Steve Simmons, one of the behind the scenes giants and a seminal figure in the development of track and field as a professional sport in the United States, died June 4. He was 82.
One of the most respected mentors in the sport, Simmons paid forward the help he had received as an up-and-coming coach by assisting younger coaches in attaining national staff appointments. He also helped former elite athletes remain involved in the sport and played an integral role in gaining recognition for some of the legendary teams in Olympic history.
Known by many as the "godfather" of the sport for his positive influence behind the scenes, Simmons used his national and international contacts to help move the sport and its athletes forward into a new era, and he often assisted U.S. athletes and their agents in placement at a wide range of international competitions. He shaped the careers and values of many of today's best known coaches and was a magnetic figure due to his humor and deal-making savvy.
Born August 1, 1943, in Junction City, Kansas, Simmons was a talented hurdler at Dayton Roosevelt High School in Ohio and started his college career at Los Angeles City College before transferring to Chapman College in Orange, California. At Chapman, Simmons spent two years establishing himself as one of the school's premier athletes, earning all-America honors in the 120-yard hurdles as a senior in 1965. He held school records in the 120H, 330-yard hurdles and 400-meter hurdles, and was on the quartet that set a school record in the 4x120H shuttle relay in 1964.
Also a gifted basketball player who was named Chapman's Most Improved Player in 1965, Simmons shared the court with Bob Einstein, who would later achieve entertainment acclaim as "Super Dave Osborne" and for his roles in the TV shows Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development. Simmons was inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame in 1979.
After graduating from Chapman in 1965, he returned to the school as an assistant track and field coach. In 1971 he took over as head coach at Cal Poly State University, now Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, leading the school to an NCAA Division II runner-up finish in his first year at the helm. Simmons guided his athletes to eight individual D2 national titles, and Reynaldo Brown and Mohinder Gill won NCAA D1 crowns in the high jump and triple jump. His storied coaching career at the school earned him induction into their Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003.
In January 1976 Simmons was named head coach of the Oregon State University program. At the Corvallis school he produced three Olympians, and guided Kasheef Hassan to the NCAA 400-meter title in 1979. His charges earned six Pac-8 Conference individual event golds and five NCAA all-America honors.
Simmons left collegiate coaching in 1979 but remained involved at the national and international level as a coach and manager for the U.S. at numerous regional and global events. His first national team coaching assignment came at the 1977 IAAF World Cup in Dusseldorf, Germany, where he was an assistant coach. In 1979 he served as an assistant manager at the Spartakiade in Moscow, and he was named to the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team staff as an assistant manager for the Olympic Games in Moscow, which were ultimately boycotted by the American team.
Joining the staff of Accusplit Sports Timing as vice president in 1984, Simmons also took on the leadership of the Accusplit Sports Club. He was again an assistant manager on the U.S. Olympic team staff at Los Angeles that year, and in 1992 was the head manager for the United States at the Barcelona Olympic Games.
A long-time member of the Olympic Development Committee, serving as the long jump chairman, Simmons was also a member of the International Competition Committee from 1977-82. He served on staffs at numerous U.S. Olympic festivals and led U.S. teams to the Decanation meet in France from 2005-17, a meet which afforded U.S. athletes a wonderful competitive experience and opportunities to earn prize money. He also served on the first San Jose City Sports Authority Board.
Simmons is survived by his wife of 58 years, Donna, as well as a daughter (Catherine) and son (Peter), and grandchildren Sean, Miles and Camuriel Parr, and Peter and Allison Simmons. He was a Life Member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.