Mike Sime

Myron Jay Sime
(Mike)

• Bats Right, Throws NA
• Height 5' 9", Weight 159 lb.

• Born August 23, 1909 in Concord, IA USA
• Died December 23, 1978 in Fairmont, MN USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Mike Sime was a minor league outfielder starting around 1930 and going through 1939. His career ended following the 1939 season when he was banned for life from organized baseball.

Sime was the seventh of eight children born to Thomas and Dortha Sime of Concord, Iowa on August 23, 1909. Thomas was born in Illinois to Norwegian parents around 1866 and made his living as a farmer. Dortha (maiden name, Larson) was born in Norway around 1874 and came to the United States while still a baby. Myron had two sisters and five brothers. Sometime between 1915 and 1920, the family had moved to Rolling Green, Minnesota.

Sime's Army enlistment records show that he had one year of college, but it is unclear whether he played any collegiate baseball.

By 1930, Sime, by now being called Mike, was making his living as a ballplayer with the Dubuque Tigers in the Mississippi Valley League. The Class D Tigers boasted three future major leaguers on their roster: Johnny Dickshot, Wally Millies, and Biggs Wehde. Mike hit .299 with 27 doubles, 3 triples and a home run.

Sime moved over to the Waterloo Hawks in the same league for the 1931 campaign. His batting average fell to .258, but he increased his triples to 10 and his homers to 6.

His activities in 1932 are unclear, but in 1933, he surfaced with the Brainerd Muskies of the Class D Northern League. While he only played in 87 games, Sime hit .330 with 25 doubles, 5 triples, and 3 home runs.

Sime appears to have played outside of organized baseball in 1934, but he returned to Brainerd in 1935. The squad was still in the Northern League but was now known as the Brainerd Blues. Sime posted a .312 batting average with 17 doubles, a triple, and 13 home runs.

1936 saw Sime playing for his third Northern League city. This time, he wound up with the Wausau Timberjacks. At Wausau, Sime put up some of his most impressive numbers to date: .327 batting average, a .499 slugging percentage, 30 doubles, 3 triples, and 17 home runs. Unfortunately, Sime also participated in activities that landed him on the ineligible list.

In 1939, while still on the ineligible list, Sime played for the Lenoir Indians in the Class D Tar Heel League under the name Bob Wells. William G. Bramham found out about the deception and, in February of 1940, he banned Sime and his manager, Clarence Roper, for life from organized baseball.

For a while, Sime and his wife Virginia stayed on in Lenoir, North Carolina, and on October 22, 1940, they had a son named Myron Strother Sime. Strother was Virginia's maiden name. Myron S. Sime, now in his late sixties, still resides in Lenoir, North Carolina.

On October 10, 1942, Sime enlisted in the United States Army for the duration of the war. His enlistment records show his civilian occupation as an athletic and ski instructor. By the end of the war, Sime had attained the rank of corporal.

In 1948, Sime somehow found his way back on to a baseball team dispite his banishment. He played in 18 games for the Morganton Aggies of the Class D Western Carolina League. Despite being away from organized baseball for 9 years, Sime was able to post a .297 batting average with 4 doubles, a triple, and a home run.

Sime passed away on December 23, 1978 in Fairmont, Minnesota. He is buried in Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis.

Related Sites

• SABR Minor League Database