Curt Simmons, the Phillies' last surviving 'Whiz Kid,' dies at 93

The Lehigh Valley native pitched 13 seasons for the Phils and became one of the franchise's greatest ever

Curt Simmons, one of the Phillies' greatest pitchers and the last surviving member of the 1950 "Whiz Kids," died at his home in Ambler, Pa. on Tuesday. He was 93. 

Simmons, a native of Lehigh Valley, pitched 13 seasons with the Phils, going 115-110 with a 3.66 ERA, 109 complete games, and 18 shutouts across 325 games and 263 starts. 

The lefthander ranks fifth all-time in the franchise in wins and innings pitched, sixth in starts and shutouts recorded, and ninth all-time in strikeouts. He also earned three All-Star nods in 1952, 1953, and 1957. 

His place in baseball will forever be tied to the 1950 Phillies team, who won the NL pennant with a swath of the roster being 26 or younger, hence the "Whiz Kids" moniker. 

Simmons, who was 21 that season, went 17-8 with a 3.40 ERA in 27 starts before military service in the Korean War pulled him away from the team that September and caused him to miss the World Series. They would go on to lose to the Yankees in a four-game sweep. 

Simmons was inducted on to the Phillies' Wall of Fame in 1993 and into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2011


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