Ron Simmons

Ron Simmons arrived in Tallahassee in 1977 and quickly made his mark on an emerging Florida State football team. The two-time consensus All American - and Bobby Bowden’s first - later spent 3 years playing in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and 2 years in the Canadian Football League. He subsequently spent 25 years in professional wrestling with the World Wrestling Federation, where he became the first African American World Heavyweight Champion. In 1988 Simmons’ jersey (#50) was retired by Florida State University, and he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.