Harry Simpson

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1951-1959)

Harry Simpson was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1959 for 6 teams, including the Philadelphia Stars, a span of 9 seasons. In 1,012 career games, he hit .268 with 870 hits, 76 home runs, and 434 RBI. Harry Simpson was an All-Star. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 1,764.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .268
HR 76
RBI 434
H 870
OPS .737
PIV 1,764
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 180 lb
Born
12/3/1925 in Atlanta, GA, USA
Died
4/3/1979 in Akron, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1951-04-21
Last Game
1959-09-27
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Harry Leon Simpson

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Harry Simpson — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
467.0 432.0 77.0 127.0 13.0 3.0 8.0 42.0 33.0 1.0 5.0 .294 .345 .394 .739

Career Batting Statistics

Harry Simpson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,012 3,241 414 870 119 45 76 434 23 312 430 .268 .334 .403 .737 1,764

Career AVG .268 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .334 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .403 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .737 vs. league average .716 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Harry Simpson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1946 PS NN2 44 127 29 33 5 2 1 16 2 21 1 .260 .256 (+1%) .328 (+12%) .358 (-1%) .687 (+5%) 169.2
1947 PS NN2 35 114 13 34 4 1 0 13 2 5 0 .298 .262 (+14%) .336 (-3%) .376 (-7%) .712 (-5%) -103.3
1948 PS NN2 45 171 29 51 9 1 2 24 2 15 0 .298 .263 (+13%) .340 (+4%) .379 (+5%) .719 (+5%) 126.3
1951 CLE AL 122 332 51 76 7 0 7 24 6 45 48 .229 .260 (-12%) .336 (-4%) .385 (-19%) .721 (-12%) -533.3
1952 CLE AL 146 545 66 145 21 10 10 65 5 56 82 .266 .252 (+5%) .326 (+3%) .369 (+7%) .696 (+5%) 509.2
1953 CLE AL 82 242 25 55 3 1 7 22 0 18 27 .227 .264 (-14%) .335 (-16%) .397 (-16%) .733 (-16%) -627.5
1955 CLE AL 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1955 KC1 AL 112 396 42 119 16 7 5 52 3 34 61 .301 .258 (+16%) .332 (+7%) .393 (+5%) .726 (+6%) 0.0
1956 KC1 AL 141 543 76 159 22 11 21 105 2 47 82 .293 .258 (+13%) .331 (+5%) .397 (+23%) .728 (+15%) 1469.2
1957 KC1 AL 50 179 24 53 9 6 6 24 0 12 28 .296 .257 (+15%) .323 (+4%) .391 (+31%) .715 (+19%) 506.1
1957 NYA AL 75 224 27 56 7 3 7 39 1 19 36 .250 .257 (-3%) .323 (-5%) .391 (+3%) .715 (-1%) 506.1
1958 NYA AL 24 51 1 11 2 1 0 6 0 6 12 .216 .257 (-16%) .324 (-4%) .394 (-25%) .719 (-16%) -117.2
1958 KC1 AL 78 212 21 56 7 1 7 27 0 26 33 .264 .257 (+2%) .324 (+6%) .394 (+3%) .719 (+4%) -117.2
1959 KC1 AL 8 14 1 4 0 0 1 2 0 2 4 .286 — — — — 0.0
1959 CHA AL 38 75 5 14 5 1 2 13 0 4 14 .187 .256 (-27%) .323 (-30%) .392 (-8%) .715 (-18%) 0.0
1959 PIT NL 9 15 3 4 2 0 0 2 0 0 2 .267 — — — — 0.0
Career · 16 seasons 1,012 3,241 414 870 119 45 76 434 23 312 430 .268 — — — — 1,788

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Pitching Statistics

Harry Simpson — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.1 2 1 0 0 0 27.00 0.0

Career ERA 27.00 vs. league average 3.97 across their career seasons — 579.8% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Harry Simpson — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1947 PS NN2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.1 2 1 0 0 27.00 — 0.0
Career · 1 season 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.1 2 1 0 0 27.00 — 0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Harry Simpson — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
5 12 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4 .083

Playoff Batting by Year

Harry Simpson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1957 WS NYA 5 12 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4 .083

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (998 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Harry Simpson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home518160020342843218.268
Away480158819442035192.264

Last 10 Games — Batting

Harry Simpson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1959-09-27 PITCINL 522000000
1959-09-07 PITATLL 401100001
1959-09-07 PITATLL 100000001
1959-09-05 PITPHIW 111100200
1959-09-02 PITCINL 100000000
1959-08-30 PITPHIW 100000000
1959-08-30 PITPHIW 100000000
1959-08-29 PITPHIW 000000000
1959-08-26 PITSFGW 100000000
1959-08-20 CHWBALL 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Harry Simpson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 211 123 1702 93 16 169
2B 8 8 23 14 5 3
3B 5 5 3 8 0 0
OF 685 389 1247 45 39 11
P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Harry Simpson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1946 PS 2B 1 1 2 0 0 0
1946 PS 3B 4 4 3 8 0 0
1946 PS OF 34 31 36 2 4 0
1947 PS 2B 2 2 3 3 2 1
1947 PS 3B 1 1 0 0 0 0
1947 PS OF 32 24 54 5 1 1
1947 PS P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1948 PS 2B 5 5 18 11 3 2
1948 PS OF 40 40 79 5 4 0
1951 CLE 1B 50 0 326 17 4 28
1951 CLE OF 68 0 132 3 4 1
1952 CLE 1B 28 0 276 8 2 21
1952 CLE OF 127 0 226 11 3 4
1953 CLE 1B 2 0 12 0 0 1
1953 CLE OF 69 0 118 4 4 0
1955 KC1 1B 3 1 10 2 0 2
1955 KC1 OF 100 95 262 5 6 2
1956 KC1 1B 32 29 269 15 4 32
1956 KC1 OF 111 109 188 3 7 2
1957 KC1 1B 27 27 243 23 1 21
1957 KC1 OF 21 21 29 1 1 0
1957 NYA 1B 21 19 143 8 0 18
1957 NYA OF 42 36 55 5 3 1
1958 NYA OF 15 10 21 0 0 0
1958 KC1 1B 43 42 384 18 4 44
1958 KC1 OF 11 10 24 1 1 0
1959 KC1 1B 4 4 30 2 0 2
1959 CHA 1B 1 1 9 0 1 0
1959 CHA OF 12 11 18 0 1 0
1959 PIT OF 3 2 5 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Harry Simpson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 1
First Base 211
Second Base 8
Third Base 5
Left Field 82
Center Field 187
Right Field 430

Award Voting History

Harry Simpson — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1956 Most Valuable Player AL 11th 37.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Harry Simpson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Gene Moore
    .270 avg, 58 HR
  2. 94
    Sam Mele
    .267 avg, 80 HR
  3. 83
    Leon Roberts
    .267 avg, 78 HR
  4. 75
    Lee Walls
    .262 avg, 66 HR
  5. 73
    Irv Noren
    .275 avg, 65 HR
  6. 70
    Gabe Kapler
    .268 avg, 82 HR

Harry Simpson: the record in brief

Harry Simpson's season table begins in 1946 with Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB now counts as major league; the bio gives the date of the MLB debut as April 21, 1951, and the final game as September 27, 1959. The team column moves through the Philadelphia Stars (1946 to 1948), the Cleveland Indians (1951 through 1955), the Kansas City Athletics (1955 through 1959), the New York Yankees (1957 to 1958), the Chicago White Sox (1959), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1959). Simpson is listed as an outfielder at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds. The bio says Simpson threw right-handed and batted left-handed. Simpson was born on December 3, 1925, in Atlanta, GA, USA. Simpson died on April 3, 1979, in Akron, OH, USA. On the record, Harry Simpson was born Harry Leon Simpson.

In 1,012 games and 3,241 at bats, Simpson batted .268 with 870 hits, plus 76 homers, 434 runs batted in, and 23 stolen bases. Simpson's career OPS of .737 combines a .334 on-base mark with .403 slugging.

Frequently Asked Questions about Harry Simpson

What years did Harry Simpson play?
Harry Simpson played in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1959.
Was Harry Simpson a pitcher?
No. Harry Simpson was a position player (Outfielder), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
How many home runs did Harry Simpson hit?
Harry Simpson hit 76 career home runs with 870 hits.
What was Harry Simpson's career batting average?
Harry Simpson batted .268 over his career, with 870 hits in 3,241 at bats.
How many RBI did Harry Simpson have?
Harry Simpson drove in 434 runs in his career.
What was Harry Simpson's career ERA?
Harry Simpson finished with a 27.00 career ERA, going 0-0 with 0 strikeouts.