Ormond Simkins (May 16, 1879 – December 4, 1921) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player for the

Sewanee Tigers The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 Province 4 of the Epis ...

of Sewanee: The University of the South. He was the son of

William Stewart Simkins William Stewart Simkins (August 25, 1842 – February 27, 1929) was a Confederate soldier and professor of law at the University of Texas at Austin. While a Citadel cadet, he quite possibly fired the first shot of the American Civil War. Early ...

, who may have fired the first shot of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Early years

Ormond was born on May 16, 1879 in

Corsicana, Texas Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 56 miles northeast of Waco, Texas. The population was 23,770 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Navarro County, and an important Agri-busines ...

and Elizabeth Ware.

Sewanee

Ormond entered

Sewanee Sewanee may refer to: * Sewanee, Tennessee * Sewanee: The University of the South * ''The Sewanee Review'', an American literary magazine established in 1892 * Sewanee Natural Bridge * Saint Andrews-Sewanee School See also * Suwanee (disambiguati ...

in 1896 as a law student. He was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

of the 1900 class.

Baseball

On the

team he was the

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

and when

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the team in 1901, moved to

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

Football

Simkins was an All-Southern fullback and punter of the

Sewanee Tigers football The Sewanee Tigers football team represents Sewanee: The University of the South in the sport of American football. The Tigers compete in NCAA Division III as members of the Southern Athletic Association. Three Sewanee Tigers are members of the ...

team from

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

. A stained glass window at Sewanee depicts Simkins handing a football to Henry D. Phillips.

1899

He was a member of the 1899 "Iron Men" of Sewanee that went undefeated and won 5 road games in 6 days all by shutout.

Fuzzy Woodruff Lorenzo Ferguson "Fuzzy" Woodruff (May 27, 1884 – December 7, 1929) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known throughout most of the southeast for his vivid writing. He was also a music and drama critic. He began his newspaper c ...

wrote of the only game in which Sewanee was scored upon, the 11 to 10 win over

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

, "Under

Heisman The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and har ...

's tutelage, Auburn played with a marvelous speed and dash that couldn't be gainsaid and which fairly swept Sewanee off its feet. Only the remarkable punting of Simkins kept the game from being a debacle." In a 1944 interview former coach

Billy Suter Herman Milton "Billy" Suter (December 10, 1874 – October 31, 1946) was an American football and baseball player, coach, referee, and athletic director. He was also a newspaper publisher. Early life Suter was born on December 10, 1874 in Greensb ...

said of Simkins, "one of the greatest football players I ever saw, a fine kicker, a fine ball carrier, and the most terrific tackler and blocker I ever saw." Simkins is the fullback on the All-Time Sewanee football team, one publication of which notes "Sewanee's greatest backfield ace, Ormond Simkins, unfortunately died some years ago from the effects of a football injury from which he never recovered after leaving college. A wonderful punter and a hard running ball carrier, he deserves much of the credit for Sewanee's wonder team of 1899." A documentary film about the team and Simkins' role was released in 2022 called "Unrivaled: Sewanee 1899."

Death

Simkins had suffered injuries to both legs while playing football. In later years, his left foot had to be amputated. While working for the War Risk Bureau in

Washington, D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

he entered

Georgetown University Hospital MedStar Georgetown University Hospital is one of the Washington, D.C. area's oldest academic teaching hospitals. It is a not-for-profit, acute care teaching and research facility located in the Georgetown neighborhood of the Northwest Quadrant ...

in order to have the other one amputated, and died.

Henry Seibels Henry Goldthwaite "Ditty" Seibels (August 22, 1876 – September 29, 1967) was a prominent American college football and baseball player and golfer for the Sewanee Tigers of Sewanee: The University of the South, a small Episcopal school in the ...

would later tell his two sons and an inquiring newsman it was Simkins, not he, who was the best player from Sewanee's 1899 team. A field house with his name is part of the

Juhan Juhan () is a common Estonia, Estonian male given name. Given name *Juhan Aare (born 1948), Estonian journalist and politician *Juhan Aavik (1884–1982), Estonian composer *Juhan Mihkel Ainson (1873–1962), Estonian politician *Juhan af Grann ...

Gym at Sewanee, where the school plays

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simkins, Ormond 1879 births 1921 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football fullbacks American football punters Baseball catchers Baseball shortstops Sewanee Tigers football players All-Southern college football players People from Corsicana, Texas Sports deaths in Washington, D.C. Players of American football from Texas