Al Simmons, at top form in the Roaring Twenties, sparked one of baseball’s greatest dynasties, the Philadelphia Athletics, to multiple championships, before becoming just another ballplayer. While his achievements demonstrated greatness, he was not an easy man to like—for those competing against him or with him—and he seemed to play to the level of team expectation. Contemporary accounts and other recollections give us a sense of Al Simmons the person and the ballplayer, his connections to people, his teams and his ability to capture the fans’ imagination in his halcyon days.

Clifton Blue Parker is a magazine editor at the University of California, Davis, and a former newspaper journalist and Congressional press secretary. A member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), he lives in Davis, California.

Clifton Blue Parker
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 251
Bibliographic Info: 21 photos, tables, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2011
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6143-1
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8640-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      ix
Introduction: Swaggering Shooting Star      1

1. Sultan of the Milwaukee Sandlots      5
2. Bucketfoot Swings and a New Name      12
3. Milwaukee’s Best      20
4. Athletic Ambitions      29
5. Sophomore Breakout      39
6. “Best Centerfielder”      45
7. Ty Cobb and Long Flannel Sleeves      53
8. Nurturing the Nucleus      62
9. Building a Dynasty      71
10. Hard Times and World Champions Again      86
11. “No Reason to Be Friendly”      101
12. Woe to White Elephants      115
13. New Socks for the Sox      126
14. Changes in Chicago      137
15. Tail of the Tiger      151
16. Mr. Simmons Leaves Washington      164
17. Chasing Three Thousand      172
18. Twilight Times      181
19. Coaching the A’s and Indians      191
20. Cooperstown Comes Calling      200
21. Analyzing Al Simmons      208

Appendix: Al Simmons Statistics      215
Notes      219
Bibliography      235
Index      239