Si Simmons, Oldest Living Professional Baseball Player of All Time, Passes Away
Si Simmons, honored as the oldest living professional baseball player of all time, died October 29, 2006 in a retirement home in St. Petersburg, Fla. He was 111. Click here for highlight footage of Mr. Simmons video interview with New York Times journalist Alan Schwarz shortly before his passing. Si Simmons, honored as the oldest living professional baseball player of all time, died October 29, 2006 in a retirement home in St. Petersburg, Fla. He was 111. Click here for highlight footage of Mr. Simmons video interview with New York Times journalist Alan Schwarz shortly before his passing. A Fitting Tribute In His Own Time “It was the thrill of my baseball research career to present the…plaque for SABR to Si Simmons,” said Dave Lambert, a Boston-area genealogist who first discovered that Simmons was still alive. Following a lead from Lambert, Dr. Layton Revel, a SABR member and the founder of the Texas-based Center for Negro League Baseball Research, met and interviewed Mr. Simmons in May confirming that he was the same lefty pitcher for the 1926 New York Lincoln Giants documented in the SABR Negro Leagues Book and The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues. He was found to be alive and well in
Before his passing, friends, fans, family and former Negro Leaguers gathered to celebrate the birthday and remarkable life journey of Mr. Simmons.
A cookout and picnic lunch led off the day
Originally published: November 3, 2006. Last Updated: November 3, 2006.