# Duke Simpson

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{{Short description|American baseball player (1927–2021)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Duke Simpson
|position=[Pitcher](/source/Pitcher)
|image= 
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{Birth date|1927|9|15}}
|birth_place=[Columbus, Ohio](/source/Columbus%2C_Ohio)
|death_date= {{death date and age|2021|2|7|1927|9|15}}
|death_place= [Folsom, California](/source/Folsom%2C_California)
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=May 6
|debutyear=1953
|debutteam=Chicago Cubs
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 17
|finalyear=1953
|finalteam=Chicago Cubs
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[Win–loss record](/source/Win%E2%80%93loss_record_(pitching))
|stat1value=1–2
|stat2label=[Earned run average](/source/Earned_run_average)
|stat2value=8.00
|stat3label=[Strikeout](/source/Strikeout)s
|stat3value=21
|teams=
*[Chicago Cubs](/source/Chicago_Cubs) ({{mlby|1953}})
}}
'''Thomas Leo "Duke" Simpson''' (September 15, 1927 – February 7, 2021) was an American professional [baseball](/source/baseball) player. A right-handed [pitcher](/source/pitcher), Simpson had a seven-year (1948–1954) career, which included a full, 1953 season in [Major League Baseball](/source/Major_League_Baseball) for the [Chicago Cubs](/source/Chicago_Cubs). He stood {{convert|6|ft|1|in}} tall and weighed {{convert|190|lb}}.

==Biography==
Simpson was born in [Columbus, Ohio](/source/Columbus%2C_Ohio). He attended [Notre Dame](/source/University_of_Notre_Dame) but after only one semester, joined the [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army) in 1945 during the waning days of [World War II](/source/World_War_II).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gagnon |first1=Cappy |title=Notre Dame Baseball Greats from Anson to Yaz |location=Charleston, South Carolina |publisher=Tempus Publishing |year=2004 |page=104 |isbn=978-0738532622}}</ref> After completing his military service, Simpson enrolled at [Ohio State](/source/Ohio_State_University)<!--Wikipedians do not use "The" as part of Ohio State's name; it is considered a marketing gimmick, and routinely deleted.--> before joining the professional baseball ranks. He pitched in the [Philadelphia Athletics](/source/Philadelphia_Athletics)' system and was acquired by the Cubs in 1952.

In 1953, Simpson made the Cubs' [MLB roster](/source/1953_Chicago_Cubs_season) coming out of spring training and remained a member of their pitching staff all season, working in 30 [games](/source/games_played), 29 in [relief](/source/relief_pitcher). In his only [start](/source/starting_pitcher), he failed to record an out on September 2 against the [Pittsburgh Pirates](/source/Pittsburgh_Pirates) at [Forbes Field](/source/Forbes_Field), yielding five [runs](/source/run_(baseball)), all [earned](/source/earned_run), and four [hits](/source/hit_(baseball)), including a three-run home run by [Preston Ward](/source/Preston_Ward). Simpson took the loss in that 8–1 Cub defeat.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1953/B09020PIT1953.htm |date=1953-09-02 |title=Pittsburgh Pirates 8, Chicago Cubs 1 |publisher=[Retrosheet](/source/Retrosheet) |access-date=February 18, 2021}}</ref> One week later, against the Pirates at [Wrigley Field](/source/Wrigley_Field), he won his only MLB game. Simpson entered the game in the ninth [inning](/source/inning_(baseball)) with the Cubs trailing, 7–5, and worked a perfect 1-2-3 frame. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Cub slugger [Ralph Kiner](/source/Ralph_Kiner) hit a three-run [walk-off home run](/source/walk-off_home_run) against his old Pirate mates to give Simpson the 8–7 win.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1953/B09090CHN1953.htm |date=1953-09-09 |title=Chicago Cubs 8, Pittsburgh Pirates 7 |publisher=[Retrosheet](/source/Retrosheet) |access-date=February 18, 2021}}</ref> Altogether, Simpson allowed 60 hits and 25 [bases on balls](/source/bases_on_balls) in 45 MLB [innings pitched](/source/innings_pitched), striking out 21.

Simpson died February 7, 2021, from [Alzheimer's disease](/source/Alzheimer's_disease).<ref name="SABR">{{cite web |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/tom-simpson/ |title=Tom Simpson |first1=Bill |last1=Nowlin |work=SABR |publisher=[Society of American Baseball Research](/source/Society_of_American_Baseball_Research) |access-date=February 18, 2021}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Baseballstats |mlb=122260 |espn= |br=s/simpsdu01 |fangraphs= |brm=simpso002tho |retro=S/Psimpd101}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Duke}}
Category:1927 births
Category:2021 deaths
Category:Baseball players from Columbus, Ohio
Category:Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball players
Category:Chicago Cubs players
Category:Goldsboro Goldbugs players
Category:Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players
Category:Major League Baseball pitchers
Category:Military personnel from Ohio
Category:Savannah Indians players
Category:Springfield Cubs players
Category:Temple Eagles players
Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in California
Category:United States Army personnel of World War II
Category:20th-century American sportsmen
Category:Burials at Sacramento Valley National Cemetery

{{US-baseball-pitcher-1920s-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Duke Simpson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Simpson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Simpson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.