Ozzie Simmons
| Iowa Hawkeyes | |
|---|---|
| Position | Halfback |
| Career history | |
| College | Iowa (1934–1935) |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | June 6, 1914 |
| Place of birth | Gainesville, Texas |
| Date of death | September 26, 2001 (aged 87) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Oze E. "Ozzie" Simmons (June 6, 1914 – September 26, 2001) was a college football player for the University of Iowa. Simmons, nicknamed the "Ebony Eel", was one of the first black All-American football players in the 1930s.
Born in Gainesville, Texas, Simmons grew up in Texas and was an all-state high school quarterback in a segregated high school league in Fort Worth. College opportunities were limited for black players at the time, but an Iowa alumnus saw Simmons play and suggested that he go to the University of Iowa where blacks had been team members, off and on, since 1895. Simmons had heard of the exploits of black Iowa players like Archie Alexander and Duke Slater, so Ozzie and his older brother, Don, hopped a train to Iowa City.
The Simmons brothers found Iowa football coach Ossie Solem in his office. Solem was initially stunned to have two black players walk unannounced into his office. But Solem asked the Simmons brothers to attend Iowa's practice that afternoon. Iowa was conducting a punting drill, and Ozzie Simmons promptly returned two punts back for touchdowns. After practice, Solem told the brothers, "We'll find you a place to stay."
Ozzie had been poorly educated in their segregated school in Texas, so he spent his freshman year catching up on academics. By his sophomore year in 1934, Ozzie Simmons was ready to shine. In his first game, a 34-0 win over South Dakota, Simmons had a 22-yard scoring run as well as punt returns for 61 and 32 yards.
Ozzie rushed for 166 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown sprint, and he had 138 yards on kick and punt returns in his first Big Ten game, a 20-7 defeat of Northwestern. Ralph Cannon of the Chicago Daily News wrote, "This slithery, rubbery, oozy flyer...can make his legs talk more languages than even Red Grange's could when he was a sophomore...Most of it seems to come naturally to Simmons, as such things must come to the genius of any line." Simmons was nicknamed "the Ebony Eel" after that game and gained national acclaim. But Iowa lost every remaining game in 1934, despite the play of Simmons, who returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown in a loss to Ohio State. Ozzie was a first team All-Big Ten selection and a second team All-American.
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