284:-based commercial games of indoor lacrosse to pay for the lacrosse program's expenses, since Syracuse University had stopped its support of sports played in the spring. By 1934, the Orangemen had improved to 10–2. The team did not win more than seven games in any of the next nine seasons, but did not post more losses than wins until 1942, when the Orangemen went 3–4. During this period, Simmons's 1936 team had the best record, at 7–2. The 1942 team was coached by Simmons only in its first game; he left the team to enter the military and Fred Schermahorn guided the Orangemen in their remaining six games.
29:
324:
season in which the team had six freshman players ruled ineligible to play, Syracuse improved to 9–4 in 1968, and its 1969 total of 11 wins was the program's highest since 1950. Simmons Sr. left the program in 1970, and Roy Jr. was named his replacement. In his career, Simmons Sr.'s teams had a 253–130–1 record. Nine of his players, not including Roy Jr., have been inducted into the
Lacrosse Hall of Fame, and he had 70 All-American players during his tenure.
328:
individual national championships. In recruiting fighters for
Syracuse, he traveled to numerous northeastern gyms, and was said to prefer boxers without evident facial damage, as "that proved they knew how to dodge a blow." Simmons served as boxing coach until 1955, when Syracuse ended the program. In addition, he became an assistant coach of the football team following his graduation, and remained with the program for 41 seasons. He was a coach on the
830:
312:'s all-time leading rusher at the time of his retirement. Simmons had played a role in recruiting Brown to Syracuse; after Brown was refused a football scholarship due to his skin color, Simmons provided money that he had left over for lacrosse recruiting, with other money provided by the track coach. According to Syracuse football alumnus
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in April 1942, and was an athletic instructor in
Georgia until the war ended. After the 1943–1945 seasons were canceled because of World War II, he returned to coach Syracuse's lacrosse team in 1946. A university publication wrote of the post-war teams that they had "good seasons played before small
271:
Simmons graduated from
Syracuse in 1926. Post-graduation, he accepted an assistant coaching position for the Syracuse football team; he remained with that program for more than 40 years. In 1931, Simmons was named the head coach of the Orangemen. The first Syracuse team coached by Simmons was 7–4 in
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Along with his lacrosse position, Simmons was a coach in multiple other sports at
Syracuse. After organizing the school's boxing team in 1925, he became the coach and led the university to the 1936 national championship and 14 championships in the eastern region. Seven boxers coached by Simmons won
296:
away from going undefeated; their 14 wins were tied for the second-most in program history, equaling the total of the 1925 national championship-winning team. Syracuse went 11–2 in 1950, as that squad matched the prior year's team in having seven players selected as All-Americans. Four of his next
323:
Syracuse's record declined to 6–3 in 1958, and the team's win total was halved the following season. From 1960 to 1965, the
Orangemen won 6–7 games each season except for 1961, when they had wins in half of their eight games. After two straight years with more losses than wins, including a 1967
344:
To recruit players for the
Orangemen, Simmons often chose players from the existing body of students attending Syracuse. He supplemented his rosters with college football players who had finished their senior seasons and had no spring practice sessions. In practices, Simmons frequently had the
335:
Simmons became a member of the
National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1964. In 1994, he suffered a stroke that led to his death at the age of 92. The following year, Syracuse University built a coaches center that was named in his honor.
254:. In three seasons, the Orangemen went 22–4–3 with him on the team; Simmons was referred to as the "Hobo Quarterback". Originally, he intended to only play football at Syracuse. However, he took up lacrosse after finding a
262:
as a defender in 1924, and played on the 1924 and 1925 Orangemen teams that were named national champions by USILA. In addition, he began the university's boxing team in 1925, and played baseball and basketball.
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272:
the 1931 season, ending the year with a four-game winning streak. The
Orangemen had a 6–1–1 record in 1932. The following season, Simmons's Syracuse team played in the first
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862:
292:
crowds." After the
Orangemen won 7 of 12 games in 1946, Simmons led the team to 10 wins in 1957 and 11 the following year. In 1949, the Orangemen were a two-point loss to
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316:, Simmons was "one of the most instrumental men in life." The team finished with a perfect 10–0 record in 1957, and finished second in the national rankings behind
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242:, in which he scored a touchdown that allowed Hyde Park to gain a tie. The incident made headlines in the local press, and University of Chicago coach
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280:. The match was part of an intermittent series of amateur indoor lacrosse games set up in the midst of the Great Depression. Simmons organized
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Orangemen play against local Indian lacrosse teams. He said of Brown's lacrosse play, "Big Jim learned a lot from the Indians."
329:
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238:. He was expelled from the college after entering at halftime a 1920 game being played by Hyde Park's football team at
224:
Simmons was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 27, 1901, according to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame;
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The next season, the Orangemen featured four players who were named All-Americans, including Simmons's son,
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Gilden, William (May 25, 1989). "Simmons Equals Syracuse: Family Begins Its Third Generation of Coaching".
192:
team from 1931 to 1970. Simmons's teams posted more than 250 wins in his career, and he is a member of the
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in 1924 and a member of Syracuse's 1924 and 1925 national championship-winning teams. Simmons was also a
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Galpin, William Freeman; Greene, John Robert; Wilson, Richard; Barck, Oscar Theodore (1996).
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said that he had "too much school spirit." Simmons then enrolled at Syracuse and played
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660:"At Syracuse University, Roy Simmons Sr. prepared boxers for fighting – and for life"
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782:
Slices of Orange: Great Games & Performers in Syracuse University Sports History
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529:"100 Years of Syracuse Lacrosse: The Roy Simmons Sr. I Era [1931–1950]"
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United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-American Team
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685:"Syracuse University Buildings: Roy D. Simmons Sr. Coaches Center"
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five teams had six-win seasons, and the 1956 Orangemen were 8–5.
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209:
804:
100 Things Syracuse Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die
404:"Roy Simmons Sr. Is Dead at 94; Coached Lacrosse at Syracuse"
216:
assistant coach at the university for more than 30 years.
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33:
Simmons in 1923 as a member of the Syracuse football team
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placed his birth year at 1899 or 1900. Simmons attended
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184:(September 27, 1901 – August 20, 1994) was an American
355:
List of college men's lacrosse coaches with 250 wins
779:
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712:InSideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives
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756:Syracuse University: The Tolley Years, 1942–1969
276:game ever held between college teams, losing to
1415:Players of American football from Philadelphia
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360:List of National Lacrosse Hall of Fame members
16:American lacrosse player and coach (1901–1994)
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1285:Syracuse Orange head men's lacrosse coaches
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595:Galpin, Greene, Wilson and Barck, p. 193.
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1445:Syracuse Orange men's basketball players
800:
558:"Syracuse Lacrosse: Year-By-Year Record"
531:. Syracuse University. February 20, 2016
479:
466:
464:
778:Maiorana, Sal; Pitoniak, Scott (2005).
1455:Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse players
1450:Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse coaches
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709:Ehrmann, Joe; Jordan, Gregory (2011).
604:
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873:Syracuse Orange starting quarterbacks
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1405:Basketball players from Philadelphia
449:Maiorana and Pitoniak, pp. 162, 165.
188:coach who was the head coach of the
1420:Syracuse Orangemen baseball players
639:Maiorana and Pitoniak, pp. 162–163.
514:
393:
13:
1400:Baseball players from Philadelphia
738:. Johns Hopkins University Press.
422:
332:that won a national championship.
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196:. As a lacrosse player, he was an
14:
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1395:American men's basketball players
1229:Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (2022–2023)
822:
605:Vecsey, George (March 19, 1984).
339:
190:Syracuse Orangemen men's lacrosse
1440:Syracuse Orange football players
1435:Syracuse Orange football coaches
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381:. National Lacrosse Hall of Fame
734:Lacrosse: A History of the Game
702:
677:
658:Kirst, Sean (August 24, 1994).
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1430:Syracuse Orange boxing coaches
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194:National Lacrosse Hall of Fame
163:National Lacrosse Hall of Fame
1:
786:. Syracuse University Press.
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219:
1046:Greg Christodulu (1982–1983)
308:, who went on to become the
7:
1144:Cameron Dantley (2007–2008)
1139:Andrew Robinson (2007–2008)
1134:Perry Patterson (2004–2006)
957:Chuck Zimmerman (1956–1958)
348:
258:. Simmons was named to the
10:
1471:
1198:Rex Culpepper (2017, 2020)
1121:R. J. Anderson (2000–2003)
730:Fisher, Donald M. (2002).
630:Ehrmann and Jordan, p. 54.
252:university's football team
138:Accomplishments and honors
57:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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1082:Mark McDonald (1989–1990)
1026:Ron Farneski (1976, 1978)
993:Paul Paolisso (1968–1970)
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761:Syracuse University Press
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1193:Zack Mahoney (2015–2017)
1013:Jim Donoghue (1973–1975)
1003:Bob Woodruff (1971–1972)
967:Walley Mahle (1962–1964)
962:Dave Sarette (1959–1961)
801:Pitoniak, Scott (2014).
715:. Simon & Schuster.
607:"Jim Brown's Best Sport"
310:National Football League
304:The squad also featured
1170:Terrel Hunt (2013–2015)
1051:Todd Norley (1982–1984)
1036:Dave Warner (1980–1981)
1425:Syracuse Orange boxers
1216:JaCobian Morgan (2020)
1111:Troy Nunes (1999–2002)
1064:Mike Kmetz (1984–1985)
1008:Bob Mitch (1973, 1975)
206:Syracuse football team
1116:Madei Williams (1999)
998:Randy Zur (1969–1970)
913:Walt Slovenski (1946)
687:. Syracuse University
563:. Syracuse University
236:University of Chicago
234:before attending the
232:Hyde Park High School
1211:Clayton Welch (2019)
1175:Austin Wilson (2014)
837:at Wikimedia Commons
648:Pitoniak, pp. 57–58.
431:Pitoniak, pp. 55–56.
125:Head coaching record
39:Biographical details
1234:Braden Davis (2023)
473:The Washington Post
379:"Roy D. Simmons Sr"
287:Simmons joined the
282:Rochester, New York
23:
1077:Bill Scharr (1989)
1041:Steve Peach (1982)
952:Ed Albright (1955)
947:Mickey Rich (1954)
611:The New York Times
408:The New York Times
289:United States Navy
227:The New York Times
182:Roy D. Simmons Sr.
54:September 27, 1901
21:
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1165:Drew Allen (2013)
1031:Tom Wilson (1978)
833:Media related to
807:. Triumph Books.
664:The Post-Standard
458:Pitoniak, p. 163.
410:. August 21, 1994
244:Amos Alonzo Stagg
240:Lansing, Michigan
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73:
65:
61:
58:
46:
42:
37:
30:
25:
19:
1337:
1329:
1321:
1305:
1204:Tommy DeVito
1070:Todd Philcox
978:Rick Cassata
932:Avatus Stone
899:
803:
781:
755:
733:
711:
703:Bibliography
689:. Retrieved
679:
667:. Retrieved
663:
653:
644:
635:
626:
614:. Retrieved
610:
600:
577:
565:. Retrieved
533:. Retrieved
507:
472:
454:
445:
436:
412:. Retrieved
407:
383:. Retrieved
373:
343:
334:
326:
322:
299:
286:
274:box lacrosse
270:
225:
223:
198:All-American
181:
180:
157:
153:All-American
68:(1994-08-20)
18:
1390:1994 deaths
1385:1901 births
1356:(1999–2021)
1348:(1971–1998)
1340:(1946–1970)
1332:(1943–1945)
1324:(1931–1942)
1316:(1918–1930)
1240:Kyle McCord
1224:(2021–2023)
1206:(2019–2021)
1188:(2015–2018)
1186:Eric Dungey
1160:(2010–2012)
1158:Ryan Nassib
1150:Greg Paulus
1129:(2004–2005)
1106:(1995–1998)
1096:Kevin Mason
1090:(1990–1993)
1059:(1984–1987)
1021:(1976–1979)
1019:Bill Hurley
980:(1965–1967)
942:(1952–1953)
926:(1948–1950)
893:M. B. Banks
691:January 30,
669:October 16,
616:January 11,
567:January 12,
414:January 11,
385:January 29,
314:Joe Ehrmann
248:quarterback
202:quarterback
148:As player:
94:Position(s)
1379:Categories
1354:John Desko
1127:Joe Fields
366:References
220:Early life
158:As coach:
97:Defenseman
50:1901-09-27
1362:Gary Gait
940:Pat Stark
330:1959 team
306:Jim Brown
133:253–130–1
111:1931–1970
80:1924–1925
1364:(2022– )
349:See also
250:for the
214:football
208:, and a
204:for the
186:lacrosse
165:inductee
115:Syracuse
84:Syracuse
1330:No team
1306:No team
535:May 23,
302:Roy Jr.
278:Cornell
130:Overall
1308:(1917)
1300:(1916)
1242:(2024)
1152:(2009)
1098:(1994)
1072:(1988)
988:(1966)
934:(1951)
811:
790:
767:
742:
719:
210:boxing
143:Awards
561:(PDF)
256:stick
151:1924
809:ISBN
788:ISBN
765:ISBN
740:ISBN
717:ISBN
693:2015
671:2016
618:2015
569:2015
537:2016
416:2015
387:2015
294:Army
212:and
63:Died
44:Born
1381::
763:.
759:.
662:.
609:.
586:^
545:^
516:^
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320:.
104:HC
1276:e
1269:t
1262:v
864:e
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48:(
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