There was a fascinating piece by Alan Schwarz in yesterday's New York Times about Silas Simmons, a Negro Leagues legend of the early 20th century who was recently found to be living in a Florida nursing home. Simmons will celebrate a birthday next month- his 111th.
Simmons, born in 1895 and now living in his third century, played for the Homestead Greys and several other Negro League teams, and while baseball historians knew who he was, they had no idea until a couple of months ago that he was still alive. This has led several of those historians to Simmons' nursing home room, where they've heard him tell stories about baseball decades prior to Jackie Robinson.
We were all charmed by Buck O'Neil, the 94-year-old legend who starred in Ken Burns' "Baseball" and spoke at this past summer's Hall of Fame induction. Simmons is 17 years older than O'Neil. He also plans to attend an upcoming reunion of Negro Leaguers- even though most those attending are in their 70s and 80s, and Simmons never knew any of them.
Posted by Stephen Silver at September 27, 2006 11:12 AMI hope Simmons refers to the other players as "those young whippersnappers."
Posted by: Gib at September 27, 2006 11:38 AMApparently, according to the article, Si Simmons grew up in Philly.
Posted by: LilB at September 27, 2006 04:19 PMSilas Simmons to Receive Replica 1913 Homestead Grays Jersey from Ebbets Field Flannels
Posted by: Maria Gath at October 13, 2006 02:16 AMEbbets Field Flannels announced the creation of a unique and very special vintage baseball jersey, designed and produced to commemorate the 111th birthday of Negro Baseball Leaguer great Silas Simmons. The Jersey will be a handcrafted, authentic replica of the original 1913 Homestead Grays uniform that Simmons wore
while pitching in the Negro Leagues. According to the New York Times, Simmons is the oldest surviving member of this historic period in American baseball. Until he was recently discovered at a retirement home in Florida, he had been thought by baseball authorities to be long deceased.
“When we heard about Mr. Simmons and his connection to the Negro Leagues, we
had to get involved,” said Jerry Cohen, president of Ebbets Field Flannels, designer
and manufacturer of handcrafted sports apparel. “We’re busy making an exact
copy of his 1913 Homestead Grays jersey which will be given to him this Saturday.”
Dr. Layton Revel, the director of the Center for Negro League Baseball Research. is throwing the party for Silas. The serendipitous discovery of Mr. Simmons in Florida was the subject of a September 26, 2006 story by Alan Schwarz in the sports section of the New York Times. Simmons will turn 111 years old on October 14th.
“We are proud that Ebbets Field Flannels was the first apparel company to recognize the Negro Leagues. We were able to go to our research files and quickly create an exact reproduction of the uniform Simmons wore as a member of
the 1913 Grays. It was a very unusual pinstripe fabric, which fortunately we had on hand.”
Ebbets Field Flannels is the leading manufacturer of vintage, historically inspired
athletic clothing. Since 1988 the company has been creating fine handcrafted clothing, based on extensive historical research, a passion for authenticity and a belief that athletic clothing of the early-to-mid 20th century makes a great
statement today. The company offers authentic jerseys with a classic look; satin-lined melton wool athletic jackets; and a full-line of T-shirts and baseball caps through its catalog and online.
www.ebbets.com.
Posted by: Tina Janke at October 13, 2006 11:32 AM