Herbert Harold Simpson
Nickname: Briefcase Simpson
Career: 1951
Positions: 1b, of
Team: Chicago American Giants
Born: August 29, 1920, Hahnville, Louisiana
Baseball Career Highlights:
"When I returned home from the Army after World War II, I began playing pro ball with the Seattle Steelheads, in the Pacific Coast League. I played with them until the end of the season. An all-star team was picked to go to Hawaii. I was a member of that team, which was called the All Star Cincinnati Crescents."
"Luke Easter, Piper Davis, "Goose" Tatum, Paul Hardy, John Markham, Lefty McGinnis, Joseph Wiley, Green Farmer, Sherwood Brewer, Ulysses Redd, Collins Jones, Mike Red Berry and Walter Burch were on that team as well. We played 16 games over a period of 25 days. We won 15 of those games before returning to San Francisco. This time we were playing in Oakland, California. I was hitting in the fifth spot; Luke Easter was in the fourth spot. The teams we competed against would walk Easter to pitch to me. Luke was large and I was small. During one game, Luke called 'time' to inform me that the pitcher would walk him so he could pitch to me. Luke told me to 'hit the ball out of the park.' It was just my luck; the hit was a triple. I ran so hard that I nearly ran over Luke as I was running around the bases."
Professional/Personal Accomplishments:
"On August 13, 1954, I got married at home plate. At the time, I was playing with the Oakland Acorns, a Triple A team in the Pacific Coast League. In 1955, I was called home to Louisiana because a highway was going through my property line. Attending to that business took so long that I had to quit the league."
"In 1955,1 worked at the John Mansville Corporation for 3-1/2 years, then at the Orleans Parish School Board for 20 years and with the State of Louisiana for 10 years. Currently, I am a deacon at First Free Mission Baptist Church of Algiers, a member of Pride of Algiers Lodge #102 Free and Accepted Masons, Golden Gate Lodge Elks IBPOEW, American Legion Post 554 VFW 2304, Old- Timers Baseball Club and the Negro League Legends in Cooperstown, New York."
Awards, Honors, Titles, Championships,
Schools, Colleges:
• Harlem Globetrotters Awards/Trophies
• Recognition From the Pride of Algiers Lodge #102
• Recognition From the Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana
• Martin Luther King High School Plaque
• Old Timers Baseball Club Trophy
• National Baseball Hall of Fame Medal Murray Henderson
School Plaque
• Certificate From the Governor of the State of Louisiana
(Governor Mike Foster) Honoring Negro Baseball Players
Source: NLBM Legacy 2000 Players' Reunion Alumni Book, Kansas City Missouri: Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Inc., 2000.
Herbert Simpson