Syl Simon

Sylvester Adam Simon
(Sammy)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10½", Weight 170 lb.

• Debut October 1, 1923
• Final Game September 27, 1924
• Born December 14, 1897 in Evansville, IN USA
• Died February 28, 1973 in Chandler, IN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Syl Simon was a third baseman for twelve seasons, 1920-1932, two in the Major Leagues (1923-1924) and eleven in the minors (1920, 1922-1923, and 1925-1932), losing 1921 to inactivity. Simon was born on December 14, 1897, in Evansville, IN. He was 25 years old when he broke into the big leagues on October 1, 1923, with the St. Louis Browns.

The son-in-law of Punch Knoll, he only played for the Browns in the majors in 1923 and 1924. He continued to play professional baseball after losing part of his left palm and four of his fingers in an industrial accident; while working in a furniture factory in Evansville in 1926, he caught his left hand in a saw. The only finger that remained was his pinkie.

Everyone wrote off Simon's career. Everyone except Syl himself. While he recovered from the accident, notes of sympathy came in. One was from Otto Borchert, owner of the Milwaukee Brewers club which held Simon's contract. Borchert's letter included a check for $100 and Simon's release.

But by June 1927, Simon said he was ready to play. He had had a special glove made. It was a strange-looking reinforced contraption that managed to come within the rules. His bat had a steel attachment on the handle and it allowed him to slip his injured hand through it for a better grip. Simon played the rest of the 1927 season with the Quincy Red Birds. He later was with Fort Wayne, Nashville, Bloomington and Quincy again before retiring in 1932. He piloted Quincy in his final year. The bat and the glove are now in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

He worked for Wesselman's in Evanston, IL until 1971 when he retired to his orchard near Chandler, IN. He died at age 75 when he took his own life by hanging himself in his barn and is buried at Locust Hill Cemetery in Evansville.

Principal sources are Syl Simon's Obit, SABR's Minor League Baseball Stars, Volume III and The Baseball Necrology.