Presented here is an Elliot London clock given to Hall of Famer Al Simmons at Yankee Stadium to honor his 1953 induction into Cooperstown. As the Great Depression took hold throughout the United States, Connie Mack, owner and manager of the Philadelphia Athletics was hit particularly hard. His loss in the Stock Market Crash was so devastating that he was forced to break up what many historians consider the greatest baseball team ever assembled – the 1929-1931 A’s. This remarkable club succeeded in unseating Babe Ruth and the Yankees as the AL’s best team and then proceeded to win three pennants and back-to-back World Series. Besides the unbeatable pitching of Lefty Grove and George Earnshaw, Mack fielded the hardest hitting batting lineup the game had ever seen - Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Cochrane, Jimmy Dykes, Mule Haas and Al Simmons.

Of these, Simmons was the classiest, the perfect combination of power and contact. But despite the success of Simmons and the rest of the A’s lineup, by 1932 Mack was forced to destroy his greatest ballclub. In one of the biggest blockbuster trades up to that point, Simmons, Dykes and Haas were sold to the Chicago White Sox in what was described as the largest player purchase in American League history. The trade was a success as far as Simmons was concerned, with the future Hall of Famer batting .331 then .344 in his first two season with the Sox. Simmons would finish his two-decade career with an average of .334 with 2,927 hits, 307 home runs, and 1,828 RBIs. This gorgeous 7 x 5-inch wooden clock features ornamental brass on the obverse with four cherubs surrounding the watch hands. A brass plaque engraved with “HONORING NEW MEMBERS HALL OF FAME YANKEE STADIUM 1955 AL SIMMONS” is located on the top of the clock. The wooden housing is in fair condition and contains numerous small marks and abrasions. The clock is a unique specimen that celebrates one of baseball’s best hitters.

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