James Simrall
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| Date of birth | November 16, 1909 |
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| Place of birth | Lexington, Kentucky |
| Date of death | September 8, 1982 (aged 72) |
| Place of death | Lexington, Kentucky |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Halfback, quarterback |
| College | Michigan |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Honors | Michigan Wolverines Most Valuable Player, 1929 |
James Orlando Harrison Simrall, Jr. (November 16, 1909 – September 8, 1982) was an American football player and medical doctor. A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Simrall enrolled at the University of Michigan where he played quarterback and halfback for the Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1928 to 1930. He was selected as the Most Valuable Player on the 1929 team and the captain of the 1930 team. He later attended Harvard Medical School, served as an instructor in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Michigan, and later became a medical doctor in Lexington, Kentucky.
Simrall was born in Lexington, Kentucky, in November 1909. His father, James O. Harrison Simrall, Sr. (1877–1934), was a Kentucky native who worked as the secretary of the city school board, personnel director and business manager of the public schools, and also operated an insurance agency under the name, J. O. H. Insurance Agency. His mother, Kitty C. (Chenault) Simrall, was also a Kentucky native. At the time of the 1910 United States Census, Simrall was living in Lexington with his parents and an older sister, Florence D. Simrall. At the time of the 1930 United States Census, his family continued to reside in Lexington, and he also had a younger sister, Kitty C. Simrall. In high school, Simrall played football and basketball and competed in track.
Simrall enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1927. He played on the freshman football team in 1927. As a sophomore in 1928, he started five games at the halfback position for the Michigan team coached by Tad Wieman. Prior to the 1929 season, expectations were high for Simrall. A profile of the Michigan football team in the International News Service (predecessor to the UPI) noted:
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