Hubert Simmons

Hubert Van Wike Simmons (May 19, 1924 – July 8, 2009) was an American Negro league baseball pitcher and outfielder. He batted and threw right handed.

It is documented that Simmons could play all nine positions in baseball. Nevertheless, he was primarily a curveball pitcher that later established his reputation for his nasty knuckleball.

Early life During his life, Simmons was considered to be an engaging individual, readily willing to share his experiences, talking to adults as well as kids, both African-Americans and white, about playing professional baseball and participating voluntarily in social activities.

Simmons was born and raised in Tarboro, North Carolina. a public work relief program established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that operated from 1933 to 1942. Simmons was relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina, where he joined the Raleigh Tigers, a semipro team managed by legendary William 'Bill' Foster.

A few days later, the tireless Simmons, along with his wife Audrey L. Simmons and good friend Rayner Banks, gathered a group of relatives, friends, and acquaintances to meet and discuss plans for the development of a Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Baltimore. The timing was perfect as there was a rise in interest surrounding the Negro leagues and its ball players after the Special Draft. As a result, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum of Maryland Inc. (NLBMM) became incorporated in the State of Maryland and was recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit, charitable corporation in September 2008.

Legacy

On March 27, 2014, Baltimore County officials, former Negro league baseball players and fans formally unveiled the Hubert V. Simmons Museum of Negro Leagues Baseball (SMNLB) in the Owings Mills branch of the Baltimore County Public Library to honor Simmons. The previously named Negro Leagues Baseball Museum of Maryland Inc. had been housed in various temporary locations until the county offered to give it a permanent home in the newly founded BCPL branch.