Jerry Simmons obit

Wide Receiver Jerry Simmons Has Died

 

He was not on the list.

History has hardly been kind to the guy who was second.

Has John Adams ever got the love George Washington did? What about the Apollo 12 crew compared to  Apollo 11 when it comes to US space travel? Or the 1996 Dream Team compared to the 1992 Dream Team of Magic,Jordan,Bird,et al?

Same for Jerry Simmons on his place in Bethune-Cookman football history.

During his recent Hall of Fall enshrinement, Simmons patiently dismissed most of his accolades – including being the second Bethune-Cookman player to make it to the NFL.  He was too busy savoring the moment of finally being back on campus and the overwhelming flood of memories and emotions.

Okay, let's try one of only five former Wildcats to play 100 NFL games or member of the first Denver Bronco team to have a winning record. Simmons gives you that "Nice, but do you really think I care?" look.

How about "First of Cy McClairen's players to reach the NFL?"

NOW we're talking!

"Greatest man of all," Simmons said of McClairen. "I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for him."

McClairen "discovered" Simmons while Simmons was playing touch football with classmates outside the dorms.  Simmons became the go-to receiver for

McClairen's first Bethune-Cookman teams back in the 1960s. Those teams were good teams – Cy didn't have a losing season until 1971 – but that era in Wildcat history has faded into the books in light of the Wesley Moore teams of the 70s, the Alvin Wyatt days and the present run of five Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships in six years.

 "I believe we created a good foundation," Simmons said. "We were very good, but we weren't very many. We would go up and play Florida A&M, and their third team had more players than our entire team."

"But that performance on field was to be admired," Simmons continued. "Other teams were shocked    that we came out with organization and passion and teamwork. And it was because of Cy – it was him and Tank Johnson coaching us and that was it. Still, he took time with us at each discipline and got the most out of us."

Coming out of Bartow, Florida,  Simmons success in high school influenced a few youngsters in Polk County. One of those guys who eventually became a Florida A&M legend came from Jerry's same neighborhood in that tiny town. Ken Riley, was a youngster who followed Jerry's path to success out of Bartow and became a consensus All-Pro with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Two seasons with 60 or more receptions and blistering speed prompted McClairen to make a few phone calls, and McClairen's old team – the Pittsburgh Steelers – signed Simmons. It would be the first of five stops Simmons would make playing on Sundays the next 12 years, but those first few days were larger than life.

And McClairen had Simmons' back – McClairen even went to Steelers training camp one season.

"He said 'If I can make it, you can make it,'" Simmons remembered. "'Don't be intimated. You're just as good as these guys from Ohio State or UCLA or wherever.'"

After two seasons with Pittsburgh, Simmons was picked up by the New Orleans Saints. There he had one historic moment when the Saints had joint practices with the San Diego Chargers, who had this free agent lineman named Larry Little.

Two Bethune-Cookman players on opposite teams in the National Football League. But forgive either one if the history didn't impose itself that weekend.

"Heck, we were just trying to get jobs," Little recalled. "It was good to see another Bethune-Cookman alumnus out in California. Thing was, the players from the other schools were doing the same thing. It was a smaller league."

"I couldn't believe we were there and we made it," Simmons said about that 1967 meeting. "It was incredible, when I think about, we never had more than 10 African Americans on those teams and here were two guys from tiny Bethune-Cookman."

Stays in Atlanta and Chicago followed before Simmons found his best run in Denver from 1971-74. Before that, the Broncos could never figure out Madden – the Oakland Raider Coach, not the video game -- and were doormats in the AFC West.

Simmons led the Broncos in receiving with 25 catches for 403 yards in 1971. Two seasons later, alongside greats like running back  Floyd Little, Denver enjoyed its first-ever winning season at 7-5-2. The first Super Bowl was still a few years away, the John Elway era another couple of decades, but just like Bethune-Cookman in the 60s, the foundation was there.

"We learned how to be better football players while in Denver," Simmons said. "We studied game film. We had the chalkboard sessions. Everything that we could use to make us better and to take advantage of what the other team could give us, we found. It was a great time."

Simmons' final season in 1974 included two touchdown catches, but a new regime awaited the Broncos. Simmons entered the hospitality industry and enjoyed a lengthy and prosperous career with the Hyatt organization before his recent retirement.

Coming back to Bethune-Cookman was full circle for him.

"You can't recollect all the memories, but you recall all the emotions," Simmons said. I've been brought back to the moment where I started a journey. Met my wife here. And how grateful I am to have been in an environment that allowed me to become what I am."

Place in the history book? That's nice.

 

Place in the world? Works better.

 

Career information

High school:            Bartow (FL) Union Academy

College:            Bethune–Cookman

Undrafted:            1965

Career history

Pittsburgh Steelers (1965–1966)

New Orleans Saints (1967)

Atlanta Falcons (1967–1969)

Chicago Bears (1969–1970)

Denver Broncos (1971–1974)