Shenk: Phillies played in Egypt to sign Curt Simmons

Courting Curt Simmons

By Larry Shenk

Philadelphia Phillies

Happy Birthday today to Curt Simmons, 91 candles. Spent 13 of his 20 big-league seasons with Phillies. 115 wins rank fifth all-time for the Phils. 17-8 with 1950 NL champion Whiz Kids. Missed final four weeks & World Series because of active duty with the Army.

Before the draft came along in 1965, scouts were also expected to be salesmen. In addition to judging talent and heart, they needed to get to know the prospect, his coach, buddies, parents and girlfriend. They were competing against scouts from every major league team.

Curt Simmons grew up in a small town, Egypt, north of Allentown, Pa. He was on every team’s radar, a hard-throwing left-handed pitcher. While attending Whitehall High School, Simmons led his team to three straight league titles and also led the Coplay American Legion team to two Pennsylvania state crowns.

“The scouts used to sit on the front porch because they didn’t want to miss a thing,” Simmons once said. “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 were idle on Monday, June 2, 1947. Owner Bob Carpenter sent the team to Egypt Park for an exhibition game against Curt, who would pitch for the town team that competed in the local Twilight League. Somehow, I don’t imagine that happening these days.

The day before the Phillies lost to the Chicago Cubs, 4-3, at Shibe Park. Two Cubs pitchers combined to strike out 11 Phillies.

Facing Simmons, the Phillies wound up in a 4-4, nine-inning tie, 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.

Next day, the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox scouts offered a $58,000 signing bonus to Curt. “That was a lot of money, but dad had told the Phillies, they would have the last crack.”

Morgan offered $60,000 plus a promise the Phillies would call him up in September and give him an additional $5,000. It was the biggest signing bonus in baseball. Morgan’s salesmanship paid off.

Following graduation on June 16, 18-year-old Simmons reported to the Wilmington (DE) Blue Rocks in the Interstate League. His first start there drew 7,000 fans largest crowd in Blue Rocks history. After a 13-5 record in Class B, the Phillies called him in for the final month. He made his major league debut in the season’s final game, a 3-1 win over the New York Giants.