OT: Trivia Question - Al Simmons
 

How many Hall Of Fame managers/teammates did Al Simmons play under/with during his major league career?

Give me a number and name all of them.

(Don't cheat!!)

Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Cochrane, Lefty Grove, Connie Mack...still thinking.

He played with many different teams so the list must be really long. Did he play with Ted Williams?

Lyons (White sox), Greenberg, Gehringer onTigers,
Other A's would be Cobb, Speaker, Wheat and Collins
I think he had a cup of coffee with Red Sox during the war so Boudreau?

Don't forget to give me a number you think might be correct as well.

Hint...

A couple of the names listed as possibilities are not correct but most are. And we're still not even half way there yet.

Oops someone already posted. But I will add he played for the Red Sox at the end, Ted was at war but maybe Doerr was there. And Goslin was probably on that Detroit team. Also not sure when he started but Appling maybe on the White Sox.

Correct answers so far:

Jimmie Foxx
Mickey Cochrane
Lefty Grove
Connie Mack
Ty Cobb
Tris Speaker
Zack Wheat
Eddie Collins
Ted Lyons
Hank Greenberg
Charlie Gehringer
Bobby Doerr
Goose Goslin
Luke Appling
Rick Ferrell
Red Faber
Bucky Harris
Casey Stengel
Jocko Conlon
Joe Cronin
Waite Hoyt
Bill McKechnie
Ernie Lombardi
Al Lopez

Still a bunch to go....

OK I'll guess that somewhere in the 30s he overlapped with Rick Ferrell.

Rick Ferrell is correct. Not quite that many in total though...

I think my last guess is Joe Cronin who probably was managing that wartime Red Sox team. No recollection of managers in Detroit and Chicago. He probably did some brief stints with a couple of other teams and that's where the missing names are coming from but not sure.

Yes on Cronin. Missing several from teams already mentioned as well as others...

I can't think of anyone else on Phila or Detroit. White Sox, maybe Faber was still there, did he pitch that long?

Faber is correct...

How many are still missing?

Eight

Oy. Must be one or more managers from short stint teams but no clue.

Three managers. Five players. Two players from teams already mentioned, though one of those two I would give an asterisk to judging by the criteria of the question.

I missed a trivia question on Monday afternoon, and the answer to it was 23, so I'm going to guess 23 this time.

Deducing #’s I say 26.

Just picked up a few late 30s programs where he was on the Senators and Braves, so I’m pretty sure Casey Stengel and Bucky Harris were 2/3 of the managers missing...

Bingo on those two.

It's 25 total.

Still missing one manager and five players, though again, one of the players should get an asterisk.

Also would Jocko Conlan count? I also picked up a 1935 White Sox program and I believe Conlan and Simmons played together that year.

Bingo. He's the asterisk I've mentioned.

Down to one manager and four players.

Only other HOF managers of that era I can think of is Joe McCarthy and Bill McKechnie. Did he overlap either of those two?

Maybe...

Waite Hoyt 1931 A's

That's one...

If it's the latter, then Ernie Lombardi.

McKechnie and Lombardi are two more.

Two to go.

Well, Al Lopez was on the Reds around that time, but he is in the Hall as a manager not a player? Is he one?

He is one, though he was only with Simmons on the Braves in 1939.

One more...

Right for the wrong reason. I'll take it. NO clue on the last one, probably someone who started earlier than I am thinking like very late 30s or early 40s and was a star in the late 40s into the 50s but I would just be guessing.

I know Simmons did some coach work with the A’s at the end of his career... did he cross paths with George Kell?

That's the last one!!

Simmons went 3 for 6 in 1944 as a member of the Philadelphia A's. Kell was there with him.

So the final impressive list is as follows:

Jimmie Foxx
Mickey Cochrane
Lefty Grove
Connie Mack
Ty Cobb
Tris Speaker
Zack Wheat
Eddie Collins
Ted Lyons
Hank Greenberg
Charlie Gehringer
Bobby Doerr
Goose Goslin
Luke Appling
Rick Ferrell
Red Faber
Bucky Harris
Casey Stengel
Jocko Conlon
Joe Cronin
Waite Hoyt
Bill McKechnie
Ernie Lombardi
Al Lopez
George Kell

I had the concept right lol. Very impressive, I never would have thought of him.

You helped clue me in. I collect programs with HOFers on rosters and have been on a run of games 1930s programs lately so I’ve seen a lot of Al Simmons recently haha. So this was up my alley.

Right - someone who had a cup of coffee with one of his WW2 teams and went on to a post war career - like Fox or Wynn but not them

George Kell?