Former Spokane Indians first baseball Herb Simpson, 94, dies

Former Spokane Indians first baseman Herb Simpson, 94, died Jan. 7 in New Orleans.

Simpson, believed to have been the oldest living former Spokane Indian, began the 1952 season as Spokane’s regular first baseman.

Last year Simpson became the first Negro Leagues figure to earn induction into the New Orleans Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, an organization sponsored by the Zephyrs, the city’s Triple-A Miami Marlins farm team.

In 1952 the Indians were a Single-A Western International League franchise and signed Simpson as one of five African-American players on the spring-training roster. Simpson was the first African-American player to log significant time in an Indians uniform.

Simpson had already played in Washington. In 1946, he had been a member of the Seattle Steelheads, a team in the short-lived West Coast Negro Baseball League.

Simpson was honored by the Mariners on their African-American Heritage Day on Aug. 11, 2013.