Detroit Mercy Titans Hall of Fame
When people talk about multi-sport athletes, the name bo Jackson or Deion Sanders comes to find but for the U-D Titans, that name was Jack Simmons.
He played football, basketball, baseball, and track, earning 12 varsity letters as a Titan.
On the gridiron as a standout lineman, he was an All-American Honorable Mention as a senior as he helped guide the team to three-straight six-win seasons.
After his freshman year, he joined the Navy and trained as a member of the Scouts and Raiders, predecessors to today’s legendary SEALS. During World War II, his competitive spirits were still high as he won the naval Heavy Weight Boxing Championship.
During a third mission two months before D-Day, checking on German defenses along the Normandy coast, he was wounded by artillery fire and blinded. He came back to the states to a naval hospital on Long Island. One day, while walking unattended on the grounds, he stumbled down a hill, hitting his head, knocking himself unconscious. When he awoke, he could see! After he regained his sight, Simmons resumed his academic and athletic career at U-D, earning a degree in journalism while starting in three sports.
He was drafted in the 22nd round by the Detroit Lions in 1946 and would go on to play in the NFL for eight seasons for the Detroit Lions, the Chicago Cardinals and Baltimore Colts, earning a trip to the 1956 Pro Bowl as a member of the Cardinals. He helped the Baltimore Colts to a second-place finish in 1948 as well as Chicago Cardinals in his final year in 1956.
