Hitching a Ride to the Opener
Coach Ken ‘Red’ Simmons with a photo of he and track star Jesse Owens from 1937
Former women’s track head coach Red Simmons is a fixture on the athletic campus, whether it’s attending football, hockey, or basketball games, or working out each morning at Crisler Arena. Oh, did I mention Simmons turns 100 in three weeks?
I recently sat down with the Michigan legend to talk about his amazing life for a piece for GoBlueWolverine Magazine for next month. Definitely check that out, but in the meantime I wanted to share this nugget.
Simmons was a track star at Redford High School and was offered a slot on the U-M track team. He told me that part of his desire to come to Ann Arbor stemmed from a trip he and his pals took when he was 17 years old:
Simmons: “My heart was set on coming to Michigan. In 1927 when the football stadium was opened, two other guys from Redford and I hitchhiked up here to see the game. At that time I thought, ‘Boy I’d love to go to this school.’”
It didn’t occur to me until after the interview that Simmons is very likely the last living person to attend the first game at Michigan Stadium.
I’d love to know if anyone knows of another person still with us that attended the 1927 opener or dedication game that season. And while Simmons has had his share of honors from the University, wouldn’t it be cool if he was recognized during the dedication of the renovation next fall?
Yost showing off Michigan Stadium in 1927
Simmons never ran for U-M track as the stock market crash of 1929 forced a change of plans. He eventually ended up running (and starring) at Michigan Normal (later Eastern Michigan) in Ypsilanti. Simmons explains:
Simmons: “You didn’t have scholarships back then, but out of high school in 1928 the U-M track coach, [Stephen] Farrell, offered me a job which included room and board at a fraternity house. Books, tuition and all that–you had to pay. We didn’t have any money at all. I said I’d have to work a while to make some money for books [before coming to Michigan]. He told me, ‘Anyone who can hurdle as good as you can, you can work a year. But I want you to come to Michigan.’”
“So I worked that year and then came the big stock market crash of 1929. I was just ready to start and boom! Farrell wrote my folks, he didn’t call, and told my folks, ‘I’m sorry but Kenneth won’t have a job at the fraternity.’ But at the same time, Lloyd Olds, the coach at Michigan Normal which is now Eastern Michigan, came to the house. He urged me to come to Michigan Normal and told us the tuition is only $18.50 a semester and they had a man who could loan me the money.”
> while Simmons has had his share of honors from the University, wouldn’t it be cool if he was
> recognized during the dedication of the renovation next fall?
Yes.
That’s a great idea. Don’t some of you bloggers have the ear of the University… even if informally? Perhaps that’s a good bug to be planting in Mr. Bacon’s, Mr. Madej’s, et al., ears.