Lawrence E. Simmons (July 5, 1911 – October 9, 1994) was an American football and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at Tennessee A&I State College—now known as Tennessee State University—in Nashville, Tennessee in 1939 and again from 1961 to 1962, and at the Colored Normal Industrial Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina—now known as South Carolina State University—in Orangeburg, South Carolina from 1951 to 1952, compiling a career college football coach record of 20–18–3. Simmons also had two stints as the head baseball coach at Tennessee A&I, from 1947 to 1950 and 1953 to 1955.[1][2]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 5, 1911 Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | October 9, 1994 (aged 83) Fairview Heights, Illinois, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1936–1937 | Tennessee A&I |
| Position(s) | Fullback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1938 | Tennessee A&I (backfield) |
| 1939 | Tennessee A&I |
| 1948 | Tennessee A&I (backfield) |
| 1951–1952 | South Carolina State |
| 1953–1954 | Tennessee A&I (assistant) |
| 1955–1960 | East St. Louis Lincoln HS (IL) |
| 1961–1962 | Tennessee A&I |
| Baseball | |
| 1947–1950 | Tennessee A&I |
| 1953–1955 | Tennessee A&I |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 20–18–3 (college football) 43–14 (high school football) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1 MAA (1961) | |
Simmons was the head football coach at East St. Louis Lincoln High School in East St. Louis, Illinois from 1955 to 1960, tallying a mark of 43–14.[3]
Simmons and his wife Mildred celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in 1968.[4] He and his wife are interred alongside each other at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Missouri.[5][6]
Head coaching record
editCollege football
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee A&I Tigers (Independent) (1939) | |||||||||
| 1939 | Tennessee A&I | 3–3–1 | |||||||
| South Carolina State Bulldogs (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1951–1952) | |||||||||
| 1951 | South Carolina State | 5–2 | 4–2 | T–5th | |||||
| 1952 | South Carolina State | 7–2 | |||||||
| South Carolina State: | 12–4 | ||||||||
| Tennessee A&I Tigers (Midwest Athletic Association / Midwest Conference) (1961–1962) | |||||||||
| 1961 | Tennessee A&I | 4–4–1 | 3–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1962 | Tennessee A&I | 1–7–1 | 1–1–1 | 3rd | |||||
| Tennessee A&I: | 8–14–3 | 4–1–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 20–18–3 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "State Normal Opens Season With Alabama". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. October 9, 1939. p. 29. Retrieved December 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ Clanton, Earl S. III (August 18, 1961). "Lawrence Simmons Named Head Football Coach At Tenn. State". Alabama Tribune. Montgomery, Alabama. p. 7. Retrieved December 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "College Hires Lincoln High Coach Simmons". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. August 15, 1961. p. 30. Retrieved August 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Mr., Mrs. Lawrence Simmons observe 25th anniversary". The Washington Afro-American. Washington, D.C. March 5, 1967. p. 9. Retrieved August 16, 2018 – via Google News.
- ^ "Mildred Simmons St. Louis MO Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery". Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ "Lawrence e Simmons St. Louis MO Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery". Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
External links
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