[Merkle923]

Back to the Brace-a-thon and this 20-year lefty who eight times had seasons registering a WAR of 3.7 or more (and whose career mark of 42.7 puts him just behind Hall of Famers Jack Morris and Lefty Gomez, and just ahead of Hall of Famers Charles Bender and Jack Chesbro).

It kind of boggles the mind today but Simmons had 17 wins and was the let ace of a Phillies team on its way to an unexpected in September, 1950, when his National Guard unit was called up and sent to Korea. No one-month delay, no off-season service, just a ten-day pass for the World Series (and Commissioner Happy Chandler inexplicably ruled him ineligible for it). Simmons had to watch his Phils get swept by the Yankees, then he had to wait 14 years for another chance, starting twice against the Yanks as the Cards won the '64 classic.

These two images are from his last stops. The Cards sold him to the Cubs in June 1966, and the Cubs sent him to the Angels in August 1967 (he threw a shutout and got a save in the pennant race yet didn't get asked back for a 21st season in '68). Topps did not photograph Simmons in Chicago but did get him with the Angels. The Brace Angels shot and Cubs pitching pose have been out there for awhile but I'd never seen the Cubs portrait before.