Browns. He finished the year with a .203 batting average.

Al Simmons had a lifetime batting average of .334 with 2,927 base hits (including 539 doubles) and 1,828 RBIs. He holds the major league record for reaching 1,500 hits in the fewest games at 1,040, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown in 1953.