Henry LeRoy Zimmerman Jr. (February 20, 1918 – August 22, 1997) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player who played wingback and

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) from

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

. Afterwards, he played professional fast-pitch softball for 26 years, during which he revolutionized pitching.

Early life

Zimmerman was born in Tonganoxie,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

to Henry Leroy Zimmerman Sr. and Ivol Gertrude Hawkins and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Monrovia Arcadia Duarte High School (Now

Monrovia High School Monrovia High School is a public high school located in Monrovia, California, a northeastern suburb of Los Angeles, United States. Monrovia High School is the only grades 9–12 comprehensive high school in the Monrovia Unified School Distric ...

) in

Monrovia, California Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 37,931 at the 2020 census. Monrovia has been used for filming TV shows, movies and co ...

, where he was a quarterback. He then went on to play

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

San José State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

. While playing for the

San José State Spartans The San Jose State Spartans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San José State University. SJSU sports teams compete in the Mountain West Conference (MW) at the NCAA Division I level, with football competing in the Football ...

in 1939, the team went 13–0.

NFL career

Zimmerman was drafted in the seventh round of the

1940 NFL Draft The 1940 National Football League Draft was held on December 9, 1939, at the Schroeder Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Chicago Cardinals selected George Cafego. Player selections Round one Round ...

by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. Zimmerman was the first San Jose State player ever to be drafted by the NFL. He played for the Redskins from

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

. Then in

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

, Zimmerman played for the Steagles, a team that was a combination of the Philadelphia Eagles and

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

(the teams were forced to merge because both had lost many players to military service due to World War II). He continued playing for the Eagles until

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

, and then played for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, before finishing his career with the Boston Yanks. Zimmerman was named to the Pro Bowl in 1942 and named All-Pro twice. He also led the league in interceptions in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

with seven.

Softball career

Zimmerman pitched softball during his last three years at San Jose State. For 26 years after his NFL career, he played professional fast-pitch softball and led his teams, the Fresno Hoak Packers and the Long Beach Nitehawks, to nine world titles. "He developed the riseball and the dropball, which are now predominant pitches in any pitcher's arsenal." He pitched two perfect games and six no-hitters in World Championship play, striking out all 21 batters during one of his perfect games. He was inducted into the

International Softball Congress The International Softball Congress (ISC) is a non-profit association for the promotion and administration of men's and boys fastpitch softball throughout North America with athletes coming from all over the world. The ISC was formed in 1958 as ...

Hall of Fame in 1970 and the award for the outstanding pitcher in the ISC World Tournament is named in his honor. He was also inducted into the Long Beach Softball Hall of Fame.

Personal life

After retiring from the NFL, Zimmerman obtained his teaching credential. He first taught and coached at

Parlier High School Parlier High School (PHS) is a public high school in Parlier, California, United States. Parlier High School serves grades 9-12 in the Parlier Unified School District. Based on its state test results, it has received a GreatSchools Rating of 4 ou ...

from 1951 to 1954. In 1955, he began teaching and coaching at

Madera High School Madera High School is the first school and original high school in the central San Joaquin Valley city of Madera, California, serving students since 1894. The school colors are royal blue & white and its mascot is the coyote. History Madera Hi ...

, where he remained until his retirement in 1981. He married Dena Mary Otis of Big Timber, Montana on May 3, 1940, and they had three sons. Zimmerman died in Madera, California on August 22, 1997.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmerman, Roy 1918 births 1997 deaths American football quarterbacks Boston Yanks players Detroit Lions players People from Tonganoxie, Kansas Philadelphia Eagles players Steagles players and personnel San Jose State Spartans football players Washington Redskins players People from Madera, California