Staff Writer

ONEONTA — William Simons says he chose his baseball heroes — Greenberg, DiMaggio and Robinson — for much more than what they accomplished on the field.

A professor of history at the State University College at Oneonta who specializes in teaching sport history, Simons was recently awarded the 2003 Susan Sutton Smith Prize for Academic Excellence.

Simons, the ninth recipient of the award, will deliver a presentation titled "`Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio', Jackie Robinson and Hank Greenberg: Ethnic Heroes in Baseball's Melting Pot," on Friday as part of the annual Susan Sutton Smith Lecture.

The lecture will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Craven Lounge of the Morris Conference Center.

"It's not about Hank Greenberg's batting averages or that he had 183 RBIs in 1937," Simons said this week, referring to the Detroit Tigers great. "It's about what he meant to the Jewish Americans of his time during the rising anti-Semitism of the 1930s and about how he felt at home in the physical world."

In his address, Simons said, he will cover topics such as baseball as cultural microcosm and the significance of racial and ethnic standard-bearers in baseball.

It is these things Simons teaches in his sport history class — Athletics, Society and History — which he developed in 1981.

Sports, he said, "tell us about something larger than sports."

"I do have enthusiasm for baseball itself, but I believe it speaks to other issues in our society," Simons said. "I became aware what baseball revealed, about issues of race relations, the status of women, how we socialize youth, and American fears and American dreams."

A native of Lynn, Mass., Simons includes Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams on his list of heroes. He said the Splendid Splinter's heroics on the field are matched only by his wartime heroics during World War II and in Korea.

Simons, who has taught a wide range of history courses, including American social history and ethnic studies, was also the recipient of the 2002 SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.

A frequent presenter at the annual Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, Simons has edited three collections of essays from the symposium and has contributed his own work to several other volumes.

His work has appeared in many sports journals, and he received the 1992 Meckler Award for baseball writing and research.

Simons can also be heard talking sports and life on the radio.

In his 20-minute spots as co-host of "Sports Talk," the professor has interviewed the likes of Oneonta High School assistant football coach Seth Reynolds and John Gardner, a SUCO professor who doubles as a baseball umpire.

"They're fun interviews," Simons said. "It's not just talk about sports, it's about having something larger to say."

The Smith Prize recognizes outstanding faculty achievement in research, scholarship or art. Simons was chosen for the award based on nominations submitted to a committee of faculty and administrators.

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