Imagine if Cole Hamels or Cliff Lee couldn't pitch for Philadelphia in the World Series this week because they were summoned for military service.

That's what happened to Curt Simmons nearly 60 years ago, the last time the Phillies played the New York Yankees in the post-season.

He still thinks about whether Philadelphia could have beaten New York in 1950 if he had been able to take the mound.

"Yeah, I've wondered," Simmons, 80, said Monday from his home in Ambler, Pa. "I'm sure the Phillies would have liked to have had me."

Simmons, a left-hander, was one of the Whiz Kids, as the 1950 Phillies were called because stars such as Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts were under 25.

Simmons had made his debut as an 18-year-old in 1947 and was seen as a rising star. With the United States moving closer to a conflict with communist forces in Korea, Phillies owner Robert Carpenter was worried about losing Simmons and fellow pitcher Charlie Bicknell to full-time military service.

"He said, 'I want you boys to join the National Guard,' " Simmons recalled Carpenter telling them. " 'You'll avoid the peacetime draft. It'll keep you out of the Army.' "

Simmons and Bicknell took his advice and joined the Guard in 1948.

"We got activated on Sept. 4, 1950," Simmons said.

It didn't matter that Simmons had won his 17th game two days earlier and was vital to the Phillies' hopes for their first pennant since 1915.

The club tried to get him a 30-day extension but was rebuffed.

"They weren't letting anybody out," Simmons said. "The heat was on."

With his teammates fighting to stay in first place, Simmons reported to Camp Atterbury, Indiana. On the last day of the season, Philadelphia and Brooklyn were tied for first place and facing each other. The Phillies won the pennant when a home run by Dick Sisler beat the Dodgers.

"We were playing touch football between the barracks and some kid hollered out, 'Sisler hit a home run!' " said Simmons, who recalled talking a few hours later to Ashburn, Roberts and other teammates.

"The boys from the party called me from the Warwick Hotel in Philly," Simmons said with a laugh. "Some of them were coherent, some weren't."

Three days later - one day before the World Series - Simmons was called in by his National Guard superiors.

"They said, 'You can have a 10-day leave, without pay.' I said, 'I'll take it.' But it was too late," Simmons said.

The roster had been set and he was no longer eligible.

At Philadelphia's Shibe Park, Simmons put on his Phillies uniform and took the mound before the first and second games.

"I pitched batting practice," he said, laughing. "I probably put them in a slump."

Wearing his military uniform, Simmons watched from the press box as the Yankees swept the Phillies in four games.

The Yankees had five future Hall of Famers, including JoeDiMaggio and Whitey Ford. And Simmons' absence down the stretch had already put an extra burden on Roberts, who wasn't available to pitch the Series' opener.

In Game 1, the Phillies turned to reliever Jim Konstanty, who won the NL Most Valuable Player award for winning 16 games and saving 22. He went eight innings in a 1-0 loss. Roberts pitched 10 innings in Game 2, losing 2-1. The Yankees won 3-2 in Game 3 and won the finale 5-2.

San Diego Padres announcer Jerry Coleman, who played second base for the Yankees in that Series, said the presence of Simmons to complement Roberts might have been critical.

"It might have gone seven games, not four," Coleman said.

Simmons returned to the Phillies in 1952 after being stationed in Germany and retired after the 1967 season with a career record of 193-183. He appeared in the 1964 World Series with St. Louis, losing the only game he pitched but getting a ring as the Cardinals beat the Yankees in seven games.

Later this week, Roberts will throw out a ceremonial first pitch in Philadelphia, but Simmons said neither he nor his wife will attend any of the games.

"We'll stay at home and watch it on the big television set in a nice warm room with a lazy chair," he said.

He is hoping the Phillies fare better against the Yankees than they did almost six decades ago.

"Hopefully they can get them this time," he said. "I want the Phillies to beat them up."