No Seminole player has worn #50 since 1989 because of….
#50 – Ron Simmons
Nose Guard – 6’1″ 230 lbs – 1977-1980
Ron Simmons was probably FSU’s first recruit that made waves around the country. Named to at least 3 different All-American teams all four years in the Garnet and Gold, Simmons was was a two-time Consensus All-American. With a rare combination of power, quickness, and speed, Simmons dominated the line of scrimmage for 4 years. In his first two seasons in Tallahassee he totaled 128 tackles each year – unheard of numbers for a guy in the middle of the defensive line. His freshman year he had 12 tackles for loss and forced 13 fumbles. He is #2 on FSU’s all time tackles list with 483, tied for #1 for sacks in a game with 5, #3 in career tackles for loss with 44, and #1 in tackles for loss in a season and in a career. Simmons was elected into the FSU Hall of Fame in 1986 and his jersey number was retired in 1989. After his illustrious career at Florida State, Simmons had a short career in the NFL and USFL before making a name for himself as a wrestler in WCW and WWF/WWE. He was WCW’s first ever African-American Heavyweight Champion and has been inducted to the WWE Hall Of Fame. Up until 2011 Simmons would still make occasional appearances on WWE.
#50 In History
W.A. “Dub” Kendrick (48, 49)
Lee Boswell (54)
Bob Crenshaw (55)
Bo Davis (56)
Paul Slaton (57)
Ken Kestner (58)
Bruce Darsey (60)
Charlie Keneipp (61)
Billy Joe Janes (66)
Dave McCullers (67, 68)
Dan Whitehurst (69, 70, 71)
Tom Cooper (72)
Bill Sawyer (73, 74, 75, 76)
Ron Simmons (77, 78, 79, 80)
J.D. Dowell (81)
Ron Moore (82)
Don Desenso (84, 85)
John Sellers (85)
John Brown (86, 87, 89)
RETIRED (88)