Milton Richard Simington (August 26, 1918 January 17, 1943) 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 wit ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

who played two seasons 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 ma ...

(NFL) for the

Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to 1945, ...

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 Stee ...

. He was selected to the NFL All-Star team in 1942.

Playing career

Simington played college football at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

before being selected by the

in the

1941 NFL Draft The 1941 National Football League Draft was held on December 10, 1940, at the Willard Hotel in Washington D.C. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Chicago Bears selected halfback Tom Harmon. Player selections Round 1 Round 2 Ro ...

. In August 1942, he was traded along with Johnny Binotto by the Rams to the

in exchange for

George Platukis George Paul Platukis (March 15, 1915–May 17, 1973) was an American football end who played five seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Rams. He later became a high school teacher and baseball coach. ...

. Simington was selected for the NFL All-Star team based on his performance during the

1942 NFL season The 1942 NFL season was the 23rd regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, many players left for service in World War II, thus depleting the rosters of all the teams. The Chicago Bears finished the regular season at 11 ...

, but he suffered a mild

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

during practices for the game which ended his playing career. He suffered a second heart attack a few weeks later which proved fatal; he died in Shreveport, Louisiana on January 17, 1943 at the age of 24. At the time of his death he had been planning to enter

officer training school Officer Training School (OTS) is a United States Air Force and United States Space Force commissioning program located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Overview Officer Training School is a part of the Jeanne M. Holm Center fo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simington, Milt 1918 births 1943 deaths People from McCurtain County, Oklahoma Players of American football from Oklahoma American football offensive guards American football placekickers Arkansas Razorbacks football players Cleveland Rams players Pittsburgh Steelers players People from Dierks, Arkansas