Don HorkeyHowever, there was a moment when life got the upper hand: when Simmons was blinded in a battlefield explosion. Six months later, miraculously, he regained his sight.
Therein lies the tale of a remarkable individual, devoted to his family, his community and his faith.
Before he lost his sight, Jack Simmons excelled in football, basketball and baseball at St. Ambrose High School on Detroit’s east side. He stood 6-feet-4 and weighed near 240 pounds when he graduated in 1942 and chose, among several college offers, to attend the University of Detroit.
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 a third mission two months before D-Day, checking on German defenses along the Normandy coast, he was wounded by artillery fire and blinded.
SimmonsHe was shipped back to the U.S. 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 and 10 letters in football, basketball, baseball and track. He was named an All American Honorable Mention in 1948 and, that same year, drafted in the 22nd round by the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League.
He played one year with the Colts, then 1949-50 with the Detroit Lions, and 1951-57 with the Chicago Cardinals. He played in the 1957 Pro Bowl.
Simmons coached 10 years in the Catholic League: two at Detroit Holy Redeemer which, anchored by 6-foot-10 center Bill Chmielewski, won the CHSL basketball title in 1959, and four years each at Highland Park St. Benedict and Ferndale St. James.
Simmons and his wife Rosemary (they married in 1946) had two daughters — Kathleen and Mary Lou (Bloomfield Hills Marian grads 1965 and 1967, respectively) — and five sons, all Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice alums: Robert (1970), Patrick (1974), Terry (1976), Tim (1977) and Mike (1981).
Catholic education and faith were foremost in Simmons’ life: “We recited the rosary every Friday,” remembers Tim Simmons. “We had to be there, no ifs, ands or buts.”
Patrick Simmons recalls the family remained in their home within walking distance of St. Regis, Marian and Brother Rice, even though Simmons commuted to Grand Rapids for his job as district manager of a trucking firm, so that the kids could attend Catholic schools.
Their home also became a popular gathering place for Lions players and heroes of other Detroit sports teams.
Patrick Simmons tells about the time Gordie Howe visited: “He was my brother Bob’s favorite. Bobby was asleep, so Gordie just rubbed his head. The next morning, Bob says, ‘I had the strangest dream that Gordie Howe gave me a haircut.’ We all laughed.”
“I can remember (Lions QB) Bobby Layne with a beer in one hand and tossing a football to neighborhood kids lined up in our backyard,” said Tim Simmons.
Bob Stark, teacher and coach at Brother Rice since 1968, said Simmons was on the committee that appealed to neighboring parishes for support in the founding stages of Brother Rice, often “going door to door” raising funds. He also served a term as president of the Dads Club.
“He was a great man who helped make Rice what it is today,” Stark said.
Simmons died Sept. 17, 1978, three weeks shy of 53, from myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disorder. Rosemary passed in 2014. Their survivors include 18 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. One of the grandchildren, Tim Simmons’ son, John, is director of student activities at U-D Jesuit High.
Astonishingly, the kids didn’t become aware of Simmons’ wartime history until after the death of their mother. “He never talked about it,” said Patrick Simmons. “We found boxes and boxes of newspaper clippings and articles.”
Patrick has petitioned the University of Detroit for his father’s induction into the Titans Hall of Fame.
Don Horkey may be reached at [email protected].
