Silas Joseph Simmons (October 14, 1895 – October 29, 2006) was an American semi-professional and

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

player for African-American teams in the pre-

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

era, and became the longest-lived major league player in history. The previous record was held by Red Hoff, who died at age 107 in 1998.

Early life

Simmons was born in

Middletown, Delaware Middletown is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the town is 18,871. Geography and climate Middletown is located at (39.4495560, –75.7163207) with an elevation of . According ...

Career

Simmons was a five-foot-ten, left-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

, and began playing for the Germantown Blue Ribbons, a semi-pro team, in 1911. In

1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not venture for the rest of the ...

, the Blue Ribbons became a professional team and were renamed the

Homestead Grays The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 by Cumberland Posey, and remained in continuo ...

, a team that quickly became a Negro leagues powerhouse. In

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos (general), Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Kingdom of Hejaz, Hejaz. ** Bảo Đại, Crown Prince Nguyễn P ...

, Simmons pitched for the New York Lincoln Giants of the

Eastern Colored League The Mutual Association of Eastern Colored Clubs, more commonly known as the Eastern Colored League (ECL), was one of the several Negro leagues, which operated during the time organized baseball was segregated. League history Founding The ECL ...

and appeared in at least one game in 1929 for the New York-based

Cuban Stars (East) The Cuban Stars (East) were a team of professional baseball players from Cuba and other Latin American countries who competed in the Negro leagues in the eastern United States from 1916 to 1933. They generally were a traveling team that playe ...

of the Negro National League. During his career, Simmons played on the same team as Hall of Famer

John Henry Lloyd John Henry Lloyd (April 25, 1884 – March 19, 1964), nicknamed "Pop" and "El Cuchara", was an American baseball shortstop and manager in the Negro leagues. During his 27-year career, he played for many teams and had a .343 batting average. Lloy ...

and against Hall of Famers

Judy Johnson William Julius "Judy" Johnson (October 26, 1899 – June 15, 1989) was an American professional third baseman and manager whose career in Negro league baseball spanned 17 seasons, from 1921 to 1937. Slight of build, Johnson never developed as ...

and

Biz Mackey James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey (July 27, 1897 – September 22, 1965) was an American catcher and manager in Negro league baseball. He played for the Indianapolis ABCs (1920–1922), New York Lincoln Giants (1920), Hilldale Daisies (1923–1931), ...

. Simmons ended his baseball career soon after 1929.

Personal life

Simmons was married in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

by Rev. John L. Lee on September 15, 1915 to Mary L. "Mamie" Smith (July 19, 1896 – ca. 1944). He and his wife Mary had five children and settled into life as a porter. He later became an assistant manager at Rosenbaum's Department Store in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a City (New Jersey), city in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."R. J. Goerke Co. during the early 1960s, and was among the employees to receive an award for safety. In 1971, he retired to St. Petersburg, Florida. After 40 years of marriage, Rebecca died at the age of 96 in 1997.

Rediscovery and death

In the fall of 2005, David Allen Lambert a

genealogist Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

at the

New England Historic Genealogical Society The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is the oldest and largest genealogical society in the United States, founded in 1845. NEHGS provides family history services through its staff, original scholarship, website, Revel also organized a 111th birthday celebration for Simmons, in 2006, which included approximately 30 former Negro leagues players from around Florida. A plaque was presented to Simmons on his birthday on behalf of the

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New Y ...

. Simmons was also presented a team jersey with number "111" from the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

. Simmons died 15 days later at the Westminster Suncoast Nursing Home in St. Petersburg, having outlived all five of his children. At the time of his death Simmons had nine grandchildren, several great-grandchildren, and many great-great grandchildren. Simmons is also one of the two known professional athletes to have been born in the 19th century and died in the 21st century, the other being Karl Swanson (1900-2002).

References

External links

an
Seamheads

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070612131746/http://www.sabr.org/sabr.cfm?a=cms,c,1971,3,158 Article Silas Simmons' passing as announced by the Society of American Baseball Research
''New York Times'' article
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Silas Joseph African-American centenarians American supercentenarians Men supercentenarians Homestead Grays players Lincoln Giants players Baseball players from Delaware Baseball players from St. Petersburg, Florida People from Middletown, Delaware 1895 births 2006 deaths 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people