Cardinals To Retire No. 23 In Honor Of Ted Simmons

On July 31, the Cardinals will have a special ceremony in which they will retire the number 23 in honor of Hall of Fame catcher Ted Simmons.

“Ted Simmons is one of the finest players to have worn the Birds on the Bat and will forever be a part of Cardinals history,” Cardinals chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said. “We are proud to honor Ted before his Hall of Fame induction this fall and add him to the exclusive group of 10 individuals who have both a statue outside of Busch Stadium and their uniform number retired. We hope our fans will come out in force to pay tribute to Ted and his family on July 31.”

Simmons was drafted by the Cardinals in 1967 and made his debut a year later, taking over the starting job in 1970 when Tim McCarver left. Over 21 seasons with St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Atlanta, “Simba”, as they called him, amassed 2,472 total hits while blasting 248 career homers and hitting a solid .285. He also had a WAR of 50.3.

Simmons was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame after the 2019 season and was set to appear in the 2020 induction ceremony, before COVID wiped it out. This September, he’ll finally get that chance.

Simmons No. 23 will be the first Cardinal number retired since Tony La Russa’s No. 10 was retired in 2012. His statue will be the first one to be molded since the Cardinals moved into Busch Stadium III in 2006.

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