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Name This Week’s Mystery Player!
How well you do know your old-time players?
Each week, I’ll post a photo of an old-time ballplayer and you can test your knowledge of “the old days” of baseball. These will be some of my favorite players from days gone by. Some of them will be easier than others, so it’s time to put your thinking caps on!
Player Identity: Al Simmons
As always on Baseball History Comes Alive, we can have some fun while enhancing our baseball history learning experience. Each entry will include a short description of the player and highlights from his career. I might even add in some of my own personal comments about him.
This week’s mystery player (from Wikipedia):
He played for two decades in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and had his best years with Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics during the late 1920s and early 1930s, winning two World Series with Philadelphia. He also played for the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators, Boston Braves, Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox. After his playing career ended, he served as a coach for the Athletics and Cleveland Indians. A career .334 hitter, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953.
This week’s bonus questions:
What was his real name?
What was his nickname?
What city was he from?
I happen to have a personal attachment to this photo. It’s one of my favorites. I first saw it over 30 years ago at Moretti’s Sports Bar in Chicago. I wondered who was this young, freckled-faced ballplayer. I had to find out! I think it’s the photo that launched my interest in baseball history, and, over thirty years later, I’m still at it!
If you’d like to take a stab at identifying this player, please leave your response in the comments section below. And while you’re at it, feel free to add any comments or personal reflections you might have about him.
Last Week’s Winner:
Congratulations to Terry Farmer, as the first to correctly identify last week’s mystery player as Firpo Marberry. 
Your answers are correct!
I’m going to withhold Terry’s answers for a while to give others a chance to guess. I’ll put Terry’s response back up later in the week. But he was the first!
Gary,
I’ll hold off on identifying these for awhile in the future. Both the Marberry question and this one were sent out at times when I was on my phone when they came in.
It should be open to way more people than me!!!!
Thanks,
T.
Haha! Thanks Terry, no problem. I think I have to just make them a bit harder! Watch for my next one…should be more of a challenge!
You got it Ed! I’m going to hold back your response also, to give others a chance to guess. It’ll be back later in the week. Thanks!
Al Simmons – Ol’ Bucket Foot
Right on, Joe! You got it. I’m going to hold back your response also to give others a chance to guess. It’ll be back later in the week. Thanks!
Real name: Aloysius Szymanski
Nickname: “Bucketfoot Al”
Born in Milwaukee WI
Alois Szymanski (Aloysius Harry Simmons)
Bucketfoot
Milwaukee
Note: I thought his first name was Aloysius but when I looked up how to spell it I found his real first & last name. I also knew bucketfoot but did not know he was from Milwaukee.
As I suspected, this one was a bit too easy. After all, the guys who frequent this page are not casual fans of baseball history…you guys are the real deal. But don’t worry, the next few I have in mind will be significantly harder!
At this early date, I can already declare Terry Farmer the winner…that’s two in a row! If you have any comments about Al Simmons, please feel free to add them.
Right off it was easy to spot Al Simmons from the photo. Very sad he died at only 54 years old.
Yeah, you’re right…that one was pretty easy. But stay tuned…the next one will be harder! By the way, are you any relation to Earle Combs? That’s not a real common name, so I’m hoping for a positive response!