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Harry Leon "Suitcase" Simpson (December 3, 1925 – April 3, 1979) was an American outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Athletics, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, and
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Simpson began his professional career with the Philadelphia Stars of the Negro National League, where he played from 1946 to 1948. Simpson became one of the earliest black players in the American League, playing first with the Cleveland Indians in . Casey Stengel once called him the best defensive right fielder in the American League.
That his nickname of "Suitcase" came from his being frequently traded during his playing career is a common misconception. According to the 1951 ''Cleveland Indians Sketch Book'', he was called "Suitcase" by sportswriters after the '' Toonerville Folks'' character, Suitcase Simpson, because of his size 13 shoe with feet as large as suitcases. This is years before his many trades. His real nickname was "Goody", which came from his willingness to run errands and help neighbors in his hometown of Dalton, Georgia.
In 888 games over eight seasons, Simpson compiled a .266 batting average (752-for-2829) with 101 doubles, 41
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Harry 1924 births 1979 deaths African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American League All-Stars Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Diablos Rojos del México players Indianapolis Indians players Kansas City Athletics players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball right fielders New York Yankees players Philadelphia Stars players Pittsburgh Pirates players Sabios de Vargas players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Baseball players from Akron, Ohio Wilkes-Barre Indians players 20th-century African-American sportsmen American expatriate baseball players in Nicaragua
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
in his eight-year career. He played in the World Series with the New York Yankees in 1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
, which they lost.
Career
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Simpson began his professional career with the Philadelphia Stars of the Negro National League, where he played from 1946 to 1948. Simpson became one of the earliest black players in the American League, playing first with the Cleveland Indians in . Casey Stengel once called him the best defensive right fielder in the American League.
That his nickname of "Suitcase" came from his being frequently traded during his playing career is a common misconception. According to the 1951 ''Cleveland Indians Sketch Book'', he was called "Suitcase" by sportswriters after the '' Toonerville Folks'' character, Suitcase Simpson, because of his size 13 shoe with feet as large as suitcases. This is years before his many trades. His real nickname was "Goody", which came from his willingness to run errands and help neighbors in his hometown of Dalton, Georgia.
In 888 games over eight seasons, Simpson compiled a .266 batting average (752-for-2829) with 101 doubles, 41 triples
TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...
, 73 home runs
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
, 381 RBI
RBI most often refers to:
*Reserve Bank of India
*Run batted in
RBI may also refer to:
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, 271 base on balls
A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...
, .331 on-base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...
and .408 slugging percentage
In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...
. He finished his career with a .984 fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...
playing at all three outfield positions and first base. In the 1957 World Series
The 1957 World Series featured the defending champion New York Yankees of the American League playing against the Milwaukee Braves of the National League. After finishing just one game behind the N.L. Champion Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956, the Brav ...
, he batted .083 (1-for-12) with 1 RBI.
Simpson died in Akron, Ohio in 1979 at age 53. He is buried in West Hill Cemetery in Dalton, Georgia, where a section of the cemetery and the road leading to that section are named in his honor.
See also
* List of Negro league baseball players who played in Major League Baseball *List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
In baseball, a triple is recorded when the ball is hit so that the batter is able to advance all the way to third base, scoring any runners who were already on base, with no errors by the defensive team on the play. In Major League Baseball (ML ...
References
External links
, oRetrosheet
o
Seamheads
o
SABR Biography Project
o
Pelota Binaria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Harry 1924 births 1979 deaths African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American League All-Stars Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Diablos Rojos del México players Indianapolis Indians players Kansas City Athletics players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball right fielders New York Yankees players Philadelphia Stars players Pittsburgh Pirates players Sabios de Vargas players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Baseball players from Akron, Ohio Wilkes-Barre Indians players 20th-century African-American sportsmen American expatriate baseball players in Nicaragua